+10 on the networking. Use LinkedIn, leverage any/all connections. Reach out to people, let them know you are looking.
+1 on the ATS. They are a waste of your time, generally. If you see an interesting position, try to find an "in" to the company via your network, 1st or 2nd order. See if you can reach the hiring manager directly. HR/ATS get in the way of that. They are supposed to be a service, but as often as not, they are a bottleneck of dubious value. Think of this as engineering your way around the bottlenecks.
+1 on writing a personalized cover letter for each application (e.g. resume submission). I spent quite a bit of time reading/listening to what people thought were good cover letters. What it comes down to is, be real, be yourself. Explain what excites you and how this position does this.
After I did all of this, I found myself a) applying to fewer positions (this was early this year), and b) getting a far higher response rate (60+%). This culminated in multiple interesting offers.
YMMV, but good cover letters help you stand out. Show you are a human being that they want on their team.
+1 on the ATS. They are a waste of your time, generally. If you see an interesting position, try to find an "in" to the company via your network, 1st or 2nd order. See if you can reach the hiring manager directly. HR/ATS get in the way of that. They are supposed to be a service, but as often as not, they are a bottleneck of dubious value. Think of this as engineering your way around the bottlenecks.
+1 on writing a personalized cover letter for each application (e.g. resume submission). I spent quite a bit of time reading/listening to what people thought were good cover letters. What it comes down to is, be real, be yourself. Explain what excites you and how this position does this.
After I did all of this, I found myself a) applying to fewer positions (this was early this year), and b) getting a far higher response rate (60+%). This culminated in multiple interesting offers.
YMMV, but good cover letters help you stand out. Show you are a human being that they want on their team.