Job Application Flow State

Efficiently Managing Job Applications

Applying to tech jobs in 2024 is a strange thing. Most people hiring are looking for someone they want to work with and solid foundational skills. However, most job postings include a myriad of keywords describing a hyper-specific job candidate. On top of that, we are playing a game of numbers as we are mixed into a massive hiring pool. So, you must provide a deeply fitting match for automated systems and recruiters but you also need to hit as many posts as you can find that fit your criteria. Here is what I do and how I manage to put out reasonably large numbers of applications with honest yet well-tailored applications.

Prerequisites

1. Keep a list of accomplishments throughout your career, regularly update it (easier said than done)

2. Keep resumes backed up online so you can access across devices and collaboratively review them with colleagues

3. Keep a "comprehensive" resume that translates those accomplishments to great bullet points (action verbs, consistent tense, concise, clear impact, important key words, etc.)

4. Keep 2-3 broadly tailored resumes for the types of roles for which you are qualified with significantly different responsibilities (e.g. full stack engineer, front end engineer, back end engineer)

5. Lock those profile resumes to prevent editing

6. Create a cover letter template, lock it too

7. Get a JobScan.co trial, paid account, or similar

8. Create a Google Sheet to log applications so you know when it's reasonable to reapply (and how long it took them to respond)

Application Process

1. Open all the tabs (Glassdoor, levels.fyi, jobscan.co, LinkedIn, Google Sheets, Google Drive: profile resume, cover letter template)

2. Find an open position

3. Review the company ratings on Glassdoor and search for the latest news about wild successes or failures

4. Check the salaries on levels.fyi or Glassdoor if they're unavailable, check the stock price or valuation if you expect compensation to be heavily based on equity

5. Create copies of resume and cover letter using your last name and the company name

6. Copy the description and resume to jobscan.co and reword to include keywords (e.g. AI to artificial intelligence, not SQL to C++, be honest) and aim for 70-75% match (within reason, some job reqs are too vague or have unnecessary keywords, etc.)

7. Update the cover letter template for the company, personalize it

8. Export both documents to PDF and finish the application

9. Log the application in your spreadsheet including when you applied and the company (additional details are generally captured by your resume, cover letter, and confirmation emails if you need them later)

Keep In Mind

You'll need to continuously tweak things as you go and at first, it might seem like there is an overwhelming number of things to improve (because there are) but making it a point to go through the application anyway is worth it. It might take you 5 minutes because you got fed up at the job market or 4 hours because you got fed up with yourself. Either way, it's progress.

You need to increase your sample size of applications before you see the patterns that help you build highly reusable resume profiles and to develop the muscle memory of the "flow state". Don't throw away everything unless you have seen many job descriptions and feel that your resume is truly misrepresenting you.

Do a little each day. Building the habit is crucial and difficult. Opening job posts every day and tweaking your resume can take just 5 minutes. You'll find yourself wanting to finish the process and spending more time, maybe hours. After awhile, it will take you 10 minutes for a good match or maybe 30 for a really interesting stretch role. Ultimately, you'll be able to put out 5, 10, 20 or more high-quality applications every day. This is the key to applying in numbers.