It sounds like a bit of a flip answer, but I assure you, it's anything but. There's never one time that's better than another. Too many variables for too many individual situations make it impossible to pick just one moment.

And what's more, until you're truly ready for it, you're not going to be "into it," so to speak. You won't have the passion, the drive, the interest in finding the perfect new position - or at least, the next step in the right direction.

Now, before you're ready for it, I'll then add, get your executive resume in order. Because when you decide you're ready for that job search, if you don't have your resume up to speed, you'll be adding a delay to your desire to change - and that's universally frustrating.

Resumes are inescapable. Even if 94% of executive positions are filled through networking contacts, each and every one of them had to hand in a resume at some point in the process - to a recruiter, a headhunter, the hiring manager, or a combination of all three. So take a step back and look at your resume with these three things in mind:

* Your resume is your sales pitch. You may not like the broad concept of "selling yourself," but that's about what's happening here. Put yourself in a recruiter's position and ask yourself, "Is this guy or gal worth my time?"

* Your resume isn't just a rehash of your history. If it were, there wouldn't be an entire industry built up around resume writing. You have to be interesting and stand out from the increasingly large pack.

* Your resume must demonstrate the value you can bring to the company. No one wants to read between the lines anymore - not when there's a stack of resumes waiting for a quick scan behind yours. Hit 'em over the head with how much better you can make their company - in simple numbers, not in wild boasting.

And let's not forget the worst-case scenario - getting fired or laid off. You may not be "ready" for a job search if one of those two events comes to pass. But if you're prepared - that is, if you're resume is up to date, and if you've checked it against the three points above - then at least you'll be able to hit the ground running.