By Michael J. Smith

Someone once told me that when you're conducting an active job search you should be sending out three to five resumes per day. While that number may seem a little high, you should certainly be applying for at least one job per day.

Depending on the length of your job search, that could be a lot of resumes. If memory serves me correctly, I believe I sent out more than 30 resumes as my college graduation approached.

Considering the importance of finding a job, I strongly recommend keeping track of all of the cover letters and resumes you send, as well as all correspondence you send and receive. Being organized can keep you from making a huge blunder during the interview process.

Create a folder on your computer that will hold all of your job search documents. I call mine Job Hunting. Granted, mine will probably be a little different than yours, the concepts should be the same.

For me, inside this Job Hunting folder, I have several subfolders, to even further keep track of things. My subfolders include: Cover Letters, Resumes, Reference List, Salary History, and Thank You Letters.

For my cover letters, I save them by the job company name. When you get a call back, knowing what you've sent to a potential employer can keep you from saying the wrong thing during the interview. The more experienced you become at job searching, the more you will tailor your cover letters to the job for which you are applying. So, keeping track of them will be even more important.

The same thing goes for resumes. As you gain more experience, you'll be tailoring them to the job. Keeping track of them will ensure that you bring the same resume to the interview that you originally submitted. And yes, sometimes the employer asks for a copy.

Saving a list of references, and updating it periodically is a good idea. Almost no employer will hire someone without conducting a reference check, so always have one ready to go, and easy to locate.

As a new graduate, you're probably not going to need your salary history. You probably don't have enough professional experience to warrant a salary history. And, for entry-level jobs, salary histories are usually not required.

Saving your thank you letters is an excellent idea. You should have two to three different letters. Each one should be written based on the level of person you speak with during the interview. You should count on speaking to your boss, your boss' boss, and probably one potential co-worker. And, each one of them should get a different thank you note. (Yes, they will compare.) I should also note that you should send a note to every person you talk to. Sometimes, that can separate you from another candidate.

Honestly, the amount of time you spend keeping track of your job search probably will not be evident to potential employers. They won't be able to spot an organized candidate. But, you can be sure that a disorganized candidate will be easy to spot.