How to use Jobomate from setup to your first approved message

1. Choose the right mode

Start by choosing Job seeker or Recruiter. Job seeker mode is for finding roles, drafting application emails, drafting cover letters, and tracking applications. Recruiter mode is for finding candidates, drafting outreach, tracking companies, and managing recruiting follow-up.

You can switch modes later. The important thing is to begin with the outcome you want today: applications sent for yourself, or outreach prepared for a role you are hiring for.

2. Attach the document that keeps the AI honest

Jobomate works best when it has a source of truth. In Job seeker mode, click Attach CV and choose your current CV. In Recruiter mode, click Load role brief and choose the role description, hiring notes, or candidate requirements.

This step matters because it stops drafts from becoming generic. The assistant writes from your real experience or the real role, so the output has useful detail before you edit it.

3. Connect the AI model

Open Settings → LLM Connection. Choose the connection that fits your privacy and capability needs:

• API Key: paste a key for a hosted provider and choose the model.
• OAuth: sign in through a work provider when your organization manages model access that way.
• Local Server: connect Ollama, LM Studio, llama.cpp, or another local OpenAI-compatible endpoint.
• Local AI: use a model file on your Mac for an on-device workflow.
• CLI Pipe or Terminal: route prompts through your own command-line setup.

Press Test before doing real work. If the test fails, fix the endpoint, model name, token, or local server first.

4. Set your privacy level

Use a hosted model when you want the strongest drafting and reasoning. Use a local model when the search is sensitive, such as a confidential job hunt, internal candidate notes, or client work. A local model keeps CVs, role briefs, searches, and drafts on your own Mac instead of sending them to a cloud model.

A practical setup is to keep a local model for routine collection and first drafts, then switch to a stronger hosted model only when you choose to do so.

5. Search in the built-in browser

Open the source you want to work from: a job board, a company career page, a search result, LinkedIn, a candidate directory, or a pasted URL. The browser is real, so you can sign in yourself and keep the assistant beside the page.

Start with a small search prompt: "Find five roles on this page that match my CV and explain why", or "Find five candidate profiles that match the role brief and list the strongest evidence." Ask for a table so you can scan the results.

6. Collect matches before drafting

Do not draft messages too early. First collect a clean list of roles, candidates, or companies. Remove anything that is clearly a poor fit. Use Score to rank the strongest matches. This keeps your writing time focused on opportunities worth pursuing.

7. Draft applications in Job seeker mode

Once you have a shortlist, use Draft. Jobomate writes an application email and cover letter from your CV and the specific role. Your job is not to accept it blindly. Read it, remove filler, add one human detail, and make sure every claim is true.

A good review question is: "Would I be happy to discuss every sentence in an interview?" If not, edit it before approving.

8. Draft outreach in Recruiter mode

In Recruiter mode, use Draft outreach after you have a candidate shortlist. The assistant should connect the role brief to evidence from the candidate profile, not just produce a bland recruiting email. Look for one specific reason the person may fit and one clear next step.

Good outreach is respectful and short. If the draft sounds like bulk mail, ask Jobomate to rewrite it with the candidate's strongest visible fit and no hype.

9. Use the approval wall properly

The approval wall is the most important safety feature. Nothing should leave your inbox until you read it. Edit every draft that needs editing, then approve it. If you edit an approved draft, it returns to review so you do not accidentally send an unreviewed change.

Keep auto-send off while learning. Turn it on only after you have a repeatable workflow you trust.

10. Prepare and send from your own inbox

Approved messages move to Prepare emails. Connect your own email account only when you are ready to send. Use spacing, daily limits, and quiet hours so your outreach looks measured rather than automated.

Send a tiny batch first. For job seekers, that might be three applications. For recruiters, that might be five candidate messages. Check the sent emails and tracker before scaling up.

11. Track what worked

Use the tracker as your memory. Record which searches produced good matches, which drafts you approved, who replied, and which prompts led to weak results. Improving Jobomate is mostly improving your source document, search terms, and prompt habits.

12. Workflow playbooks you can copy

Jobomate is most useful when you run small, reviewable batches. Use these playbooks as recipes rather than trying to automate the whole job search or recruiting funnel in one pass.

Daily job seeker batch

1. Open one source: a company careers page, a saved job board search, or a LinkedIn results page.
2. Ask Jobomate to collect five roles that match your CV and explain the evidence for each one.
3. Remove weak fits before drafting. Do not write applications for jobs you would not genuinely discuss in an interview.
4. Draft one or two applications, review every claim, add one human detail, then approve only the messages that feel accurate.
5. Prepare sending from your own inbox, send a tiny batch, and update the tracker with the search terms that worked.

Company target list

1. Pick ten companies you would actually want to work for and open their careers pages.
2. Ask Jobomate to capture relevant open roles, location rules, salary if shown, required skills, and why each role fits your CV.
3. Mark roles as apply now, monitor, or skip. Keep skip reasons so the assistant learns your boundaries.
4. Draft applications only for the apply-now roles and make sure the first paragraph names the company or product correctly.

Recruiter sourcing batch

1. Load the role brief and write down the must-have constraints before searching.
2. Open one sourcing page or search result, then ask Jobomate for ten possible candidates with visible evidence.
3. Shortlist only candidates with a concrete match, such as a recent role, project, location, domain, or technology fit.
4. Draft outreach for three candidates, make each first line specific, and keep the ask short.
5. Approve only the messages that you would be comfortable receiving yourself.

Private local AI session

Use Local Server or Local AI when the source document is sensitive. Start with collection, scoring, and outline drafts locally. If you later switch to a hosted model for stronger wording, remove personal details you do not need to share.

Follow-up and reply review

Once a week, open the tracker and ask Jobomate to group items into reply needed, waiting, rejected, and stale. Draft polite follow-ups only for items where a follow-up is reasonable, then approve them one by one from your own inbox.

13. Quality checks before approval

Approval is not a rubber stamp. Before you approve a message, check the source, the claim, the tone, and the next step. The source is the CV, role brief, job page, candidate profile, or company page the assistant used. The claim is anything the message says about skills, experience, salary, location, availability, or interest. The tone should sound like a person who read the page, not a template.

• Truth check: remove any skill, project, title, qualification, or result that is not in your source material.
• Specificity check: keep at least one concrete reason the role or candidate fits.
• Length check: shorten anything that hides the point. Most first messages should be easy to scan.
• Risk check: do not include salary, relocation, visa, medical, or personal details unless you mean to share them.
• Action check: confirm the message has a clear next step and the recipient is correct.

14. What to prepare before a serious batch

A better source document produces better messages. Job seekers should keep a current CV, a short skills summary, a list of target titles, location rules, salary boundaries, and deal-breakers. Recruiters should keep a role brief, must-have and nice-to-have requirements, compensation range if shareable, interview process, and the reason the role is attractive.

Put boundaries directly in your prompt. For example: "Only collect remote roles in Europe", "skip jobs that require five years of Kubernetes", or "do not contact candidates outside Germany." Clear constraints save review time later.

15. Troubleshooting by workflow stage

When something goes wrong, locate the stage first. Search problems usually need better keywords or a narrower source. Matching problems usually mean the CV, role brief, or must-have constraints are too vague. Drafting problems usually mean Jobomate needs more evidence from the page. Sending problems should stop the workflow until you confirm the account, recipient, rate limits, and approval status.

• Search returns weak roles: add title variants, location rules, seniority, required technologies, and words to exclude.
• Candidate matches are too broad: split must-have requirements from nice-to-have requirements and ask for evidence.
• Drafts sound generic: ask for one sentence tied to the job page or profile and remove broad claims.
• Local AI is slow: reduce the batch size, lower context length, or use the model for collection before drafting with a stronger route.
• You are unsure about sending: stop, keep auto-send off, and approve only one message after reading the exact final text.

16. Copy these starter prompts

• Job seeker: "Find five roles on this page that match my CV. Make a table with title, company, location, must-have skills, and why I fit. Do not apply yet."
• Job seeker: "Draft one application email and cover letter for the strongest role. Use only my CV and the role page. Stop for review."
• Recruiter: "Find five candidate profiles that match this role brief. Explain the strongest evidence for each one. Do not contact anyone yet."
• Recruiter: "Draft a short outreach email for this candidate. Mention one specific fit, one reason the role may interest them, and one clear next step."
• Tracker: "Review my tracker and group items into reply needed, waiting, rejected, stale, and done. Draft follow-ups only for items where a polite follow-up makes sense. Do not send."
• Quality review: "Check this draft against my CV and the role page. List any unsupported claims, vague phrases, missing specifics, or risky personal details before I approve it."

17. Troubleshooting checklist

• Drafts sound generic: update the CV or role brief and ask for specific evidence.
• Matches are poor: narrow the search terms and add must-have constraints.
• The model is slow: lower the step limit or use a smaller task batch.
• You are worried about privacy: use Local Server or Local AI.
• You are worried about sending: keep auto-send off and send a tiny reviewed batch first.

Where to go next

Job seekers should read how to apply to jobs faster and how to use AI to write job applications. Recruiters should read the candidate outreach guide. For privacy-first work, read the private local AI job search guide.