They say search for a new job while you still have your old job. But when do you think you should start looking?

I start looking when I get bored.

Getting bored is usually a sign that efficiency and/or mission purpose in my silo is dropping and layoffs are coming soon. I'm usually spot on with that suspicion. Whenever I start looking for job offerings even just out of curiosity a reorg or offer of exit usually is less that a year away, often just 6 months or so.

When that has happened and someone comes and offers a severance package I take the money, do a polite exit and run. It's usually 6-9 months later that I hear that the entire team was laid off from one day to the next with no severance ar all.

You have to know how businesses work to deal with this sort of thing without taking it personally. That's an important skill and mindset to maintain sanity as a dev.

The checklist actually helps. It re-centers me on what's important, me and my career.

But I would also add

When I think of my remaining contract length, how does it make me feel?

Granted this is derivative of the others, but it begs the question, am I ready to keep working here given how I feel? Am I ready to leave this company given how I feel ?

Follow up question, When is it right to tell your supervisor you're considering other options?

I recently moved from a job I liked to a job I'm really liking now. For me, it was all down to the recruiter. They were actually a friend who floated some ideas to me, and I did some interviews and take home tasks but had no plans to leave my job. I'd been there 3 years and I felt they really valued me. But one of the places I interviewed with just felt really good. The interviewers were great, the task was enjoyable and the tech interview was actually fun. They ended up making me a really good offer and I took it.

I think you should definitely start looking while you still have a job, see what's out there and how the industry in your area is going. If you can find a recruiter you trust, you're golden.

Good Luck!

This seems like a great way to go about it.

The truth is, finding a new job in tech is not that easy depending on where you live. Both big tech and small coffee shop wants to become Google with unrealistic expectations. They are ready to burn all the population of Developers in their quest for the "Ideal" or perfect candidate.

My advice is, if you're being paid a fair wage at your current job and shifting to another job won't make that much of a big difference, and you are treated well enough in your current job, then stick to your current job and simply focus on increasing your value by doing more projects and being more proactive.

You will potentially waste a massive amount of time convincing a new employer that you're good enough.

However, that doesn't mean that you can't engage in your personal projects, learning new technologies and making cool stuff. Life is learning and everyday you learn something new, you're one step better than your previous self.

Hope that makes sense.

I stumbled across a simple rule of thumb to weeks ago: 'Learn or earn'.

Ask yourself:

• Are you learning something new in your current job?
• Are you earning a decent amount of money to afford your lifestyle?