1: The US is different. Way more applicants and traffic than the remainder of the world. This also affects selection mechanisms (low accuracy, high filtering, little feedback) and application strategies (various levels of effort, shotgun approach).

2: The first job is by far the hardest. Everything else is peanuts comparatively (unless you're an outlier).

Clue is this piece:

>I can’t recall the reference but I read in a book that it’s 10x easier to find a job while you’re already employed. My experience complies. Don’t waste that multiplier.

When company A thinks someone is worthy of picking, companies B-F suddenly believe that individual is worthy of picking too. One door opens, suddenly they all open.

Combine both and it starts to make sense why application numbers are so ridiculously high.