diff --git a/pkg/jobqueue/dbjobqueue/dbjobqueue.go b/pkg/jobqueue/dbjobqueue/dbjobqueue.go
index d40368eb4..004658354 100644
--- a/pkg/jobqueue/dbjobqueue/dbjobqueue.go
+++ b/pkg/jobqueue/dbjobqueue/dbjobqueue.go
@@ -313,15 +313,12 @@ func (q *DBJobQueue) Dequeue(ctx context.Context, jobTypes []string, channels []
 	el := q.dequeuers.pushBack(c)
 	defer q.dequeuers.remove(el)
 
-	var id uuid.UUID
-	var jobType string
-	var args json.RawMessage
 	token := uuid.New()
 	for {
 		var err error
-		id, jobType, args, err = q.dequeueMaybe(ctx, token, jobTypes, channels)
+		id, dependencies, jobType, args, err := q.dequeueMaybe(ctx, token, jobTypes, channels)
 		if err == nil {
-			break
+			return id, token, dependencies, jobType, args, nil
 		}
 		if err != nil && !errors.Is(err, pgx.ErrNoRows) {
 			if errors.Is(err, context.DeadlineExceeded) || errors.Is(err, context.Canceled) {
@@ -337,41 +334,47 @@ func (q *DBJobQueue) Dequeue(ctx context.Context, jobTypes []string, channels []
 			return uuid.Nil, uuid.Nil, nil, "", nil, jobqueue.ErrDequeueTimeout
 		}
 	}
+}
 
+// dequeueMaybe tries to dequeue a job.
+//
+// Dequeuing a job means to run the sqlDequeue query, insert an initial
+// heartbeat and retrieve all extra metadata from the database.
+//
+// This method returns pgx.ErrNoRows if the method didn't manage to dequeue
+// anything
+func (q *DBJobQueue) dequeueMaybe(ctx context.Context, token uuid.UUID, jobTypes []string, channels []string) (uuid.UUID, []uuid.UUID, string, json.RawMessage, error) {
+	var conn *pgxpool.Conn
 	conn, err := q.pool.Acquire(ctx)
 	if err != nil {
-		return uuid.Nil, uuid.Nil, nil, "", nil, fmt.Errorf("error connecting to database: %v", err)
+		return uuid.Nil, nil, "", nil, fmt.Errorf("error acquiring a new connection when dequeueing: %w", err)
 	}
 	defer conn.Release()
 
+	var id uuid.UUID
+	var jobType string
+	var args json.RawMessage
+	err = conn.QueryRow(ctx, sqlDequeue, token, jobTypes, channels).Scan(&id, &jobType, &args)
+
+	// skip the rest of the dequeueing operation if there are no rows
+	if err != nil && errors.Is(err, pgx.ErrNoRows) {
+		return uuid.Nil, nil, "", nil, err
+	}
+
 	// insert heartbeat
 	_, err = conn.Exec(ctx, sqlInsertHeartbeat, token, id)
 	if err != nil {
-		return uuid.Nil, uuid.Nil, nil, "", nil, fmt.Errorf("error inserting the job's heartbeat: %v", err)
+		return uuid.Nil, nil, "", nil, fmt.Errorf("error inserting the job's heartbeat: %v", err)
 	}
 
 	dependencies, err := q.jobDependencies(ctx, conn, id)
 	if err != nil {
-		return uuid.Nil, uuid.Nil, nil, "", nil, fmt.Errorf("error querying the job's dependencies: %v", err)
+		return uuid.Nil, nil, "", nil, fmt.Errorf("error querying the job's dependencies: %v", err)
 	}
 
 	q.logger.Info("Dequeued job", "job_type", jobType, "job_id", id.String(), "job_dependencies", fmt.Sprintf("%+v", dependencies))
 
-	return id, token, dependencies, jobType, args, nil
-}
-
-// dequeueMaybe is just a smaller helper for acquiring a connection and
-// running the sqlDequeue query
-func (q *DBJobQueue) dequeueMaybe(ctx context.Context, token uuid.UUID, jobTypes []string, channels []string) (id uuid.UUID, jobType string, args json.RawMessage, err error) {
-	var conn *pgxpool.Conn
-	conn, err = q.pool.Acquire(ctx)
-	if err != nil {
-		return
-	}
-	defer conn.Release()
-
-	err = conn.QueryRow(ctx, sqlDequeue, token, jobTypes, channels).Scan(&id, &jobType, &args)
-	return
+	return id, dependencies, jobType, args, nil
 }
 
 func (q *DBJobQueue) DequeueByID(ctx context.Context, id uuid.UUID) (uuid.UUID, []uuid.UUID, string, json.RawMessage, error) {