The 'spray and pray' approach — sending hundreds of identical resumes — is the most common and least effective job search strategy. Data from Indian recruitment platforms consistently shows that quality trumps quantity in job applications.
The optimal pace for Indian job seekers is 3-5 tailored applications per day during an active search. Each application should take 15-20 minutes: 5 minutes to analyze the JD and identify key requirements, 10 minutes to customize your resume and write a brief application note, and 5 minutes to research the company and find a referral contact on LinkedIn. At this pace, you're sending 15-25 applications per week, or 60-100 per month.
Why not more? Beyond 5-6 applications per day, the quality of customization drops sharply. You start sending the same resume to every job, your cover notes become generic, and you forget which roles you've applied to. More critically, each poorly matched application can work against you — some companies track applicant history, and sending multiple poorly fitted applications to the same company reduces your credibility.
The exception: campus placements and mass hiring drives. During TCS NQT, Infosys campus drives, or recruitment fairs, applying in volume makes sense because: 1) all applicants use the same format, 2) initial screening is standardized, and 3) customization has limited impact. For these, apply to as many relevant roles as eligible.