Read the advert as a checklist
Most adverts contain five to eight requirements. Copy them into a document as a list. Against each one, write the line from your own experience that answers it. If four or more have an honest answer, apply. If only one or two do, it is not a good use of your afternoon.
This list becomes your cover note. Not a letter about how excited you are, a short note that walks through their requirements in their order with your evidence against each. Three short paragraphs or five bullets. The person reading it can check you off as they go, and that is exactly what you want them doing.
Where to look
Spread your effort across three kinds of source, because each fills a different gap.
- Job boards, general and role-specific. High volume, high competition, worth doing early in the week when postings are fresh.
- Company pages directly. Slower, but far less competition, and it shows you chose them.
- People. Former colleagues, classmates, anyone already doing the work. Most roles are filled before or without a public advert, and a message that asks for a pointer rather than a job is easy for someone to answer.
The message that gets answered
When you write to a person rather than a form, keep it under six lines. Say who you are in one line, what you are looking for in one line, one piece of evidence, and one specific small ask. A specific ask is answerable: could you tell me whether your team hires from outside, or is there someone you would suggest I write to. A vague ask, such as any advice would be appreciated, usually gets no reply because it takes effort to answer.
Send it, note the date, and move on. One polite follow-up after ten working days is fine. A second one is not.
Keep the record
A simple sheet: date, company, role, where you found it, which version of the CV you sent, the link to the advert, and the outcome. Two things come out of it. You stop applying to the same place twice, and after thirty applications you can see which kind of role actually replies to you, which is the most useful information in the whole search.