Most people do not have a job search. They have a habit.
Open Seek, scroll, apply for anything that looks close enough, close the laptop, feel a bit worse than before. Repeat tomorrow.
I understand why. It feels productive. But from my side of the desk, this habit is the most common reason I see good people go months without an interview.
What works instead is a system. Not a complicated one. A master resume, a tracker, a few rules about what you apply for, and a clear point where you change tactics.
Why spraying applications fails
When a role goes live, applications arrive in a rush. Nobody reads every one of them closely. The first pass is fast, and it is looking for one thing: relevance. Does this person obviously match what we asked for?
A resume that has not been touched for the role reads exactly like a resume that has not been touched for the role. The most relevant experience is buried on page two. The summary talks about a different kind of job. The language does not match the ad. It does not get a second look, and it is not because the person is not capable. It is because they made me do the work of figuring out why they fit, and I did not have time.
There is a cost on your side too. Every rejection still lands, even for jobs you barely cared about. And because every application was a different shot in the dark, you cannot tell whether the problem is your resume, your targeting or the market.
The point of a system is fewer applications, each one a real shot, and results you can actually read.
Build a master resume, then tailor from it
Your master resume is a long document that never gets sent to anyone. It holds everything: every role, achievement, project, system and number you can stand behind. Sales growth you drove, budgets you managed, team sizes.
Think of it as a quarry. You never hand anyone the quarry. You cut what you need from it.
When a role is worth applying for, copy the master and shape it:
Read the ad and pick out the three things they care about most. Usually these are obvious from what is listed first and what is repeated.
Make sure all three are answered in the top third of page one. Rewrite your summary so it speaks to this role specifically.
Reorder your bullet points under each job so the most relevant achievements come first. Cut the ones that do not help.
Use their language where it is truthful. If they say "customer experience" and you wrote "client service", change it.
Keep it to two or three pages, which is what most Australian employers expect.
Give yourself a time limit, roughly half an hour to 45 minutes. The master resume is what makes that possible, because you are editing, not writing from scratch.
If you are already doing this and still hearing nothing, the resume itself may be the issue. I go through the most common culprits in why your resume is not getting interviews.
Write a cover letter when the ad asks for one, or when it is a role you genuinely want and you have something specific to say. Here is how I would write one now.
Save every tailored version with the company name in the file name. When someone calls two weeks later, you want to know exactly what they are looking at.
A tracker that tells you something
A spreadsheet is enough. These are the columns I would use:
Company and role
Link to the ad, plus a saved copy, because ads come down once they close and you will want to reread it before an interview
Source: Seek, LinkedIn, company careers page, recruiter, referral
Fit score, from 1 to 5 (more on this below)
Date applied
Version sent, the file name of the resume you used
Contact: the recruiter or hiring manager's name, if you have it
Status: applied, screening call, interview, final, offer, rejected, no response
Next action and date, usually a follow-up
Notes: anything you learned along the way
After a few weeks, the tracker starts telling you things.
If you are getting screening calls but not second interviews, your resume is working and the problem is how you are coming across in conversation. If you are getting nothing at all, it is your resume or your targeting. If every call is coming from one source, say referrals or one particular recruiter, that is where your energy should go. If your fit-score 3s never go anywhere, stop applying for them.
You cannot see any of that when it lives in your head.
Decide what you apply for before you look
The best time to set your rules is before you open a job board, not while you are staring at an ad at 10pm feeling hopeful.
Score each role from 1 to 5 on fit. A simple way to do it: list the must-haves in the ad, the things they clearly cannot do without, and ask honestly how many you can show evidence of.
4 or 5: you can evidence most of the core requirements. Apply, and tailor properly.
3: a stretch with a real argument. Apply only with a quick, focused tailor, and only if your pipeline is thin.
1 or 2: skip it.
The "nice to have" list is a wish list. Plenty of people I have placed did not tick every box on it, so do not rule yourself out on those.
Skip a role when:
It needs something you genuinely do not have and cannot argue around, like a licence, a specific system they call non-negotiable, or people leadership you have never done
The salary is clearly below the floor you need
It is a step sideways or backwards you do not actually want, and you are only applying to feel like you are moving
You have already applied for several roles at the same company recently. Applying for everything there reads as unfocused.
Skipping is not giving up. It protects the time you need for the good ones.
Follow up, then let it go
Silence is the part of job hunting people find hardest, and it is worth understanding what it usually means.
Often it means nothing about you. Roles go on hold. Budgets get pulled. An internal candidate appears. From the recruiting side, a quiet process is very often a stalled process, not a rejection.
That said, plan as though silence is a no, and keep moving.
For roles where a contact is named, follow up once, about a week after applying or a few days after the ad closes. Keep it short:
Hi [name], I applied for the [role] last week and wanted to check it reached you. I am genuinely keen on this one, particularly because [one specific, relevant thing]. Happy to answer any questions by phone.
If the role is advertised by a recruiter, a short phone call is usually welcome, as long as you are specific about which role and why you fit.
If you hear nothing after that, one more brief touch a week or two later is fine if you have something new to add. After that, mark it "no response" in your tracker and stop thinking about it. If they come back to you, good. You were not waiting.
If silence is all you are getting across a long run of applications, that is a pattern worth diagnosing properly. I wrote a separate piece on exactly that: what to do when you have sent 40 applications and heard nothing.
Know when to stop applying wider
Here is the signal that matters most. If you have sent a solid batch of genuinely tailored applications to roles that scored 4 or 5, and you are still getting very little back, applying to more of the same will not fix it.
At that point one of two things is true. Either your resume needs real work, or a large share of the roles you want are not being advertised at all.
The second one surprises people. A lot of roles, especially mid-level and senior ones, are filled through referrals, a recruiter's existing network, or someone being approached directly before an ad ever goes up. I explain how that works, and how to get into it, in the hidden job market in Australia.
So rebalance. Cap your applications at a handful of strong ones a week, and put the rest of your time into conversations: former colleagues, people in businesses you would like to work for, recruiters who specialise in your area, and a LinkedIn profile that makes you easy to find. The more senior you are, the further the balance should tip that way.
A simple weekly rhythm: one session to review your tracker and send follow-ups, two for applications, and everything else goes into people.
Frequently asked questions
How many jobs should I apply for each week?
There is no magic number. A handful of well-matched, properly tailored applications each week will outperform dozens of untouched ones. If you are applying for more than you can tailor, you are applying for too many.
Should I apply if I do not meet all the criteria?
Yes, if you can show evidence for most of the core requirements. The nice-to-haves are rarely deal-breakers. If you are missing a genuine must-have, like a required licence or a skill they say is non-negotiable, skip it and put that time into a better match.
How long should I wait before following up on a job application?
About a week after applying, or a few days after the ad closes. One short, specific message is enough. If you hear nothing, one more touch a week or two later is fine, then let it go and keep it in your tracker.
Do I really need a different resume for every job?
You need a tailored version for every job, but not a new resume. Keep one detailed master resume and cut each version from it. That way tailoring takes under an hour instead of an afternoon.
Is it worth applying for a role that has been advertised for weeks?
Often, yes. Roles stay open for all sorts of reasons, including a slow hiring manager or a shortlist that fell through. If it scores well on fit, apply and follow up.
What should I do if I keep getting rejected without an interview?
Look at your tracker for patterns first. If you are getting no calls from well-matched roles, review your resume against the ad with fresh eyes, then shift more of your time towards networking and recruiters rather than sending more applications.And if you want this whole system done for you, the Job Search Toolkit has the full playbook, the tracker method and nine word-for-word scripts, for $37.
Career Kit is the complete version of this system, from getting clear on what you want through to negotiating the offer. You can find it at careerkit.com.au.