How Many Job Applications Should you Submit

You sit in front of your laptop most of the time, searching for a job, updating your resume, and preparing an engaging cover letter.

You might even find an opening and immediately apply to it. However, you must know that the 24 hours on the clock can not be designated to job hunting alone. To use your time and efforts effectively, you must know how much time you must designate for job search and how effectively you must use the time applying to the relevant number of job applications.

Here in this article, we have covered for you the most intriguing query that a job seeker has “how many job applications should I submit?”. Read the entire article to the end to get your answer. We are sure that will help you a lot.

How many job applications?

There is not a golden rule for how many applications. However, this rule can vary depending upon your current professional status. Ideally, as many experts suggest, a job seeker must send 2-3 applications per day or 10-15 applications per week. Modify your resume and your cover letter as per the requirement and send them. There are no repercussions of that. It is still better to analyze your scenario and act accordingly. Here are a few situations you can find yourself in and act given upon the number of applications to be sent.

Fresh Graduates / Unemployed:

Remember this applies to the one who is unemployed as well. In this situation, whether you are a fresh graduate or unemployed, you may have extra time that you can use from your 24-hours. You can spend 4-5 hours daily without any hassle for a job search. Keep in mind this time is a lot for you to search for effective jobs and apply to them. When you have this much search time, you can grab some amazing opportunities that can lead to a remarkable career.

Since the fresh graduates will be just out of university or college, you can still attend campus job fairs, or visit the student affairs of your institute for available job applications. Also, your institute might call you for an interview if the company comes to the institute to take the institute. At this stage, your goal must be to apply to maximum jobs as possible to kick start your career.

While the unemployed person who already had a career can spend their time working out different jobs that are relevant to the field. You know you have ample time and you can utilize it effectively. Bored at home? Change your research place; head over to a coffee shop or a library. A change in environment is refreshing and can compel you to take a new approach to the job hunt. Maybe you might need that resume revision. Apply as soon as you see an opportunity that suits you. In this way, you might end up applying to 2-3 jobs per day.

Career Change:

Many of us realize later on that the career we opted for isn’t made for us hence we consider a career change. You may still be working in the company therefore you may not get the time a fresh graduate or unemployed person has. Hence, spend seven to eight hours a week searching for jobs in a different career. Your initial time may be consumed learning about job opportunities in the new career and the pre-requisites of applying to them. Once you are determined that you are ready for the career change you can apply for applications in the new industry – after work hours. In such a case, you might only be able to apply for a few jobs per week so that’s suitable.

Job Change:

You must be the guy who is planning to shift the company for better opportunities. In your case, you have to spend your time after work and your weekends searching for a new job. You are no different from an unemployed person because both of you are looking for a job desperately. But you have less time available compared to him, so you have to be more effective in your job hunt. Apply to a limited amount of jobs that you find suitable and are giving better opportunities than the current one. Check emails thoroughly during lunch breaks, at home, or just stay vigilant to the email notification on your smartphone.

Professional Personnel:

You are already at the peak of your career, in the higher hierarchy of the company. You might rarely get time to search for a job and apply to them because you must be stuffed with tons of responsibilities to deal with. However, you still believe you need to change company for a different environment or a good salary package and benefits. In your case, applying to jobs may be old-fashioned, since only networking, meeting, and talking to recruiters will be enough to get you a job – if you are qualified.

Some Tips for Applying:

• Always research about the company

It is better to know about the company you apply so you know where you are planning your future to be.

• Never apply to the same job multiple times

That creates a ‘desperate’ impression of yours which must be avoided. Create a list of jobs you apply for to avoid the issue.

• Read the Job Description carefully

You don’t want to apply for the company where your qualification, skills, and experience isn’t required. In most cases, you won’t get to the interview. Apply to the jobs where job descriptions align with your resume.

• Customize your application

Always and I repeat Always customize the cover letter and resume as per the job description. A general application is most likely not to get accepted. Ensure that it includes keywords since many recruiters use software to filter out resumes.

• Review your LinkedIn

This matters a lot. A strong LinkedIn Profile attracts many job recruiters and that increases your chance of moving forward in job recruitment.

• Never skip a field in the application

Applicants are most likely to skip a detail it is not marked important. You have to fill in every detail so that maximum information is provided which shows enthusiasm and interest in the job.

• Review your application

Proofreading an application is necessary without a doubt. You don’t want your application to get rejected because of a silly spelling mistake.

Pros and Cons of Submitting Multiple Applications:

You understood the different situations you can be in. The general idea you must have got after reading the paragraphs must be that if you want a job you have to apply to a minimal relevant number of jobs each day. So let us now look at the Pros and Cons of applying to multiple applications per day so that you can lean towards the benefit side rather than the con side.

Advantages:

• You will more likely get the job since you will be applying to nearly every job and not missing any deadline.
• Higher the number of jobs you apply for, the probability of success increases. There never exists a probability of 0 out of 15 applications. Remember That!
• Submitting maximum applications makes you encounter many industries. Your know-how about different industries increase. The information about their products, job duties, the work environment can benefit you in improving your skills and resume.
• Practice makes a man perfect. If you don’t get a response from one application, you know you can experiment with your resume to make it perfect. There’s always room for improvement and that occurs when you modify your resume after every job applied.

Disadvantages:

We are listing this here so that you can respond effectively to the downside of submitting multiple applications as well

• You decided to submit 2-3 applications per day. That may look good at the start but as the days go by, the quality of your cover letter and your enthusiasm will get lower. Therefore, stay focused until you get the job.
• The lack of focus may lead to several consequences like submitting multiple applications in the same company. Make sure you don’t apply to several positions in the same company since that sounds desperate which is not good.
• Similarly, the same lack of focus may cause you to send duplicate applications. Make sure you crosscheck whether you have sent an email to the company before. It is better to make a list in a notebook or excel which will keep track of your job hunting.
• When you don’t see success in applying to the jobs, you might succumb to depression or stress. NO! You don’t have to get involved in that. Taking a break and getting involved in other things works best to avoid that.

Conclusion

That was enough to get you started with effective job hunting. Always remember that getting a job is based on sheer luck. You don’t have to get disappointed or disheartened about not getting a job. Never blame yourself for it. Just keep trying and Never Give Up! You’ll succeed. Till then happy job hunting!