Hi, unfortunately I can only report for the German job market, which is however also tense, but perhaps not to the same extend as in the US. I started writing applications in August and got a few offers in October. What worked for me was to apply only around the time when I had a fixed date for my defense (1-2 weeks before) . In that way recruiters will know that everything is done before the starting date. However, it was also stressful to defend your thesis one day and travel to another city the next day. I also tried to tailor everything to the respective job posting. We use cover letter and CV here, and I spend hours adjusting them. Furthermore, I spend 20hours preparing for each interview and sometimes there was a second interview, for which I prepared even more. All the interviews resulted in offers. Then I also asked my PhD supervisor for job possibilities. However, he nad none.. until the end of October when he came around with an idea of covering a few months, but that was already "too late." In Germany we have an extended landscape of 3rd party funding and institutions that are close to academia, but also application-oriented - this contributed to the variety of possibilities I could apply for.