switching jobs when you have a tenure-track position I hope this topic is appropriate for MO. I have a tenure-track position at a US university in a location where my spouse is very unhappy, severely underemployed, and has no real prospect of finding suitable employment. I know the economy/job market is bad now and that I will likely have to stay put for a few years. But, hopefully in the near future, things will improve and I would like to test the job market.
Question One: How should I go about obtaining a teaching letter? I work in a small department and I do not think any other faculty member would willingly help me "test the market." (Things could be especially awkward if I cannot find another suitable position and decide to stay in my current position with everyone knowing I tried to leave.)
Question Two: Is it better to apply for other jobs right before or after I get tenure at my current university? (Can having tenure be detrimental in the application process?)
Thanks in advance for any advice ...
 A: 1) It is definitely harder to get a new job if you already have tenure than if you don't.
2) Getting a tenure track position is hard enough. Getting a tenure track position under geographic constraints is really hard. You should be as flexible about the job itself as well as its location as possible.
3) If you're willing to sit tight for a few years, I would advise building as wide a network of professional friends and acquaintances as possible by giving talks at conferences, department seminars and colloquiua. Keep an ear out for job openings for which you are particularly well suited and in departments where you know your candidacy would be supported. You have to be extremely realistic and objective about which schools and departments will be willing to hire you. It will help a lot, if you know people who are willing to help you look and give you frank advice.
4) Get a teaching letter and apply for jobs only when you are really ready to leave. You don't want to do this more than once, if you can help it. But also be ready to do it more than once, if you don't get any or any sufficiently attractive offers the first time.
5) It is indeed a difficult time to do this, so I wish you all the best with this.
ADDED:
6) Be a good citizen in your current department in the sense that you should fulfill all of your teaching and service responsibilities as well as possible. You need as much good will as you can get from everybody including where you are now.
7) If you have any particular talents or skills (outside the usual research credentials) that a math department might find valuable, try to develop them but without undermining your core credentials. One way or another, you want to try to find some way to make yourself stand out relative to everybody else looking for a job.
