Find the jobs that fit, and read the company before you apply

Match first, then research

1. Let the jobs come to you. The job finder reads new postings from over 400 employers every day, scores them against your resume skills, emails you the new ones if you want, and links straight to the company's application page. A high score means your resume already says most of what the post asks for.
2. Open the company page before the application. The company research tool walks you through the company's careers page, its business, one recent change, the job post and the people, with links to its own pages, and shows our interview questions for 25 companies. Ten minutes here saves a week in a process you would have left anyway.
3. Keep a short list, not a long one. Ten jobs you can explain why you want beat forty you cannot. Everything on the list goes on the tracker in the next step.

If the matches are weak, the problem is usually the resume, not the market. Go back to the ATS resume checker with one of the posts you wanted and fix the missing skills first.

How do you run a job search that does not take over your week?

Job search tools only help if you know what you are looking for. This is the routine that turns a vague "I need a new job" into a short list you can act on.

Write the target in one line

Job title, level, where you can work (a city, remote, or both) and the pay you need to move. One line. Every search, alert and filter comes from it. If you have two targets, write two lines and run them as two searches; mixing them gives you a feed of jobs that fit neither.

Search where the jobs are posted first

Big job boards collect posts from everywhere, so they have the most listings, and the most repeats and expired ones. Many companies post on their own careers page, sometimes before the boards pick the job up. Make a list of companies you would like to work for and check their careers pages each week. The job finder links straight to each company's own application page, so you apply at the source and not through a copy of the post.

Read the match, not only the title

Two posts with the same title can ask for very different work. A match score is useful because it shows which of the post's skills your resume covers and which it does not. A job with a high score and one missing skill you really have is a quick win: add that skill to your resume and apply. A job with many missing skills is a stretch; keep a few on the list, not most.

Research before you spend an evening applying

Five minutes on the company answers the questions that end most processes late: does the pay band reach your number, is the remote policy what you need, what do people say the hours are, and how many rounds is the interview. The company research tool gives you the steps and the links for any company, and turns your notes into answers for the interview. For any other company, read its careers page, its recent news and the job post itself for the same four answers.

Set a weekly rhythm

Searching every hour feels busy and finds little. Check alerts once a day, research and shortlist on two fixed days, and apply in one block. A routine also makes it easier to see what is working: if a week of good matches brings no replies, the resume or the message needs work, not the search.

Job search mistakes, and what to do instead

• Searching by job title only. Titles differ between companies. Search by the skills you use too, and save both searches as alerts.
• Saving every post that looks close. A long list makes everything feel urgent. Keep the jobs you can explain in one sentence, and drop the rest.
• Applying before reading the company. Finding the pay band is too low after three rounds costs weeks. Check it first.
• Ignoring old posts that are still open. A post that is a few weeks old may still be hiring. Check the careers page; if it is still there, apply and find a person to message.
• Blaming the market for weak matches. Weak matches usually mean the resume does not say what you can do. Fix the resume against one post you wanted, then search again.

What "done" looks like for this step

You have a target line, alerts set for it, and a short list of jobs where you know the pay band, the work setup and why you want each one. Each job on the list has a link to the company's own application page. That list is what you take into the application step.