How to apply to jobs automatically: a setup walkthrough
Last updated 5 min read
To apply to jobs automatically, upload a résumé, set tight filters and a match threshold, answer the right-to-work questions once, then run your first week in review mode before switching on autopilot. With Applysent the whole setup takes one sitting, and the first week is where you tune it so that only roles you would genuinely accept get applied to.
What you need before you start
Have these ready and setup goes quickly. Most of them are decisions rather than documents, and making them now saves you from fixing wrong answers on dozens of forms later.
- Your current résumé as a PDF, Word (.docx) or plain text file, up to 10 MB.
- Two to five job titles you would accept, plus any obvious variants (for example "Product Designer" and "UX Designer").
- Where you can work: countries, cities, and whether you want remote, hybrid or on-site.
- Your lowest acceptable salary, in the currency you expect to be paid in.
- Your right-to-work position for each country you are targeting, and your notice period.
Step 1: upload a résumé worth tailoring
Applysent rewrites your résumé for each role's wording, but it only rephrases and reorders what is already there. It does not add experience. That makes the source résumé the ceiling for every application.
Before uploading, make sure each recent role lists concrete outcomes, the tools you actually used and dates that are accurate. If a skill matters for your target roles and you genuinely have it, it needs to appear somewhere on the résumé, or tailoring has nothing to work with.
Step 2: set filters that reflect real decisions
Filters decide which postings are even considered. Loose filters fill your tracker with roles you would turn down; tight ones keep every application worth sending.
| Filter | How to set it | Common mistake |
|---|---|---|
| Job titles and keywords | List the titles you would accept today | Adding aspirational titles you are not yet qualified for |
| Seniority | Your current level, plus one up if you are ready | Leaving it blank and applying to roles two levels away |
| Contract type | Permanent, contract or both | Forgetting to exclude contracts if you need stability |
| Work setup | Remote, hybrid, on-site, or a mix | Picking remote without checking country restrictions |
| Countries and cities | Only places you can legally work or would relocate to | Including countries where you would need sponsorship without the sponsorship filter |
| Salary floor | The lowest figure you would accept | Setting it so high that few postings pass |
| Visa sponsorship | On, if you need an employer to sponsor you | Leaving it off and answering "needs sponsorship" on every form |
Be aware of how the salary floor works. When you set one, roles paying below it are skipped, and so are roles that do not state pay in that currency. That keeps you away from underpaid roles but also excludes postings with no salary listed, so decide which matters more to you. If remote is your priority, remote jobs auto apply explains the extra choices.
Step 3: choose a match threshold
Every role that passes your filters gets a match score against your résumé. Roles below your threshold are never applied to. This is your main quality dial.
Start higher than feels comfortable. You can always lower it if too few roles come through, but you cannot take back applications sent to poor matches. After a few days, look at the roles just below the line: if they look like jobs you would want, lower the threshold a little; if they look wrong, leave it.
Step 4: answer right-to-work questions once
Almost every application form asks some version of three questions: are you legally authorised to work in this country, will you now or in the future need sponsorship, and how soon can you start. You give these answers once in onboarding and they are reused on every form.
Answer them precisely and truthfully for each country you target. A wrong answer here can filter you out automatically or create a problem at offer stage. If the wording confuses you, work authorisation and sponsorship questions breaks down what employers mean. If you need sponsorship, also read the visa sponsorship jobs page.
Step 5: decide where replies go
You can use an optional dedicated application email address so employer replies stay out of your personal inbox and in one place. Applysent never sends email from your own account and never contacts recruiters in your name, so the replies you get are from employers responding to your applications.
Your first week, day by day
The first week is for calibration. Run it in review mode, where nothing is sent until you approve it.
| When | What to do | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Review the first batch of matches. Read every tailored résumé and every answer. | Catches profile errors before they repeat across many forms |
| Day 2 | Edit anything that does not sound like you. Update your profile so the fix carries forward. | Fixing the source is faster than fixing each application |
| Day 3 | Look at roles you rejected. Tighten titles, seniority or location to exclude them. | Rejected roles show you which filter is too loose |
| Day 4 | Check the match threshold against roles just above and below it. | Sets the quality line from evidence, not guesswork |
| Day 5 | Skim receipts for submitted applications. Confirm fields and free-text answers. | Receipts show exactly what each employer received |
| Days 6 and 7 | If the last two days needed few edits, try autopilot. If not, stay in review. | Autopilot should only run on settings you already trust |
Once on autopilot, keep a weekly habit: read a handful of receipts, update statuses in the tracker as replies come in and adjust filters if your targets change. You can pause or switch back to review mode at any time. How to track job applications has more on keeping the tracker useful.
How many applications should you aim for?
There is no universal number. It depends on how many suitable roles exist in your field and location, and on how selective your threshold is. A narrow niche may only produce a few good matches a week, and that is fine. How many jobs should you apply to walks through how to think about it, and if you want to push volume, how to apply to 100 jobs a week covers what has to be true first.
Access is invite-only for now: join the waitlist, or start straight away with an access code. If a submission fails because the form errors out or the posting closes, that application is refunded to your balance automatically.
Frequently asked questions
How long does setup take?
One sitting if you have your résumé, target titles, salary floor and right-to-work answers ready. The first week of review is where most of the tuning happens.
Should I start on autopilot?
No. Start in review mode so you can read tailored résumés and answers before they are sent, then switch once a few days pass with few edits needed.
What if a role does not list a salary?
If you set a salary floor, roles without pay stated in that currency are skipped. Leave the floor off if you would rather include them and judge pay later.
Can I change filters after I start?
Yes. Filters, threshold and mode can all be changed at any time, and changes apply to new matches from then on.
Can I use it on my phone?
Yes. You can swipe through matches and approve applications from your phone, which makes review mode easy to keep up with.
Let Applysent send the applications. You take the interviews.
Applysent finds jobs that fit your résumé, tailors it to each one, fills in the employer's application form, submits it and keeps a receipt.
- Invite-only early access
- Access codes start instantly
- You approve what gets sent