The 2025 Guide to applying for jobs online
Starting a job hunt can feel overwhelming. Figuring out where to begin with applications and how to stay organized can be tricky — but this guide is here to help! We’ll go step by step to create an efficient system for applying to jobs in the 2025 marketplace.
Before we begin: This guide assumes you already have your application materials, such as a resume and cover letter template, ready. If you don’t, check out these resources before moving on. (Resume Guide) (Begin your Job Search)
High Application Volume Is Key
One of the most important things to know about applying for publicly listed jobs is that you’ll need to submit many applications. In 2024, the average candidate sent out over 300 applications before landing a job (Pathrise). To boost your chances, ensure your resume and cover letters are strong and be prepared to apply regularly and over at least a few months.
In this guide, we’ll cover:
Where to look for publicly listed jobs
How to pick effective keywords and search terms
How to automate your job search with alerts
1. Where to Look for Jobs
Public job boards have become more accessible than ever, but this also means it can be confusing and time consuming to use all the different resources. We’ll break down some of the top sources and the pros and cons of using each.
Key Tip: When possible, always apply directly through a company’s website rather than a job board. Many job boards have clunky interfaces, and applying on the company website ensures your application has a higher chance of being seen.
There are three major categories of job boards:
Large Aggregators
Industry Job Boards
Recruiter Boards
Large Aggregators
These are general job boards that pull listings from many sources. They cast the widest net and are a great place to start. Examples include:
Indeed
LinkedIn Jobs
Glassdoor
These platforms feature millions of postings across industries and locations, making them useful if you’re more flexible on the jobs you’re looking for. However, the downside of these aggregators is that they have the highest rate of false positives (dead listings, ghost jobs) and are the most competitive postings.
Key Tip: I recommend to only apply to aggregator jobs that have been posted in the past 24 hours. Generally, these listings are so popular, it’s important to be within the first batch of applications. That’s why it’s important to check for these listings daily.
Industry Job Boards
These boards focus on specific fields and offer much more targeted postings. They’re often part of trade networks or industry news sites. While these boards can have unique opportunities, they often don’t have the same volume as the large aggregators, it’s worth keeping alerts on when possible, but don’t expect too many postings from these sources. Here are some useful example job boards for PhDs:
Recruiter Boards
Many recruitment firms have job boards where they list positions they’re hiring for. Additionally, you can submit your resume to the recruitment firms directly as well so that you’re in their database as new listings come up.
Key Tip: For government jobs (FDA, military, etc.), use USAJobs.gov. This is the primary site for all federal positions across the country.
2. How to Find the Right Keywords for Your Job Search
Now that you know where to look, the next step is figuring out what to search for. There are two key components: job titles and qualifications.
Finding Job Titles
If you’re unsure what jobs you qualify for, try:
Using AI tools like ChatGPT. Ask:
“My current experience is [your background]. Please generate a list of 20 job titles I would be qualified for.”Websites such as PhDPaths for career ideas beyond academia.
Once you have some potential job titles, try searching for them and reading the job descriptions to see what aligns with your interests and what you may be qualified for. Choosing the right job title is crucial to the search, so spend the time writing down titles that you want to apply for in your notes. Most roles also contain words that indicate the seniority level the employer is looking for.
Here’s a general list of titles by seniority level. PhDs typically enter roles at the early-career to mid-level stages, so focusing on these keywords can be helpful.
Early Career: Associate, Junior Associate, Specialist
Mid-Level: Senior Associate, Consultant, Executive, Manager
Advanced: Senior Consultant, Senior Manager, Lead, Principal
Senior: Director, Senior Director
Executive: Vice President (VP), Senior VP, Partner
Finding Qualifications
Once you have an idea of some titles that would be a fit, now you will want to consider key qualifications or skills that you have or are looking to perform. For example, a job may use machine learning analyses but may not have the obvious titles you were searching for. To pick the right keywords, first review 5-10 job listings for titles you’re interested in and note common qualifications or requirements. These can include:
Skills (e.g., “data analysis”)
Benefits (e.g., “healthcare plan,” “remote work”)
Terms to avoid (e.g., “Travel required”)
Collect these keywords in your notes and decide which terms are the most important.
3. Automating Your Job Search
By now, you should have a good idea of the job titles and key attributes you’re looking for. In this section, we’ll cover how to bring everything together and start searching effectively for your next role!
As mentioned earlier, this “automated” system relies on sending out a high volume of applications. To maximize your chances, you need to apply as soon as jobs are posted and target all relevant titles. Checking multiple job boards and filling out applications every day can quickly become exhausting. To streamline this process, we’ll set up alerts with strong search queries and automate parts of the application process.
Instead of manually checking each job board, save time by setting up email alerts. We will do this by crafting a powerful search query using Boolean operators to ensure you receive notifications for the job postings that match your interests.
What Are Boolean Operators Anyway?
Boolean operators help job boards understand how to use your keywords. Here are some common ones:
AND: Combines keywords. e.g.: Business AND Strategy
OR: Includes either keyword. e.g.: Post-doctoral scholar OR Postdoc
NOT: Excludes keywords. e.g.: NOT Scientist
"Quotation Marks": Search for exact phrases. e.g.: "Systems Engineer"
Parentheses (): Group keywords. e.g.: (Biotech OR Pharma) AND Analyst
Asterisk *: Wildcard for variations. e.g.: Bio* (matches biotech, biopharma, etc.)
Using our notes from step 2, we will use all the job titles that we’re interested in and all the key words that we’ve collected to create a strong search query that we can use repeatedly to filter the jobs we’re looking for. You can create this query by hand, or simply go to an AI such as ChatGPT and ask it to create you a string using the picked words. You can use the following prompt to simplify the process:
Example Prompt for AI:
Please generate a search query for job boards such as LinkedIn and Indeed using boolean operators based on the following titles and keywords:
Fields: Biotech, Pharma, Startups
Titles: Research Scientist, Postdoctoral scholar, Scientist I, Industry Postdoc
Exclude: Sales, administrative
Example Search Query:
("Research Scientist" OR "Postdoctoral Scholar" OR "Scientist I" OR "Industry Postdoc") AND ("Biotech" OR "Pharma" OR "Startups") NOT ("Sales" OR "Administrative")
For more information check out the FAQ pages of job boards such as LinkedIn.
As you review postings, you'll notice what you're missing or need to filter out. Keep refining your search to find exactly what you're looking for!
Setting Up Alerts
Now that you have your strong search query, it’s time to set up automated alerts for relevant jobs. These alerts will automatically send new listings to your email, helping you apply consistently.
It is your choice on how to be notified, but I recommend doing a once daily email and avoiding phone notifications. It can be overwhelming to constantly be notified about new positions and generally just looking over new postings each day is more than enough to stay on top of things.
Key Tip: Try searching for a few titles using the search query before you setup email alerts. It’s good to make sure that you find the types of jobs you’re looking for before you get too many emails with irrelevant postings!
Using Autofill to Save Time
Now that notification alerts are setup, you should have a steady steam of relevant job postings heading your way! However, the next issue you’ll find is that you’ll repeatedly have to fill out applications over and over from empty. This can be incredibly time consuming and to help make the process easier you can use autofill tools. These tools will help automatically fill in many of the same fields so you can spend time on your day and not filling out forms.
Recommended Tool: Simplify Co-Pilot (a Chrome extension). This tool autofills applications on platforms like Workday but you will need to create an account on their website.
Final Thoughts
Your job search system is now ready! Remember, it typically takes a high volume of applications to get results.
By now you may be feeling a little daunted with the number of applications you will need to send. If you want the tricks on how to speed things along, check out my guide on how to network to further speed the job search process along.
Good luck! I hope this guide has been helpful for you and please let me know if you have any questions or tips to make the process even better.