Estimate time needed for a job search.
A job search takes as long as it takes to send the required applications plus one full hiring cycle for the last of them to conclude. That second term is what surprises people: even if all seventy applications go out in ten weeks, the final decisions arrive five weeks later. Adding the two gives a realistic horizon, and the weekly hours figure shows whether the plan fits alongside a current job.
Search duration with hiring lag
Applications required = target offers x applications per offer; sending weeks = required / weekly capacity; total weeks = sending weeks + hiring cycle weeks
Twenty to fifty for a well-targeted search at mid-level, and considerably more for competitive or senior roles where the market is thin. Referral-led applications convert several times better and reduce the count sharply.
Because the last application you send still has to run through the whole process. Omitting it is why searches consistently take four to six weeks longer than people plan for.
Only up to your real capacity. Beyond about ten tailored applications a week, quality falls and the applications-per-offer ratio worsens, so total time barely improves while effort rises steeply.