PhD from low-rank school (post-Soviet country), a couple of years in industry. What are my chances?
I haven't been able to publish any papers in international journals yet, though I'm determined to do so. Will it increase my chances?


Certainly. A post-doc is supposed to play an active role in the publication output of the department. Demonstrating that you have experience with academic publishing is certainly valuable. Without it, it will be difficult to land a academic post-doc position.

So how do you successfully find a post-doc position?

First you need to find open positions that fit really well with your experience. Then, you will need to convince them that you are a fit candidate. It certainly helps if you can show tangible results. Think of e.g. working programs that you wrote.

You might also consider doing a short post-graduate program at an institute where you would like to do a post-doc (e.g. in the Netherlands there are 2 year PDEng programs). In this way you can demonstrate your abilities, and also get settled in the country of your designation.