I put in exactly as much time as a recruiter takes to check out my application. That means, very little time.

>200 applications? Don't apply. Nonsensical questions asked for a job or company that isn't high-profile? Stop editing my application. Job description that looks like it was written by a 11-year-old? Don't bother reading further. I don't even bother applying to larger companies unless their recruiter specifically calls and says they need me to interview. Not to mention pretty much every form asking me for my salary expectations - no, I will not input them. You tell me yours first (or, I give a very high number, and they don't bother me further).

I cannot spend too much of my precious time and sanity in a system that's so badly broken. So I don't. I apply and forget. A recruiter call will probably have a higher chance of me being interested, but I maintain emotional distance in that as well, since they tend to ghost.

An honest recruiter, a well thought out and clear job description, and professionalism will get my full attention and effort.

I’ve been job hunting recently and noticed something that cost me a lot of time.

I was applying broadly on LinkedIn, then wondering why:

rejections came within hours

the same jobs kept resurfacing

“urgent” roles already had hundreds of applicants

some listings never seemed to go away

A recruiter friend pointed out that many listings are:

reposted repeatedly

promoted for visibility rather than active hiring

already saturated with applicants

So I started being stricter about what I applied to and filtered out:

promoted jobs

roles I’d already applied to

jobs I’d already viewed

postings that looked heavily overcrowded

It didn’t improve outcomes overnight, but it significantly reduced time spent and burnout.

Curious if others here have observed the same pattern or have found better heuristics for filtering job listings.