Forty applications. Forty cover letters, or at least forty clicks of the apply button. And back comes nothing. Not a no. Not a "thanks, but". Just silence.
If that is where you are, I want to start with two things, and they are both true.
The silence is not personal. And it is still telling you something.
Why silence has become the norm
I will be straight with you about what happens on my side of the desk, because understanding it takes some of the sting out.
Applications per role have gone through the roof. Easy apply buttons and AI tools have made applying almost frictionless, so people apply for more roles, including plenty they are not suited to, and the volume buries everyone.
Then there is the software. Most medium and large employers run applications through an applicant tracking system, the software that sits between you and a human. It may rank, filter or knock out applications on screening questions before anyone looks. Some of those knock-outs are fair. Some are a badly worded question that quietly removed a perfectly good candidate.
And then there is culture. Plenty of businesses have simply stopped replying to people they will not progress. Some never close the loop at all, because the role was filled internally, put on hold, or re-scoped after the ad went up.
None of that excuses it. Anyone who takes the time to apply deserves an answer, and I have always tried to run my own desk that way. But silence is now the default, and that changes how you should read it.
One unanswered application tells you nothing. Forty is a pattern. Patterns can be diagnosed.
Diagnose before you send application 41
The worst response to silence is to keep doing exactly the same thing, faster. The second worst is to change everything at once, because then you never learn what was actually wrong.
Work through these in order. Each one points to a different fix.
1. Are you getting any response at all?
Look honestly at your 40. If you have had a couple of phone screens or first interviews that went nowhere, your paperwork is doing its job. That is an interview preparation fix, not a resume fix.
If you have had nothing, not even a screening call, keep going.
2. Were these roles genuinely a strong match?
Go back through the ads. For each one, ask: could I meet most of the must-haves, at the level they asked for, in the same or a neighbouring industry?
Be harsh. If a lot of your 40 were stretch roles, career change roles you did not frame for, or titles that sounded right but sat a level above or below you, the issue is targeting.
If you are applying broadly because you are not sure what you want next, that is very common, and it shows. Hiring managers can tell when someone is applying for a job rather than this job. If that sounds familiar, get clear on direction before anything else. I wrote about that in what to do when you hate your job and feel stuck, and it applies just as much when you are between roles.
3. If the targeting was right, is it the resume?
Strong match, no response, across a decent number of applications: that points squarely at your resume.
Usually it is one of a handful of things. Your most relevant experience is buried on page two. Your bullets describe duties rather than results. Or your job titles do not match the language the market uses, so you never show up in a search.
I have a full breakdown of the usual culprits in why your resume is not getting interviews. Fix the resume before you send anything else, then watch the next batch closely so you can tell whether the change worked.
4. Is it the volume?
There are two volume problems, and they point in opposite directions.
Too few: if your 40 went out over four months, the market has barely seen you. A steady weekly rhythm matters more than an occasional burst.
Too many: if your 40 went out in a week with the same resume and no tailoring, the problem is quality, not quantity. Forty applications done carefully will beat a few hundred sprayed out. I have never once seen it go the other way.
5. Is it the market?
Sometimes it genuinely is. Some sectors go quiet, budgets freeze, and mid-December through January is slow in Australia.
You can test this one. Compare how many relevant roles are on Seek and LinkedIn now with a few months ago, and ask two or three people in your field what they are seeing. If the market is tight, the answer is not to try harder in the same channel. It is to change channel.
Protecting your energy in a long search
I am not going to tell you to stay positive. You have been ignored by forty businesses. You are allowed to feel flat about it.
What I will tell you is that the people I see come through long searches in good shape tend to do a few things differently.
They define a week's work, not an outcome. You cannot control whether anyone calls you back. You can control whether you sent five well-targeted applications, had two conversations with people in your industry and followed up on last week's. Set the week's work on Monday. When it is done, you are done, and you are allowed to stop.
They batch. Refreshing your inbox all day is exhausting and changes nothing. Pick set times for searching, set times for applying and set times for follow-ups. Outside those, close the tabs.
They keep a routine that has nothing to do with the job search. A walk, a fixed start time, lunch with a friend. A search will expand to fill every hour you give it, and it rarely improves for the extra hours.
They track it. A simple spreadsheet of where you applied, when, with which resume and what happened turns forty separate disappointments into information you can diagnose. The full setup, including which columns matter and the rules that go with them, is in my job application system.
They separate who they are from what is happening. Silence from an applicant tracking system is not a verdict on your worth or your career. It is the product of volume, software and other people's priorities. That does not make it pleasant. It does make it less personal than it feels at 11pm.
If the search is starting to affect your sleep, your mood or your relationships and it is not lifting, please talk to someone, whether that is your GP, a friend or a support line. That is not weakness. It is maintenance, and a long search needs it.
When silence means change course entirely
If you have fixed the targeting, fixed the resume, kept a steady rhythm and you are still hearing nothing, stop pouring more energy into the same channel.
Job boards are one channel. In a lot of markets they are not the best one. Plenty of roles, particularly at mid and senior level, are filled before they are advertised or are never advertised at all.
Three places to put that energy instead.
Your network. Not "I'm looking for work, let me know if you hear of anything." That is too vague for anyone to act on. Try something specific: "I'm looking for a senior CRM role in retail or ecommerce, ideally in Melbourne. Do you know anyone at these three businesses I could have a coffee with?" People can help with a specific ask. They cannot help with a general one.
Recruiters who specialise in what you do. A recruiter who genuinely works your sector can tell you in one conversation whether your expectations and positioning are right for the current market. Pick two or three specialists rather than registering with everyone.
The hidden market. Approaching businesses directly, before there is an ad, when you can see a reason they might need someone: a new store rollout, a capital raise, a new head of department building a team. I wrote a full guide on how the hidden job market works in Australia and how to get into it without it feeling awkward.
When you shift some of your effort here, something changes. Instead of waiting to be picked out of a pile, you start having conversations. Conversations are where most jobs actually come from.
Silence is the norm now. It is not fair, and it is not about you. But it is a signal worth reading. Diagnose it, fix the right thing, change channel if you need to. Then define this week's work, do it, and stop.
Frequently asked questions
Is it normal to get no response to job applications in Australia?
Unfortunately, yes. Many employers no longer reply to applicants they are not progressing, and some roles close or go on hold without anyone being told. Silence on a single application tells you very little. Silence across a lot of well-matched applications is a pattern worth diagnosing.
How long should I wait before following up on an application?
If you applied through a job board with no named contact, there is often nobody to follow up with, so do not lose sleep over it. If you have a name, a recruiter or the hiring manager, a short, polite note after a week to ten days is reasonable. One follow-up is enough. If there is still no reply, assume it is not progressing and move on.
How many applications should I send each week?
There is no magic number, and anyone who gives you one is guessing. A steady rhythm of applications you have genuinely tailored, plus time for networking and follow-ups, beats a big burst followed by weeks of nothing. If you are tailoring properly you will not be sending dozens a week, and that is fine.
Does no response mean my resume is bad?
Not necessarily. Check the targeting first. A strong resume sent to roles that are a poor match will still be ignored. If the roles were a genuine fit and you are still hearing nothing across a decent number of applications, then the resume is the most likely problem.
Should I take a break from job searching?
A short, deliberate break can help if you are burnt out, especially over a slow period like January. Just keep a few conversations warm while you rest, so you are not starting from cold when you come back.
If you want the full system, from getting clear on what you are going after to getting found by recruiters and building a network that brings roles to you, it is all in Career Kit at careerkit.com.au.