I was laid off in February and just accepted a new job offer last week, so I wanted to share my experience and what I learned during my job search. Initially, I made a lot of mistakes in the first six weeks that ended up being costly in terms of time and effort. For instance, I found that spending more than 30 minutes on any application that wasn't with a company I truly cared about was a waste. Writing custom cover letters for large companies that use ATS was also not worth it, as well as manually filling out forms on platforms like Workday. I realized that applying to job listings that had been posted for more than three days was generally unproductive. On the flip side, I discovered that applying quickly to new job postings, ideally within 24 hours, was much more effective. Networking messages that led to internal referrals at two companies were incredibly valuable. I also treated my interview preparation as a full-time job, dedicating significant time each day to it. By week three, I started automating the application process, which freed up hours that I could invest in preparation and meaningful conversations instead of getting bogged down in manual form filling. This shift made a huge difference in my job search experience.