You found a posting that fit. You read it twice, moved your best bullet to the top, swapped “managed” for “led” because the posting says led, and rewrote your summary to name the role. An hour, maybe two. You sent it and felt good about it.
Nothing came back. Not a rejection. Nothing.
So the next one got less. Same file, new company name in the cover letter, hit apply. That version went out to 40 jobs and got the same silence as the one you spent two nights tailoring.
Here is what that cycle actually costs:
- your free time, you never get it back
- your morale, one unanswered app at a time
- your pay, low or non-existent if you’re out of work
- your options, because you can’t apply quick enough
- your hope for something better

