… is when you have one you love. Or at least when you have one you can tolerate.

When you have a job that you are not dying to leave, you can be incredibly picky with the job you potentially accept. I’ve had job offers from top tier Silicon Valley startups that I’ve comfortably told, “Thanks but no thanks.” It is a great feeling to be able to do that. (I’ve been turned down a number of times, too; you can’t win them all!)

Always be interviewing

I aim to take at least one interview per quarter for a company and a role that I would actually consider taking. Let me reiterate – I love my current job. I have a ton of autonomy and get to learn new things and take a leadership role in a lot of initiatives. I have no compelling reason to leave my current job, but how will I know there isn’t a better fit out there if I don’t look?

I have heard some folks compare hiring to matchmaking. It is like matchmaking in the sense that you want to have both participants be happy with the “relationship.” It’s also like matchmaking in that you are generally free to leave the “relationship” at any time if you aren’t pleased or just want to go a different direction. (Despite what anyone else says, you do not owe your current employer anything beyond being a good employee in exchange for the wages you agreed to. You taking another job is you looking out for your best interest. Don’t let anyone make you feel bad about that.)

I do think that it is generally unwise to interview for a job that you know you would not take for any amount of money or perks. That would truly be a waste of time for all involved and isn’t a respectful thing to do. I don’t quite agree that it is good to get in as much interview practice as you can at the expense of other companies. I think there are plenty of viable roles that one can interview for that you shouldn’t need to burn cycles for roles you would never take. And what’s more – if you already have a job you like, you won’t be compelled to take a less than great offer from another company at the prospect of greener grass.

Apply anyway

Most jobs you come across will not match your experience 100%. Some studies say that if you have 50% of the qualifications, they are likely to give you at least a phone screen. (This experience mismatch disproportionately affects women; women are far less likely to apply to a role if they don’t meet the majority of the requirements.) So go ahead and apply!

If you are lucky enough that they allow you to submit a cover letter, make sure you write one that is for the job you are applying. This is a really great way to highlight the experience on your résumé that might not jump out to the reader. Write a cover letter for each role that allows you to. Ignore the folks who say, “I never read cover letters and I have never had to write one.” Those folks might be telling the truth, but writing a cover letter is an easy thing to do and a great skill to have. It’s great practice for convincing someone (hiring manager) why should care about something you care about (your skills and experience).

For those of you who take rejection worse than others: just because you didn’t get a callback doesn’t speak anything about your abilities or worth. Many roles get more applicants than they can realistically appropriately screen. Hiring managers and recruiters have to take a lot of shortcuts to get through the pool of applications, and it is entirely possible they overlooked you. Try not to take it personally.

Always be improving your résumé

A résumé should be a living document that is updated as you get more experience and accomplishments under your belt. A good yearly exercise would be to take your year-end review where you amass all of your accomplishments for your employer (keep track of these throughout the year!) and talk about what went well, what could have been better, and what the next year may hold. Take the best one or two things from the year and add them to your résumé for your current role, even if you have to remove some other things.

Don’t be afraid to boot off your earlier experience or jobs if you need the space. No one cares that I managed computer labs and kiosk computers in my first job over ten years ago. Just list the role and one or two lines (maybe) of what the job actually entailed – no accomplishments necessary. Save that precious space for the more recent and impressive things you are doing.

Pull out all the stops when appropriate

When you do find that job that you really want, give it your all. I highly recommend you make a connection with someone in the company or someone close to the role if at all possible. They will give you some inside knowledge of the position and team or at least the company.

It will help immensely if you’ve had some practice interviewing for companies already so that when the role of a lifetime comes along, you aren’t out of practice.

Invest in yourself

For whatever reason, the fact that there is a wealth of information on the web for free seems to make a lot of folks think that some things aren’t worth paying for. Yes, you can take a course on Python for free or super duper cheap, but I don’t think that will be better than paying for a course that includes mentoring or someone you can actually ask questions.

Same goes for your résumé: if you need help with it or are not getting the callbacks you want, don’t be afraid to spend some money. Read reviews, ask around, etc. to find something that looks to be worth it. Most services will have some sort of trial or refund period. Try it out and if you don’t like it (or, if you’re being honest with yourself, you aren’t putting in the work), get your money back. No harm, no foul.

Don’t be afraid to pay for a course to learn something that you can actually use either in your current role or that you will use in your off time. What I mean is don’t learn how to use something like Ansible if you are never going to use it or tinker with it on your own. That training will fade very quickly if you aren’t going to apply it.

Keep at it

History rewards the persistent, so make sure you don’t give up. Keep your head up and fight the good fight. You’ll get there if you keep at it.