A job search is a project, not a wait
The main mistake is treating it as a lottery: send out CVs and wait. A search behaves like a funnel: how many applications sent, how many replies, how many interviews, how many finals. Once those numbers are visible, it becomes clear what to fix — the CV, the range of roles, how you present yourself, or your salary expectations.
The second thing that decides the outcome is organisation. In two weeks you will not remember where you applied, what you promised to send and who you spoke to. Hence a simple rule: one spreadsheet or list where every application lands.
What to prepare before the first application
| Material | Why |
|---|---|
| A CV aimed at a specific direction | A universal CV loses to a targeted one |
| A short pitch about yourself | It is used in every interview and every chat |
| A portfolio or work samples | Shows what words cannot prove |
| A list of companies | Searching by company finds what job boards do not list |
| Salary expectations | Better said calmly than invented on the spot |
About the CV
Describe experience as results rather than duties: not “handled customer support” but “cut response time from a day to three hours”. One page is enough in most cases. Name the file like a human: your name and the role, so it can be found in an inbox a month later.
Every cover note should answer one question: why you and why this company. Three sentences beat a page.
Channels that work differently
Applying to posted roles is the most obvious and most competitive channel. Referrals and people you know are the most effective. Approaching a company you want directly is the most underused. Use all three rather than only the first, and track the response rate of each.
Interviews
Each one deserves short preparation: what the company does, who you will be speaking to, three or four of your stories matched to their problems, and your questions for them. Questions for the employer are not a formality: they show who you are and protect you from an unpleasant surprise a month in.
Afterwards, write down what was asked and what was promised. After five companies it all blurs.
About pace and energy
Searching is draining because of rejections, and that is normal. Structure helps: set hours for applications rather than “all day on job boards”, and protected time for things unrelated to the search. A rejection is not a verdict on you as a person: it is the result of a comparison with other candidates and internal circumstances nobody will explain.
When the search is set up properly
The CV and your pitch are ready, there is a list of companies, applications are logged in one place, you use more than one channel, interviews get preparation, and you have a weekly rhythm you could sustain for months.
