The second best time is when you survive a layoff

Layoff round one, that is. Worked at a company where I started to feel like we weren't getting clear, solid answers about how reliable our future was there. They were continuing to hire for our department yet the amount of work to be processed was by then on a constant decline.

First in, first out was the name of the game on round one. Felt bad for those who got hired as temps only to be let go after 4-5 weeks of work when they dangled possibly getting hired in after the assignment ended.

I spread the word to people on my team to start looking elsewhere before round two inevitably pulled the rug from under them. I was going back to my regular, seasonal job and the timing was just right for me financially when layoffs began. Ironically I survived round two, but since I was spending more of my shift looking busy than actually having work to do, I opted to leave early and take a week off before my other job started back up.

At that place and a later employer, I started looking whenever the company struggles to project confidence about their future and continued operations as-is. Now, "open to hearing offers" never really gets turned off on job boards for my profiles. Just always have some lines out there dangling just in case.