Job hunting is terrible. Whether it’s your first or your company sucks or some other circumstances, looking for a job usually proves to be a miserable experience. It’s so bad that there are multiple companies trying to solve job hunting and failing.

Not only that, but for the vast majority of people, unless you went to a top 10 school, worked at one of the FAANGs or somewhere equally as reputable, you’re more than likely getting at best a 10% call back rate, getting rejected 90% of the time, without even knowing why. It’s even worse if you don’t have much experience or trying to pivot.

In response to that, I think the number one strategy is applying to a ton of jobs. High volume is by far the best strategy. The first time after my data science bootcamp, I applied to over 300 places and only interviewed on-site at 5 or 6, and in the end, only got an offer at 2. Your rejection rate will be 98%. Even after 2 years of work experience, I am still at a ~95% rejection rate. In the end, the only thing I regret is not applying in greater volume. Remember, them not accepting you is the norm, and there is no way around that.

Tied to that, you just have to apply. If you’re still writing custom cover letters for every job that you apply to, you need to cut back significantly. Out of all the positions I’ve applied to, only 1 company out of 500+ has ever mentioned my cover letter when talking to a real decision maker, and from all the interviewing processes I’ve seen, no real decision maker is given your cover letter because they’re mostly fluff. I would say at most 20% of applications should have a customized cover letter, the rest get a stock cover letter with some minor adjustments. Writing customized cover letters massively slows down your application process, grinding your applications to a halt. Not to mention the massive psychological impact of having spent 15-30 minutes writing a cover letter, for them to completely ghost you.