Have you ever heard this advice? “For every $10,000 in annual salary your search will take a month, so if you want an annual salary of $70,000, your search will probably take seven months.” Or perhaps you’ve heard that the average job search takes four, six, or eight months.

Don’t believe a word of it.

Some career coaches say the single biggest factor affecting your job search is how much effort you put into it. And while greater effort is helpful, where you focus your effort is even more important. If you are in the wrong industry, wrong city, or have skills that are no longer in demand, simply working harder to send out resumes probably will not shorten your job search.

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