Vocations · Career Resources

Fewer postings.
Better ones.

Job alerts are meant to save time, and a badly set one does the opposite: a hundred postings a week to skim for the three that matter. Log each alert and, once a week, how many postings it sent and how many were worth reading. The organizer shows which alerts earn their place and how to tune the rest.

Add an alertWhat you get
$5one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $5

Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the Job search kit, $29 for 34 items.

Your alerts

The worked example is made up: a broad daily job-board alert where 9 of 142 postings were worth reading, and a tight weekly alert on a hospital system’s careers page. Saved on this device only.

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What you get

Vocations · Career Resources$5

What you finish with
A record per alert: where it runs, the kind of source, search terms, excluded words, location, how often it arrives, last week’s postings, how many were worth reading and applied to, the date last tuned and six settings. Works out each alert’s relevance and days since tuning, totals across alerts; flags noisy alerts, empty ones, stale settings and daily alerts that pile up.
Who it is for
Job seekers, students looking for internships and people changing careers.
Format
Browser organizer with a saved record per alert. Prints one alert, every alert in a table or a blank sheet; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
$5 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Also in the Job search kit ($29) and the Vocations Suite pass ($99), and 1 more bundle. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Career Resources space in Caveat Vocations.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Add each alert you run, with its terms and settings.
  2. Once a week, count postings sent and worth reading.
  3. Note how many you applied to.
  4. Tune the alerts under 20 percent relevant.
  5. Add alerts on the career pages of employers you want.

Add an alert

Search terms

Search terms that cut the noiseType thisGetsInstead of"data analyst"that exact phraseanalyst anywhere"data analyst" OR "reporting analyst"either titletwo alertsanalyst -senior -directordrops those wordsreading past themPosted in the last 7 daysfresh postingsold ones againA pay floorpostings above itsurprises laterSearch terms that cut the noise"data analyst"Gets: that exact phraseInstead of: analyst anywhere"data analyst" OR "reporting analyst"Gets: either titleInstead of: two alertsanalyst -senior -directorGets: drops those wordsInstead of: reading past themPosted in the last 7 daysGets: fresh postingsInstead of: old ones againA pay floorGets: postings above itInstead of: surprises later
Most job sites support quotes and OR; some use a minus sign and others a box for excluded words. The site’s search help says which.

Go to the source

Many employers post on their own career pages first, and government jobs are posted on the government’s own sites, such as USAJOBS for federal work. An alert on the employer’s page often beats a broad board search.

What to count

“Worth reading” means you opened the full posting because the title, place and pay could fit. It is a quick, honest gauge; you do not need to apply for a posting to count it.

Sources

  1. U.S. Office of Personnel Management. USAJOBS help: saved searches and notifications (usajobs.gov/help).
  2. U.S. Department of Labor. CareerOneStop: job search help (careeronestop.org).
  3. National Association of Colleges and Employers. Job search resources for students (naceweb.org).
  4. Federal Trade Commission. Job scams (consumer.ftc.gov).

The worked examples are made up. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat, and the organizer does not connect to any job site. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.