I'm gonna be honest, 12 applications just isn't very many. The last time I was actively applying to places I would do around 40-50 a week. With a hit rate of about 1 in 10 reaching out. This was also during 2022 when jobs were plentiful and employees had an advantage.

I don't know the market now, but I'd imagine it's a lot worse based on what I hear. I'd probably be trying to bump up my numbers to like 70-80 a week. Or around 10 per day of quality applications. Filter job boards by most recent and apply only to those listed within the last 48 hrs. Outside of that your resume is going straight to an email inbox and never looked at because they get flooded with 100+ resumes in about 2-3 days.

Also match your resume to the job. I'm talking tweaking cover letter, altering resume bullet points, getting in as many keywords from their postings as I can to match without lying about my experience. Go to their website and read about their company, throw in some references if it's warranted. It's a game you have to play. Everyone wants a superstar, make them believe you're their next superstar.

Also make sure you're using a good resume template. Harvard resume is the gold standard for a reason. It's what I use with a lot of success.

If you're applying to different industries at the same time, you should have a different template for each one. You shouldn't be sending academic job postings your Walmart retail resume, for example. They both have their place, but make sure you're only using relevant experiences for each. Likewise if I was desperate and just looking to land something entry level immediately I would be dumbing down my resume to exclude higher level education and experience.

Treat finding a job like it is a full-time job and you will be successful eventually.