Entertaining job offers while being in a good job [closed]

Question

I used to have a startup which we had to shutdown 5 months ago. I joined a good company after that as their software lead. Everything related to this job including the work, the team, seniors, the CEO, pay and environment is good.

Now due to my experience in a startup, I am receiving a lot of good job offers ( at least one per week). By offers I mean offer to interview for some pretty good positions.

I am a very ethical person, thus have always said no to them, since I just joined here and I like being here. Yesterday, I told this to one of my friend and showed him the job positions I rejected. He told me that it's a stupid decision to say no. Even if I don't join there I'll get interview experience and will also know my worth.

I don't completely trust this, but I want to know is it a common practice, especially in software industry?

Answer 1

As I have been in similar situation, I can tell you what I've done then.

If the offer seemed reasonable (work environment, industry branch, commute time) I had attended the interview, provided that it hadn't collided with my then current work and other tasks. I gained quite some interview experience, I also got an idea on what the employers (in most cases they were intermediaries) expect from software developers.

After some time I knew that my situation was not that bad as I thought and possible gains of switching to the new employer would not pay off the effort of leaving the current (suddenly leaving the on-going projects, changing the retirement plan and insurances, etc. and starting off at the new project). Still, I managed to slightly grow my network, which paid off later.

There is a saying in the country where I live - the neighbour's lawn is always greener. The offers you receive now may seem great on paper, but once you go through an interview, you get completely different point of view. But if you don't, you keep on living with the idea of much better position (though unverified) elsewhere.

TL;DR; If you have time and feel like, attend the interviews (provided you don't sacrifice your current responsibilities). If you are happy with what you have now and you're not looking for a change, respond with "Thank you for your offer. I'm not interested in new challenges at the moment. Should my situation change, I'd gladly reach out to you."

Answer 2

When considering a change of employer, you need to think about what it would take for you to leave your current position (including consideration of risk, pay, benefits, commute, culture) and tell the recruiter... if your demands are unreasonable, then you know you have it good where you are, if they are willing to accept your demands, then you know you could have it better elsewhere.

Never forget, your employment is a business contract... your employer will certainly treat it as such.

As an example, I'm currently working at a company where I'm really enjoying the work and culture. Most business in this field are in the CBD, so commute time is largely irrelevant for me. The only thing a prospective employer could offer me is additional pay and/or benefits (assuming a comparable culture). When I also consider the risk that a new employer would bring (culture not what it first seemed, company not as stable, etc) I am able to state outright what it would take, in AU$, for me to consider leaving my current position. The culture of the new company would then be assessed in the interview.