Claude Prompts for Job Search
28 copy-paste prompts for running a job search with Claude: choose target roles, build a fact bank, triage posts, research employers, draft outreach, practise interviews and review offers. You still decide and send.
Last updated October 17, 2026
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What this page is for
Most job-search advice for AI starts and ends with the resume. The resume matters, but the time sink is usually elsewhere: reading posts that were never a fit, researching companies from scratch each time, writing the same message ten ways, and losing track of who replied. These prompts turn those jobs into a repeatable weekly loop.
Claude works well with labelled blocks, which Anthropic recommends in its prompting guidance on XML tags. Here the blocks are your brief, your fact bank and the post. Keeping them separate means Claude can tell what you want, what you have done and what the employer asked for, and it can cite a fact ID when it claims a match.
For the document itself, use Claude prompts for an ATS-friendly resume and how to use Claude for your resume. For the broader method across tools, see AI job search. This page stays on the search.
The weekly loop
| When | Job | Prompts |
|---|---|---|
| Once, at the start | Target-role brief and fact bank | Groups 1 and 2 |
| Two or three times a week | Triage new posts; skip most | Group 3 |
| For each post you keep | Research, then tailor and apply | Groups 4 and 5, then the resume prompts |
| Before each interview | Practice and questions to ask | Group 6 |
| Every Friday | Tracker review and next week's actions | Group 7 |
Set up Claude for a search that lasts weeks
A job search rarely finishes in one chat. Anthropic describes Projects as workspaces with their own chat history, uploaded knowledge and project instructions, available on free accounts with a project limit. Put the brief, the fact bank and your current resume in one project, and add an instruction such as: use only my fact bank for claims about my experience, and label anything else as a suggestion.
Web search lets Claude look up companies and postings, and Anthropic's help article says you can ask it to search explicitly. On Team and Enterprise plans an owner may need to enable it first. Treat results as leads: open each link, confirm the posting on the employer's site and check the date.
Keep the tracker outside Claude, in a spreadsheet with company, role, link, date applied, status and next action. Paste it in as CSV for the weekly review. That way your record does not depend on a chat that may be long, deleted or moved.
28 copy-paste Claude job search prompts
Replace every [bracket]. Delete a block you cannot fill. If Claude claims a match without a fact ID, treat it as a guess.
Decide what you are searching for
A clear target saves more time than any application trick. Do this once, then reuse it.
<about_me> [current or last role, years of experience, three things I am good at, what I want less of] </about_me> <constraints> [location or remote, salary floor, visa or work authorisation, start date, hours] </constraints> Suggest three target role titles I could realistically apply for, and for each: what the job usually involves, which of my strengths it uses, the biggest gap, and one search term to use on job boards. Mark anything you are unsure of as UNSURE. Do not invent experience.
Turn this into a one-page target-role brief I will reuse in every chat: role titles, seniority, industries to include and exclude, deal-breakers, nice-to-haves, and my salary floor. Keep it under 200 words. <notes> [paste your answers from the last prompt and your edits] </notes>
I am considering a career change from [current field] to [target field]. Using only what I tell you below, list transferable skills with an example from my experience for each, skills I clearly lack, and the smallest credible step to close each gap (a course, a project, a volunteer role). Do not promise that the change is easy or quick. <experience> [paste] </experience>
Here is my target-role brief. Write 10 job-board search strings for it, mixing exact titles, adjacent titles and key skills, plus five terms to exclude. Explain which strings are broad and which are narrow. <brief> [paste] </brief>
Build a fact bank you can defend
Every later prompt draws from this. If it is not in the fact bank, Claude should not claim it.
Interview me to build a fact bank for my job search. Ask one question at a time about my roles, projects, results, tools and responsibilities. For each answer, write a fact entry: what I did, the scope, the result, and how I could prove it (document, link, reference, or NONE). Do not add numbers I did not give you. Start with my most recent role.
<fact_bank> [paste] </fact_bank> Review this fact bank. Flag entries that are vague, entries with a number I may not be able to support, and entries that are really duties rather than results. For each flag, ask one question that would make it stronger. Do not rewrite the entries yet.
<fact_bank> [paste] </fact_bank> Group these facts under five or six themes an employer in [target role] would care about. Under each theme list the fact IDs that support it. Name any theme that has fewer than two supporting facts.
Write three short "tell me about yourself" versions from this fact bank: 30 seconds, 60 seconds, and two minutes. Use only facts listed. Plain spoken language, no buzzwords. Mark the fact ID after each sentence so I can check it. <fact_bank> [paste] </fact_bank>
Triage job posts before you apply
Decide quickly which posts deserve a tailored application and which to skip.
<brief> [target-role brief] </brief> <fact_bank> [paste] </fact_bank> <job_post> [paste the full posting] </job_post> Triage this post. Return: must-have requirements with MATCH, PARTIAL or GAP and the fact ID that supports each; deal-breakers from my brief that this post triggers; and a verdict of APPLY, APPLY WITH CARE or SKIP with one reason. Do not stretch a fact to make it match.
Here are five job posts I saved this week. Rank them by fit with my brief and fact bank. For each give a one-line reason, the biggest gap, and the single fact I should lead with. Return a table. <brief> [paste] </brief> <fact_bank> [paste] </fact_bank> <posts> [paste, separated by ---] </posts>
Read this job post and list what it does not say that I would need to know before applying: salary range, location rules, contract type, team size, reporting line, start date. Write three polite questions I could ask a recruiter. Do not guess the missing answers. <job_post> [paste] </job_post>
Check this message or job post for common scam signs: requests for payment, equipment purchases, check deposits, personal ID or bank details before an interview, personal email domains, pressure to act fast, or a job I never applied for. List each sign you see with the quote. Then tell me how to verify the employer independently. Do not tell me it is safe. <message> [paste] </message>
Research an employer you can actually open
Use web search if your account has it, and keep links so you can check every claim.
Search the web for [company] and give me a short research brief for an application to [role]: what the company does, recent news from the last 12 months, products or services the role would touch, and stated values or priorities. Link the source for each point. If you cannot find a source for something, leave it out.
<research> [paste sources or notes you collected] </research> <job_post> [paste] </job_post> Using only this research, list three problems this team might be hiring to solve and which fact from my bank speaks to each. Label each problem as STATED (in the post or sources) or INFERRED. <fact_bank> [paste] </fact_bank>
I have an interview with [name, title] at [company]. Using only public professional information I paste below, suggest three thoughtful questions I could ask them about the work. Do not speculate about their personal life or anything not in the material. <public_info> [paste their public bio or talk summary] </public_info>
Compare these two employers for me using the notes I collected: work on offer, growth, stability signals, location rules, and anything that worries me. Return a table and three questions to ask each. Keep my notes and your inferences separate. <company_a> [notes] </company_a> <company_b> [notes] </company_b>
Outreach and applications you send yourself
Claude drafts. You rewrite in your own voice and press send.
Draft a short message to a [recruiter / hiring manager / former colleague] about [role] at [company]. Under 90 words, one specific reason I am interested, one proof point from fact ID [ID], and a clear, low-pressure ask. No flattery and no claims beyond the fact bank. <fact_bank> [paste] </fact_bank>
Draft a cover letter for this post in under 250 words. Paragraph 1: why this role and employer, using the research notes. Paragraph 2: two proof points from my fact bank that match must-haves. Paragraph 3: a plain close. Mark each sentence with the fact ID or research note it relies on. <job_post> [paste] </job_post> <fact_bank> [paste] </fact_bank> <research> [paste] </research>
This application form asks: "[question]". Draft an answer under [word limit] words using only my fact bank. Then list any part of the question my facts do not answer, so I can decide whether to address it honestly or leave it. <fact_bank> [paste] </fact_bank>
Write a polite follow-up email for an application I sent on [date] for [role]. Under 70 words. Reference one detail from the post. No pressure, no guilt. Also suggest when it would be reasonable to send it.
Interview practice
Practise out loud. Ask for critique against the facts, not a script to memorise.
<job_post> [paste] </job_post> Act as the interviewer for this role. Ask me one question at a time: two about motivation, three behavioural questions tied to the must-haves, and two technical or role-specific questions. Wait for my answer each time. After each answer, give one strength, one gap, and the fact ID I should have used.
Here is my answer to "[question]". Critique it against the STAR structure and my fact bank. Point out any claim that is not supported by a fact, anything vague, and where I went on too long. Suggest a tighter outline, not a script. <answer> [paste or transcribe] </answer> <fact_bank> [paste] </fact_bank>
List the five hardest questions an interviewer could ask about the gaps in my profile for this role, such as [gap 1] and [gap 2]. For each, give an honest framing I could use and one fact that helps. Do not suggest hiding or misrepresenting the gap.
I just finished an interview. Here are my notes. Write a short thank-you email under 100 words referencing one thing we discussed, and a list of what I should prepare if there is a next round. <notes> [paste] </notes>
Offers, decisions and the weekly review
Keep the search moving and keep the big decisions yours.
<offer> [salary, bonus, benefits, location rules, start date, notice, probation, anything else in writing] </offer> <brief> [my target-role brief] </brief> Summarise this offer against my brief. List what is missing or unclear, and questions to ask before I accept. Do not tell me whether to accept. Do not estimate tax or legal effects; tell me where a professional should check.
Help me prepare a salary conversation. My range is [range], based on [sources I checked]. Draft a short, polite script to ask for [specific change], plus two responses if they say no. Do not invent market data.
Here is my job-search tracker for this week as CSV. Summarise: applications sent, responses, interviews, rejections, and anything stuck for more than 10 days. Suggest three actions for next week, ordered by impact. Do not judge me; just report. <tracker> [paste CSV] </tracker>
I received this rejection: [paste]. Draft a gracious two-sentence reply that keeps the door open, and list what I could learn from this application using my notes. Keep it practical. <notes> [paste] </notes>
Where people go wrong
The common mistake is asking Claude to make a profile look stronger. It will oblige, and the result reads well until an interviewer asks for the detail behind a claim. The fact bank prevents that. If a requirement has no supporting fact, the honest options are to address the gap, show a plan to close it, or skip the post.
The second mistake is applying to everything. Triage exists so you can skip most posts in a minute and spend real effort on the few that fit. A handful of well-researched, tailored applications is also far easier to follow up on and prepare interviews for than a pile of generic ones.
The third is trusting a confident answer about money or law. Salary, notice periods, visas and contract terms vary by country and employer. Use Claude to organise questions, then check them with the employer, official sources or a qualified adviser.
Tips that keep the search yours
- Build the fact bank before you touch a job post. Every other prompt depends on it.
- Paste the full job post, not a summary. Requirements hide in the last paragraph.
- Ask for MATCH, PARTIAL and GAP. A list of only matches is a sales pitch, not a triage.
- Use web search for leads, then open the employer's own careers page before you apply.
- Keep your tracker in a spreadsheet. A chat history is not a system of record.
- Rewrite every draft in your own voice and send it yourself.
- Leave ID numbers, bank details and references' contact details out of the chat.
- Never pay to get a job. Verify offers through contacts you found yourself.
Primary sources
- Claude Help Center: Enable and use web search
- Claude Help Center: What are projects?
- Anthropic docs: Use XML tags to structure prompts
- FTC Consumer Advice: Job scams
Checked October 17, 2026. Web search, Projects and their limits depend on your Claude plan and workspace settings, and Anthropic updates them often. The FTC guidance is US-focused; check your own country's consumer agency too.
Claude job search FAQ
What are the best Claude prompts for a job search?
The useful ones work from material you supply: your fact bank of real experience, a job post you paste, and your constraints such as location, salary floor and visa status. Ask Claude to triage a post against those facts, list gaps honestly, research a company with sources you can open, and draft outreach you edit and send yourself. Prompts that ask Claude to make you sound more qualified tend to produce claims you cannot defend in an interview.
Can Claude search job listings for me?
Claude can search the web when web search is available in your account, and Anthropic's help article says you can ask it to search explicitly. Treat what it finds as leads. Open each posting on the employer's own careers page, check the date and location, and confirm it is still open before you spend time on an application.
Should I use a Claude Project for my job search?
It helps if you run the search for more than a week. Anthropic describes Projects as workspaces with their own chat history, uploaded knowledge and instructions, and says free accounts can create a limited number. Put your fact bank, target-role brief and current resume in the project, and keep your tracker in a spreadsheet you control. Do not upload ID documents, references' contact details, or anything you would not want stored.
How is this different from the Claude resume prompts?
The ATS resume page is about the document: parsing a job description, rewriting bullets and section order. This page is about the search around the document: which roles to target, which posts to skip, how to research an employer, outreach, interview preparation and offers. Use both, in that order: search decisions first, then tailor the resume for the posts that survive triage.
Can Claude write cover letters and messages to recruiters?
It can draft them from facts you provide. Give it the post, two or three proof points from your fact bank, and why this employer specifically. Ask for a short draft with no claims beyond the fact bank, then rewrite it in your own voice. Send messages yourself. Do not let any tool contact employers on your behalf without reviewing every message.
How do I avoid job scams while searching with AI?
The FTC's job-scam guidance is direct: honest employers do not ask you to pay to get a job, and a check you are asked to deposit and partly send back is a fake-check scam. Verify any offer through the company's own website or a phone number you find yourself, and be wary of recruiters using personal email addresses. Claude can help you list red flags in a message, but you decide whether to engage.
Can Claude tell me what salary to ask for?
It can help you prepare, not set the number. Ask it to list the sources you should check, such as salary ranges in the posting, official labour statistics for your country, and offers you have actually seen, then help you build a range and a script. Do not treat a number it produces from memory as market data.
Is it fine to use Claude for interview preparation?
Yes, for practice. Have it ask you questions based on the posting, then critique your answer against your fact bank. Do not memorise a generated script, and do not use AI during a live interview or assessment unless the employer allows it.