Job Tracker

Oleg Desantis, Product Engineering Leader

I'm a product engineering leader who works from data, so I'm running my job search the same way: I track what I apply for, what comes back and what I learn, and I share it as it happens. You won't see company names, just the industry and the job title, and the numbers come straight from my own tracker.

Updated November 2026. Day counts are as of that update.

The numbers

Applications
57
since July 2026
Replies
37
any answer except an automatic receipt; most were standard templates
Still live
15
no final answer yet
Ghosted 👻
7
no reply a month or more after applying
Typical wait for a first reply
4 days
half came sooner, half later, from 34 replies with exact dates
Fastest no
Same day
my quickest noes, the day I applied
Longest interview process
50 days
from applying to a no, through to a final round

Where does each application stand?

15 of 57 applications are still live; 42 have ended.

What it means Most are still waiting at the first stage: 14 of the 15 live ones. Only 5 of the 57 got further, and none has reached an offer yet.

Choose a stage

Pick a stage to see the applications that have got no further.

Furthest stage reached

  • Live

    Software Engineering Manager

    Business software

    Applied November 2026

    No reply for 3 days

  • Live

    Engineering Manager

    Consumer, retail and marketplaces

    Applied November 2026

    No reply for 3 days

  • Live

    Engineering Manager

    Consumer, retail and marketplaces

    Applied November 2026

    No reply for 3 days

  • Live

    Engineering Manager

    Data, AI and developer tools

    Applied October 2026

    No reply for 8 days

  • Live

    Senior Engineering Manager

    Consumer, retail and marketplaces

    Applied October 2026

    No reply for 23 days

  • Live

    Engineering Manager

    Public sector, health and non-profit

    Applied October 2026

    No reply for 11 days

  • Live

    Manager, Software Engineering

    Financial services

    Applied October 2026

    No reply for 11 days

  • Live

    Software Engineering Manager

    Consumer, retail and marketplaces

    Applied October 2026

    No reply for 11 days

  • Live

    Head of Engineering

    Financial services

    Applied October 2026

    No reply for 11 days

  • Live

    Engineering Manager

    Consumer, retail and marketplaces

    Applied October 2026

    No reply for 6 days

  • Live

    Senior Engineering Manager

    Consumer, retail and marketplaces

    Applied October 2026

    No reply for 6 days

  • Live

    Lead Quality Assurance Automation Engineer

    Public sector, health and non-profit

    Applied October 2026

    No reply for 12 days

  • Live

    Software Engineer Manager

    Consumer, retail and marketplaces

    Applied October 2026

    No reply for 15 days

  • Live

    Lead Automation QA Engineer

    Consultancy and agencies

    Applied September 2026

    No reply for 43 days

  • Rejected

    Engineering Manager

    Financial services

    Applied November 2026

  • Rejected

    Head of Forward Deployed Engineering

    Business software

    Applied November 2026

    First reply after 3 days

    Rejected after 3 days

  • Rejected

    Head of AI Enablement & Engineering

    Financial services

    Applied November 2026

    First reply after 1 day

    Rejected after 1 day

  • Rejected

    Software Engineering Manager

    Consumer, retail and marketplaces

    Applied October 2026

    First reply after 7 days

    Rejected after 7 days

  • Rejected

    Engineering Manager

    Financial services

    Applied October 2026

    First reply after 1 day

    Rejected after 1 day

  • Rejected

    Head of Engineering

    Financial services

    Applied October 2026

    First reply after 0 days

    Rejected after 0 days

  • Rejected

    Engineering Manager II

    Financial services

    Applied October 2026

    First reply after 3 days

    Rejected after 3 days

  • Rejected

    Engineering Manager

    Consumer, retail and marketplaces

    Applied October 2026

    First reply after 7 days

    Rejected after 7 days

  • Rejected

    Director, Quality & Release Engineering

    Energy and industry

    Applied October 2026

    First reply after 4 days

    Rejected after 4 days

  • Rejected

    Engineering Manager

    Financial services

    Applied October 2026

    First reply after 3 days

    Rejected after 3 days

  • Rejected

    Head of Product & Engineering Operations

    Financial services

    Applied October 2026

    First reply after 9 days

    Rejected after 9 days

  • Rejected

    Engineering Manager

    Financial services

    Applied October 2026

    First reply after 3 days

    Rejected after 3 days

  • Rejected

    Senior Engineering Manager

    Education

    Applied October 2026

    First reply after 14 days

    Rejected after 14 days

  • Rejected

    Senior Engineering Manager

    Public sector, health and non-profit

    Applied October 2026

    First reply after 0 days

    Rejected after 0 days

  • Rejected

    Engineering Manager

    Data, AI and developer tools

    Applied October 2026

    First reply after 2 days

    Rejected after 2 days

  • Rejected

    Engineering Manager

    Financial services

    Applied October 2026

    First reply after 1 day

    Rejected after 1 day

  • Rejected

    Engineering Manager

    Public sector, health and non-profit

    Applied October 2026

    First reply after 4 days

    Rejected after 4 days

  • Rejected

    Engineering Manager

    Financial services

    Applied September 2026

    First reply after 8 days

    Rejected after 8 days

  • Rejected

    Software Engineering Manager

    Financial services

    Applied September 2026

    First reply after 5 days

    Rejected after 5 days

  • Rejected

    Senior Engineering Manager

    Consumer, retail and marketplaces

    Applied September 2026

  • Rejected

    Head of Engineering

    Consumer, retail and marketplaces

    Applied September 2026

    First reply after 14 days

    Rejected after 14 days

  • Rejected

    Head of Engineering

    Energy and industry

    Applied September 2026

    First reply after 2 days

    Rejected after 2 days

  • Rejected

    Engineering Manager

    Consumer, retail and marketplaces

    Applied August 2026

    First reply after 23 days

    Rejected after 23 days

  • Rejected

    Principal AI Quality Engineer

    Business software

    Applied July 2026

    First reply after 12 days

    Rejected after 12 days

  • Rejected

    Head of Engineering

    Business software

    Applied July 2026

    First reply after 0 days

    Rejected after 0 days

  • Closed

    Head of Engineering

    Data, AI and developer tools

    Applied July 2026

    Closed after 98 days with no reply

  • Rejected

    AI Lead

    Consultancy and agencies

    Applied July 2026

    First reply after 13 days

    Rejected after 13 days

  • Closed

    Head of Engineering

    Education

    Applied July 2026

    Closed after 98 days with no reply

  • Rejected

    Head of QA

    Energy and industry

    Applied July 2026

    First reply after 3 days

    Rejected after 3 days

  • Rejected

    Director of Engineering

    Data, AI and developer tools

    Applied July 2026

    First reply after 13 days

    Rejected after 13 days

  • Closed

    Head of Platform Engineering

    Not disclosed

    Applied July 2026

    Closed after 92 days with no reply

  • Rejected

    Senior Engineering Manager

    Financial services

    Applied July 2026

  • Closed

    Director, Product Engineering

    Business software

    Applied July 2026

    Closed after 109 days with no reply

  • Rejected

    Senior Engineering Manager

    Financial services

    Applied July 2026

    First reply after 3 days

    Rejected after 3 days

  • Rejected

    Engineering Manager

    Financial services

    Applied July 2026

    First reply after 4 days

    Rejected after 4 days

  • Rejected

    Head of Quality Engineering

    Financial services

    Applied July 2026

    First reply after 19 days

    Rejected after 19 days

  • Closed

    Head of Quality Assurance

    Consumer, retail and marketplaces

    Applied July 2026

    Closed after 104 days with no reply

  • Closed

    Head of Product Engineering

    Business software

    Applied July 2026

    Closed after 99 days with no reply

Showing all 52.

  • Live

    AI Enabler

    Public sector, health and non-profit

    Applied October 2026

    First reply after 2 days

  • Rejected

    Head of Quality Enablement

    Business software

    Applied October 2026

    First reply after 4 days

    Rejected after 19 days

  • Rejected

    Engineering Manager

    Business software

    Applied September 2026

    First reply after 26 days

    Rejected after 41 days

  • Rejected

    Platform Engineering Manager

    Data, AI and developer tools

    Applied July 2026

    First reply after 6 days

    Rejected after 18 days

  • Rejected

    Head of Quality Engineering

    Financial services

    Applied July 2026

    First reply after 2 days

    Rejected after 50 days

Where do applications stop?

Most stop at the first hurdle: only 5 of 57 got past the application stage.

What it means Getting in the door is the first hard part. Of the 5 that got in, 4 reached an interview, and none has reached an offer yet.

Choose a view
Applied → Replied: 37 of 57Applied → No reply, or still live: 20 of 57Replied → Past the application stage: 5 of 37Replied → Stopped at the application stage: 32 of 37Past the application stage → Reached interview: 4 of 5Past the application stage → Still at screening: 1 of 5Reached interview → Final round: 1 of 4Reached interview → Stopped at interview: 3 of 4Final round → Stopped at final round: 1 of 1
  • Applied 57
  • Replied 37
  • No reply, or still live 20
  • Past the application stage 5
  • Stopped at the application stage 32biggest drop
  • Reached interview 4
  • Still at screening 1
  • Final round 1
  • Stopped at interview 3
  • Offer 0
  • Stopped at final round 1

Hover or tap a band for its count. The numbers are also listed above and in the Bars view.

Where applications stop
FromToCount
AppliedReplied37
AppliedNo reply, or still live20
RepliedPast the application stage5
RepliedStopped at the application stage (biggest drop)32
Past the application stageReached interview4
Past the application stageStill at screening1
Reached interviewFinal round1
Reached interviewStopped at interview3
Final roundOffer0
Final roundStopped at final round1

15 applications are still live and can still move, so these stops can change.

Very small bands are drawn a little wider than their count so they stay visible; the labels carry the real numbers.

How long should you wait for a reply?

About two weeks: 9 in 10 first replies had arrived by then.

What it means If you've heard nothing after two weeks, you probably won't. Keep applying while you wait. In my search, none has come after day 26.

Replies received so far No reply has come this late 0%50%100% 07142128 1 week:7 in 102 weeks:9 in 10Day 26:the last one Replies received so far No reply has come this late 0%50%100% 07142128 1 week:7 in 102 weeks:9 in 10Day 26:the last one

Days since applying

From 34 first replies with exact dates; applications that never got a reply are not counted. One person's search, not a rule.

Share of first replies received by each day
Days since applyingFirst replies received so far
724 of 34
1431 of 34
2132 of 34
2634 of 34
2834 of 34

Is a reply good news?

Usually not: 32 of 37 replies were a no at the application stage.

What it means A reply isn't progress. A reply that isn't a no is.

Each dot or rocket is one rejected application with exact dates (33 of them). Bigger dots mean several in the same spot. 3 more rejections have no exact dates, so they aren't shown.

6 applications: first reply on day 3, rejection on day 3. Head of Forward Deployed Engineering (Business software, November 2026); Engineering Manager II (Financial services, October 2026); Engineering Manager (Financial services, October 2026); Engineering Manager (Financial services, October 2026); and 2 more 3 applications: first reply on day 1, rejection on day 1. Head of AI Enablement & Engineering (Financial services, November 2026); Engineering Manager (Financial services, October 2026); Engineering Manager (Financial services, October 2026) 2 applications: first reply on day 7, rejection on day 7. Software Engineering Manager (Consumer, retail and marketplaces, October 2026); Engineering Manager (Consumer, retail and marketplaces, October 2026) 3 applications: first reply on day 0, rejection on day 0. Head of Engineering (Financial services, October 2026); Senior Engineering Manager (Public sector, health and non-profit, October 2026); Head of Engineering (Business software, July 2026) 3 applications: first reply on day 4, rejection on day 4. Director, Quality & Release Engineering (Energy and industry, October 2026); Engineering Manager (Public sector, health and non-profit, October 2026); Engineering Manager (Financial services, July 2026) 1 application: first reply on day 9, rejection on day 9. Head of Product & Engineering Operations (Financial services, October 2026) 2 applications: first reply on day 14, rejection on day 14. Senior Engineering Manager (Education, October 2026); Head of Engineering (Consumer, retail and marketplaces, September 2026) 1 application: first reply on day 4, rejection on day 19. Head of Quality Enablement (Business software, October 2026) 2 applications: first reply on day 2, rejection on day 2. Engineering Manager (Data, AI and developer tools, October 2026); Head of Engineering (Energy and industry, September 2026) 1 application: first reply on day 8, rejection on day 8. Engineering Manager (Financial services, September 2026) 1 application: first reply on day 26, rejection on day 41. Engineering Manager (Business software, September 2026) 1 application: first reply on day 5, rejection on day 5. Software Engineering Manager (Financial services, September 2026) 1 application: first reply on day 23, rejection on day 23. Engineering Manager (Consumer, retail and marketplaces, August 2026) 1 application: first reply on day 12, rejection on day 12. Principal AI Quality Engineer (Business software, July 2026) 2 applications: first reply on day 13, rejection on day 13. AI Lead (Consultancy and agencies, July 2026); Director of Engineering (Data, AI and developer tools, July 2026) 1 application: first reply on day 2, rejection on day 50. Head of Quality Engineering (Financial services, July 2026) 1 application: first reply on day 19, rejection on day 19. Head of Quality Engineering (Financial services, July 2026) 1 application: first reply on day 6, rejection on day 18. Platform Engineering Manager (Data, AI and developer tools, July 2026) Days until rejection ↑ Days until first reply → 01020304050 01020304050 6 applications: first reply on day 3, rejection on day 3. Head of Forward Deployed Engineering (Business software, November 2026); Engineering Manager II (Financial services, October 2026); Engineering Manager (Financial services, October 2026); Engineering Manager (Financial services, October 2026); and 2 more 3 applications: first reply on day 1, rejection on day 1. Head of AI Enablement & Engineering (Financial services, November 2026); Engineering Manager (Financial services, October 2026); Engineering Manager (Financial services, October 2026) 2 applications: first reply on day 7, rejection on day 7. Software Engineering Manager (Consumer, retail and marketplaces, October 2026); Engineering Manager (Consumer, retail and marketplaces, October 2026) 3 applications: first reply on day 0, rejection on day 0. Head of Engineering (Financial services, October 2026); Senior Engineering Manager (Public sector, health and non-profit, October 2026); Head of Engineering (Business software, July 2026) 3 applications: first reply on day 4, rejection on day 4. Director, Quality & Release Engineering (Energy and industry, October 2026); Engineering Manager (Public sector, health and non-profit, October 2026); Engineering Manager (Financial services, July 2026) 1 application: first reply on day 9, rejection on day 9. Head of Product & Engineering Operations (Financial services, October 2026) 2 applications: first reply on day 14, rejection on day 14. Senior Engineering Manager (Education, October 2026); Head of Engineering (Consumer, retail and marketplaces, September 2026) 1 application: first reply on day 4, rejection on day 19. Head of Quality Enablement (Business software, October 2026) 2 applications: first reply on day 2, rejection on day 2. Engineering Manager (Data, AI and developer tools, October 2026); Head of Engineering (Energy and industry, September 2026) 1 application: first reply on day 8, rejection on day 8. Engineering Manager (Financial services, September 2026) 1 application: first reply on day 26, rejection on day 41. Engineering Manager (Business software, September 2026) 1 application: first reply on day 5, rejection on day 5. Software Engineering Manager (Financial services, September 2026) 1 application: first reply on day 23, rejection on day 23. Engineering Manager (Consumer, retail and marketplaces, August 2026) 1 application: first reply on day 12, rejection on day 12. Principal AI Quality Engineer (Business software, July 2026) 2 applications: first reply on day 13, rejection on day 13. AI Lead (Consultancy and agencies, July 2026); Director of Engineering (Data, AI and developer tools, July 2026) 1 application: first reply on day 2, rejection on day 50. Head of Quality Engineering (Financial services, July 2026) 1 application: first reply on day 19, rejection on day 19. Head of Quality Engineering (Financial services, July 2026) 1 application: first reply on day 6, rejection on day 18. Platform Engineering Manager (Data, AI and developer tools, July 2026) Days until rejection ↑ Days until first reply → 01020304050 01020304050
  • Kept talking (4): the rejection came later than the first reply
  • First reply was the no (29)
  • On this line, the first reply and the rejection came on the same day

Hover, focus or tap a dot or rocket for its applications.

Rejected applications: days until first reply and days until rejection
Days until first replyDays until rejectionApplications
336
113
772
003
443
991
14142
4191
222
881
26411
551
23231
12121
13132
2501
19191
6181

Weekly notes

Week 45: five rockets, six fizzles 🚀

November 2026

Happy Bonfire Night! 🔥

Remember, remember the fifth of November. This week five applications went up and six noes came down, four of them from earlier launches. A night for fizzles.

What I'm learning- A fast no says very little. Don't take it personally.- A referral isn't a free pass. One of my noes came through an employee referral.

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/daowolf_happy-bonfire-night-remember-remember-share-7524237334637117440-cxht/

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