When I moved to Australia in 2014, I had a plan: apply for Finance Manager roles, get hired, continue my career path.
Week one: 10 applications, zero responses.
Week two: 25 applications, one phone screening that I totally failed.
Week three: 5 applications - not many role in the market.
My savings were decreasing. My confidence was disappearing.
I needed to change my strategy.
Today, let's talk about what actually works when job searching - especially when you're not getting responses.
Mistake #1: Searching for One Job Title Only
Initially, I was applying only to jobs where my title matched exactly.
"Finance Manager." "Senior FP&A Manager." "Financial Planning Manager."
That's it.
As desperation grew and my bank account shrank, I widened my search to any job where my skills were a good fit.
The job description might be completely different from the title.
The same responsibilities might be done by:
Data Analyst
Reporting Analyst
Business Analyst
Product Analyst
Marketing Analyst
Insights Analyst
Analytics Specialist
Even "Data Scientist" (in some companies)
They're all doing similar work. The title is just whatever HR decided to call it.
These roles can have identical requirements:
"Business Intelligence Analyst"
"Data Analyst"
"Reporting Specialist"
Same tools (Excel, SQL, Power BI). Same responsibilities (building dashboards, answering business questions). Same salary range.
Different titles.
What works:
Search by skills instead of titles.
Search terms I would have used today:
"Excel SQL analysis"
"Business intelligence reporting"
"Data visualization dashboard"
"Analytics insights"
By widening my title search, I tripled my application volume.
Two years ago when I was looking for a new job, I followed the same strategy —searching for different titles (Data Scientist, Data Analyst, ML Engineer). As a result, my current role is Insights and Analytics Manager.
Mistake #2: Only Applying When I Met 100% of Requirements
There's a famous statistic: women tend to apply for jobs only when they meet 100% of requirements, whilst men apply when they meet about 60%.
I was definitely in the "100% camp."
This limited me massively.
Real example:
My current role had requirements including:
Databricks
DataRobot
Oracle
Cognos
I'd used none of these before.
But I had used:
Other cloud platforms
Other ML tools
Other databases
Other BI tools
I had a good foundation. I knew I'd be fine.
So I applied anyway.
Yes, the first few months were painful. I had to ask many questions. I worked long hours and weekends to fill in the gaps. I learnt on the job.
But now? It's second nature.
And as you can see, it also wasn't a problem for my employer.
Most job descriptions are wish lists, not requirements.
"Required: 5 years Python experience" often means "we'd like someone comfortable with Python."
"Must have experience with Tableau" often means "should know how to build dashboards in something."
The real question: Can you do the job with some learning?
If yes, apply.
When to apply even if you don't meet requirements:
Apply if you have:
60-70% of the listed skills
Similar experience with different tools (SQL in MySQL vs PostgreSQL)
Transferable skills from related roles
The ability to learn what's missing
Use judgement. But lean toward applying.
Mistake #3: Using the Same CV for Every Application
I know. Tailoring your CV for each role is a headache.
But it works.
Recruiters and hiring managers scan CVs for keywords from the job description.
If the job says "SQL, Python, Power BI" and your CV says "database queries, programming, data visualisation"—you might get filtered out.
Even though you have the exact skills they want.
What worked for me:
I had one strong master CV with everything.
Then for each application, I:
Highlighted relevant skills - If they want SQL, make sure "SQL" appears (not just "database management")
Reordered bullet points - Put the most relevant experience first
Added keywords from the job description - Not lying, just matching their language
Adjusted my summary - Two sentences at the top tailored to the role
This took 10-15 minutes per application.
Not hours. Just focused adjustments.
How to tailor without spending hours:
Use AI to help:
Prompt: "Here's my CV and here's the job description. Suggest which skills to highlight and what keywords to add."
ChatGPT, Claude, or any AI tool can do this in seconds.
Then you make the final decisions and edits.
How to find the hiring manager:
Check LinkedIn (search "Company Name" + "Hiring Manager”/”Talent Acquisition Manager”)
Look at the job posting (sometimes it says who to contact)
Company website team pages
LinkedIn strategies:
Connect with Talent Managers /Recruiters on LinkedIn. They often post new openings they’re working on
Turn "Open to Work" off and on (visible to recruiters only) every couple of weeks. It triggers the algorithm to think you’re new to the market
Search for roles within LinkedIn Posts
Job searching is hard. Rejections hurt. The process is exhausting.
But here's what I know:
The strategy that got me hired in 2014 still works today. I used it again 2 years ago.
Widen your search. Apply at 60-70% match. Tailor efficiently.
And keep going.
Your "yes" is out there.
Keep pushing 💪,
Karina
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Data Analyst & Data Scientist
