Defining “Always Be Looking”
Interviewing is a pain in the ass, but being stuck in a job is much worse
You shouldn’t be interviewing because it’s better to work harder in hopes of a pay raise and be loyal to the company. Conversely, when you get canned from said company, others look at your resume, scratching their head about your skills and why you stuck around for so long. Sticking around long kills your career in terms of skills, and leaving keeps others skeptical about the wild notion you want something different or more money.
The system sucks ass, blah blah.
I’ll detail what people mean by “always be looking” because I’d advise you to follow this advice quite literally.
The first rule is don’t job hop immediately after six months to a year because of an incremental gain unless the role truly sucks ass. Things like tech stack are proprietary (career killer), management sucks/abusive, toxic work environment, justify moving immediately.
If things are going well for you, don’t leave unless you find a considerable raise out of the blue. We’re talking about a 30% plus increase. Something that screams, holy shit, I’ll have a chat.
If you’re past the two-year mark and curious about what exists, that’s the time to start looking. Maybe you’re not…
