3 Things I Wish I Knew Before Applying to 100+ Graduate Roles

November 2022. 9 interview rounds. Library. Phone call. "We regret to inform you..."

I'd heard it over 60 times before, but this one hit differently. I was exhausted, my final exams were approaching and I genuinely questioned whether I was doing something fundamentally wrong.

That night, instead of crying myself to sleep I did something scary - I opened Excel.

What I Tracked (and why it mattered)

I created a simple tracker with these columns:

• Company name

• Role

• Application date

• Stage reached

• Outcome

• Feedback received if any

What I learned

Within two weeks of tracking, I spotted three patterns I'd completely missed:

Pattern 1: The apply everywhere myth

Columns A-Z of my spreadsheet showed that my success rate actually decreased as my application volume increased.

When I applied to 10+ roles per week: 2% interview rate When I slowed to 3-5 carefully targeted roles: 18% interview rate

The data was clear, when I rushed applications I ended up:

• Recycling generic answers

• Missing company specific details

• Arriving at interviews way less prepared and more stressed

• Losing genuine enthusiasm

Pattern 2: The Feedback Gap

Out of 65 rejections, I received meaningful feedback from exactly 4 companies. So I started creating my own. After each interview or assessment, I would write:

• Questions I struggled with

• Moments I felt confident

• What I'd do differently

This self generated feedback became more valuable than waiting for responses that never came. By my 80th application, my interview performance had definitely improved.

Pattern 3: Resilience

What surprised me most was that my best interviews came after my most difficult rejections…

Why? Because I had just received detailed feedback (either external or self created), my prep was the most fresh and ironically, I cared slightly less about the outcome which made it more authentic.

The rejection mentioned above? Three weeks later, I used that exact structure/feedback in my Accenture interview.

What This Means for You

If you're in the thick of grad applications right now:

1. Track everything. You can't improve what you don't measure. Even a simple spreadsheet gives you a sense of control over the process

2. Quality beats volume. 5 applications where you've researched the company, tailored your examples and connected with an employee on LinkedIn will outperform 20 generic submissions

3. Create your own feedback loop. Don't wait for companies to tell you what went wrong. After every interview, spend 10 minutes writing what you learned.

4. Rejection is data. Each "no" taught me something that brought me closer to "yes." I wouldn’t have received the 2 offers I did if I hadn’t learned from each of my earlier rejections.

The graduate job market is brutal right now, so my takeaway is to try and control the elements that you can: 1% improvement after each application. Check this out or read more of Zack's blogs on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/the-unfiltered-grad-experience-7429052495668297728/

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this blog post are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy, position, or sentiments of the company or its affiliates. Any content provided is for informational purposes only and should not be interpreted as representing the views of the employer.