Not really, I'm just looking
Sure, we understand. You're not actually chasing more pay or more fun right now. You've just landed here, on the UK's largest job market site, out of sheer curiosity. You're not actually looking - but you'd go for a plum-looking job if it was up for grabs, wouldn't you?
Besides, when IS it time to change your job? Not now, maybe. But you never know.
When is it time to change your job?
Before you answer this question, ask yourself another. If you're not having fun or making a fortune, what are you doing in the job you have now? Hopefully at this moment, you're successfully achieving both. In which case you've answered your own question - why move at all?
You know the answer if it's neither one nor the other too. If you're not having fun, and you're not making a fortune, get the heck out of there!
Which leaves deciding if it's one or the other. And that depends on how life is treating you. Yes, you might be having fun, but when a smile can't pay your bills anymore, it's time to move on.
Or you could be halfway to your first million, but so stressed out with commuting and pressure, you're a nervous wreck. Ever noticed how many people suddenly chuck it all to go country?
So the short answer is, IT DEPENDS. And only you can decide how.
One thing is for certain. There IS such a thing as staying too long in the same job. Unless you're in it for a piece of the action, the comfort zone it provides might be less stable than you think.
The trick is to keep your career alive and fresh. Keep adding to your basket of skills, keep widening your flair and experience - you need the stimulation and newness - plus your CV needs the advancing momentum. A few steps up the promotion ladder won't go astray either.
Or think of it this way. You may never get fired, you may never get retrenched. But if you ever decide to tell your boss to shove it, you need to know you're competitive enough for the scramble of getting another job.
All of which means if you're smart, you're keeping an eye out for Number One all the time. You might be happy where you are, but you're also wise enough to know what's out there and how to get it - just in case you need to jump.
Call it your parachute. Call it insurance. At least you'll never be caught short!