The vast majority of people you’ll meet will tell you “no and stay put”. I’d say weigh up your options.

On the other hand if you’re the last in and the company isn’t doing great, you should begin to look elsewhere. There’s an odd logic to a change of job now that most people overlook; if a company is hiring in the current market it is either one of the few companies who have kept their debt levels and overheads low and are sustaining growth, or it is so grotesquely mismanaged that it is expanding its cost-base as it slides towards insolvency.

Thankfully there are precious few of the latter. Ask around about the company, get a sense of the management and its performance in the last while, and once you’re sure the company is not in the ‘grotesquely mismanaged’ category, go for it. A lot of people are clinging to their current jobs without any insight as to whether or not their managers are going to take those jobs away in the next few months.

I had a client last week for interview preparation last week who’s moving precisely because she got insight into how her current company is managed. She’s with them eight months and has begun to notice the downturn affecting business. She has little faith in her managers and so she’s started to look at her options. Her aim is to stay ahead of the wave, analyse the industry she works in, use her network of contacts and ultimately to change jobs.

Remember, your decision to go is as much about the risk of staying as of leaving. Weigh it carefully before you decide your firm is more secure than your prospective employer’s. A firm hiring in this market is either a great indication of growth and stability or proof of madness.

Eoghan McDermott is Director of Careers, The Communication Clinic . www.communicationsclinic.ie