A job search is a project, and projects need a system. Without one you refresh your inbox all day and call it work.
Referrals fill a big share of roles, so tell ten people you are looking. Not "let me know if you hear of something" - say what you do and what you want next, in one sentence they can repeat for you. Former coworkers, classmates, that manager from two jobs ago. Warm intros skip the pile.
Applications submitted in the first few days of a posting get read most. Set alerts for your titles and check them once a day, not once a week.
A simple sheet: company, role, date applied, contact, status, next step. It stops you from applying twice to the same place, and it tells you when to follow up. One polite nudge a week after applying is fine. Three is not.
A week of no replies is data, not doom. If thirty applications produce zero calls, the resume or the target titles are wrong - fix those before sending thirty more. Blaming "the market" changes nothing.
Give the search one focused block a day - two or three tailored applications, a few outreach messages - then stop. A search that runs sixteen hours a day burns you out before the offer arrives. Pace wins.
General guidance, not career counseling.
Figured Out