[RandomSeeded]

3 weeks from (cold) apps to offers, with somewhere around 140 apps. My approach may be mildly unusual, but I think there's a bunch of very good reasons to play it like a numbers game. Off the top of my head:

- The more interviews, phone screens, etc. you have, the better you get at them. Better studying than studying.

- Having a competing offer, even if you don't plan on taking it, is going to make companies you DO want to work for process your application far more quickly...and maybe even be more likely to hire you.

- It takes longer to figure out you probably won't want to work for a company than it does to do the minimal amount of research necessary to whip up a cover letter and send it in. Worst case, they want to interview you, and you get additional interview practice. No point doing the rest of the research on a company until you're at least to a phone screen.

- You'll be surprised at companies you thought you wanted to work for that you don't, and companies you'd never heard of that you fall in love with.

Good luck

[joshavant]

This has always been a difficult challenge when job hunting for me, and I'd be curious to hear how you dealt with this in your application process.

Nearly every job offer I've encountered expects a response within a few days. In practice, I'm usually interviewing at multiple places and at different stages of the interview process at each.

When engaging with so many companies, how in the world do you synchronize all the offers + interviews?

For nearly every offer I've received, I feel that the company might take objection or even not allow me more than 3-4 days to decide on an offer.

Also, how do you manage other companies sensing that you're 'playing the field' with them (which can easily become apparent, when you're employing these tactics)? That's generally not positive for goodwill with someone you might eventually be working directly + closely with.

[RandomSeeded]

Re: response times, I don't think it's unreasonable to explain that you have additional interviews coming up. You're excited at the offer, but you want to explore your other options before making a final decision. Then get on the phone with the company/companies you really want to go to and get in for your onsite ASAP.

As has been discussed on HN ad nauseum, most exploding offers are pretty BS. A ton of time and money has been spent on you already, they want you, and the odds they rescind that if you ask for an extra week to decide are pretty slim. That said, by waiting you DO probably give up some of your ability to ask for extra $$...

One final note regarding the perception of playing the field. It was something I was concerned about when I was in the job search process. When people asked me where else I was interviewing, should I tell them? Doesn't that reveal that they're not, so to speak, my one true love? Had that exact discussion with the recruiting team at my current gig; turns out it generally makes you appear more desirable than disingenuous.

[exolymph]

I also endorse the high-volume strategy. It's good to have a mostly prewritten cover letter in which you swap out a few things. Fire that off repeatedly, and tailor it more for jobs that you're really interested in.