I'm young, pretty experienced in my field (administrative, with a lot of experience in real estate), I do not possess a college degree and I am applying for jobs. I'm just looking to replace a retail enslavement position, but I'm applying to anything within a reasonable driving distance whether it's part time or full time. My other job is pretty flexible and I telecommute, so I can swing a full time job.

It's common sense that most applications sent appear to be faxed, emailed or snail mailed directly into a black hole. I've been actively looking for about a month or two now, with about 10 - 15 resumes sent out per week. I've had one real response, which lead to an interview. Which I believe I nailed, but apparently they found someone better or found a fault in the interview.

My question is, at what point is it reasonable to assume I'm doing something wrong? My cover letter is adjusted for every position and is always checked over, my resume is clean and professional (to my eye, anyway) and I'm getting very little echo. 80 (ish) resumes sent, 1 interview, 2 months, no position. Is this normal in today's job market?

How many resumes and interviews did you need to send out to get your current job? Why do you think that is?

I've rarely gotten a job based on my resume, I've almost always gained a position based on networking. I have a strong resume, it's just not the first point of contact for most employers. Try making a few calls or going down in person and asking to speak to someone about the company. Also, you can participate in industry specific functions or events with some resumes and business cards in hand. It's much easier to forget a piece of paper then to forget a friendly face who took extra initiative.

Also, if you're only getting 10-15 resumes out a day you're probably underusing sites like Jobfox and Monster. When I decided to quit my last job I got upward of 50 resumes out the first day all with "custom" cover letters that I built off a template. Job fairs are another great way to get your resume out in bulk with the advantage that you can meet someone face to face which lets you make a bigger splash.

To answer your question- Yes. It has taken me a ton of resumes to get a very few number of call-backs.

That being said, I have only ever gotten two jobs via the resume method. The first was after I had graduated from college and I was applying for out-of-state internships. The other was for a different internship while in grad school and the preferred method of application was via resume.

My other jobs in my career field I have gotten exclusively through networking. This means taking initiative and not being afraid to introduce myself to strangers.

Is there a way for you to network with companies, firms, individuals? In my experience, it results in the most consistent returns.

I've gotten all but my last two jobs by sending in resumes and cover letters. Networking got my last two jobs, so obviously that's an effective approach too, but I wouldn't say that sending out resumes is a bad way to find a job.

I've gotten several jobs by responding to ads in the newspaper (which asked for a resume and a cover letter); I also got one job at a university by looking at its job openings board and sending in a resume and cover letter.

When I was first starting out, I used the "broadcast" approach: I sent out more than 200 resumes to organizations all over my region, with a short cover letter introducing myself and asking them to keep my resume on file. I got a job that way. I got another really great job the same way -- there was an organization that I really wanted to work for so I just sent them an unsolicited resume. It happened to arrive a few days after someone announced they were leaving, and I was reasonably well qualified for that job. I stayed there five years and it was the best job I've ever had.

Unless you are in a very specialized field, I'd figure on sending out a few hundred resumes to get one or two interviews. But if you have specific skills to offer and are well qualified you'll be called in for a lot more interviews. My girlfriend is a legal secretary with a law degree and about 15 years of experience, and almost anytime she sends out a resume she gets called in for an interview.

My first job I was a walk in applicant. Second was earned through a girlfriend (girlfriend was a secretary at the time, talked with the boss who mentioned she needed web design work), third was networked through that job (people leaving the office offered me a better deal), so yes. Most of my jobs were through networking. But I've recently moved. I don't know anyone in my new state, so it's kind of hard.

In my experience most job portals online are pretty disgusting. I've never received a good lead from Monster.com, for example. I have, however, received an enormous amount of offers for multi level marketing schemes that'd very much like me to make a "small, good will" deposit of $700 in order to "get me started on [my] way to financial freedom"