The Job Trawlers Podcast

Job Trawlers
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Job-search research and guides, read aloud. Every episode starts as a post researched and written by humans, then read by JT, an AI voice.

  1. 3d ago

    Introducing The Job Trawlers Podcast

    Job-search research and guides, read aloud. Every episode starts as a post researched and written by humans, then read by JT, an AI voice.

  2. 4d ago

    Looking for a product role? Here's how Job Trawlers and Lenny's Jobs compare

    A buyer's guide for product managers in the US or Canada. A Job Trawlers search reaches about two-thirds of Lenny's PM listings, big tech's own sites are the part it can't, and most of what our users found wasn't on Lenny's. Measured October 2026. Key takeaways - Lenny's Jobs is built for tech companies, Series A and later, in four roles. It's free to use, has company data we don't have, and builds its AI fit tools into every listing. - A Job Trawlers saved search can surface about two-thirds of Lenny's US and Canada PM listings (67.3% when we checked on October 6). About one in five (20.7%) sit on a big-tech career site we don't reach. Amazon, Google, Apple and Microsoft are in that group. - Going the other way, 78.1% of the live US and Canada product roles our users' searches surfaced weren't on Lenny's Jobs. So Lenny's held roughly a fifth of what our users found. The rest span software companies and the banks, insurers, healthcare companies and retailers that Lenny's doesn't track. - A Lenny's search shows at most 300 results. Job Trawlers runs your saved search every day and sends you what's new. - Big tech? Lenny's, plus the company's own careers page. Tech startups and scale-ups? Run both. Product role outside tech? Start with Job Trawlers. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:42 What Lenny's Jobs is 00:03:56 What Job Trawlers is 00:05:09 Side by side 00:05:19 Where Lenny's Jobs is the better tool 00:07:41 Where Job Trawlers is the better tool 00:10:39 If I were looking for a PM role 00:11:54 How we measured 00:15:30 Try Job Trawlers Read the full post, with sources and charts: https://jobtrawlers.com/blog/lennys-jobs-vs-job-trawlers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=lennys-jobs-vs-job-trawlers Try Job Trawlers: https://jobtrawlers.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=lennys-jobs-vs-job-trawlers Written by Scott Baldwin. Music by Giants Killed Patrick. Narrated by JT, an AI voice, from the Job Trawlers blog post.

  3. Oct 17

    A thousand applicants for one job. What to do instead.

    Applications per job are up 111% since 2022 and recruiter headcount is down 56%, so most applications are never properly read. Here's what's happening on the other side of the Apply button, why auto-apply makes it worse, and how to run a search on fewer, better-aimed applications and more people. Key takeaways - Applications per job are up 111% since 2022 and the number of recruiters is down 56%, per Greenhouse data cited in Fortune. Most applications are never properly read. That's a volume problem, not a verdict on you. - Across 38 million applications, Ashby found about 3% of inbound applicants reached an interview. Referred candidates reached one 40% of the time. - Auto-apply tools add to the pile everyone else is stuck in. Greenhouse's CEO calls it the AI doom loop. - The way out is fewer, better-aimed applications, and a person at each company you care about. - Flip where your time goes. In the searches I've watched, about 80% of it went to hunting for roles. Spend that 80% on targets, outreach and the people behind the roles instead. - Use AI to pick targets and interview yourself, never to write the application. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:32 What the other side looks like 00:02:43 The 3% number 00:04:00 Why does applying to more make it worse? 00:05:55 What to do instead 00:08:04 Where Job Trawlers fits 00:09:23 Where to start this week 00:10:09 One more thing about the silence 00:10:59 Try Job Trawlers Read the full post, with sources and charts: https://jobtrawlers.com/blog/a-thousand-applicants-for-one-job?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=a-thousand-applicants-for-one-job Try Job Trawlers: https://jobtrawlers.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=a-thousand-applicants-for-one-job Written by Scott Baldwin. Music by Giants Killed Patrick. Narrated by JT, an AI voice, from the Job Trawlers blog post.

  4. Oct 3

    Looking while you're still employed? Assume it leaks.

    Searching from inside a job is mostly a risk-management problem, not a search problem. LinkedIn says outright it can't guarantee its recruiters-only signal stays hidden from your employer. Here's what actually leaks, and how to run a search that survives being noticed. Key takeaways - LinkedIn's recruiters-only signal is not a guarantee, and LinkedIn says so. It "can't guarantee complete privacy." - You can't get the risk to zero. Decide what you're willing to accept, then stop re-deciding it every week. - Never search from a work laptop, a work account, or the company network. This is the one rule with no nuance. - Your references don't have to include your current manager, and an employer who insists before an offer is telling you something. - Patterns get noticed. A single afternoon off doesn't. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:38 You have more company than it feels like 00:02:18 What actually leaks 00:04:56 Decide your risk tolerance once 00:06:02 References when you can't use your manager 00:06:58 Interviews without lying 00:07:51 Where Job Trawlers fits 00:08:50 A prompt to plan the confidential version 00:09:22 The part nobody says out loud 00:10:15 Try Job Trawlers Read the full post, with the prompt, sources and charts: https://jobtrawlers.com/blog/searching-while-employed?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=searching-while-employed Try Job Trawlers: https://jobtrawlers.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=searching-while-employed Written by Scott Baldwin. Music by Giants Killed Patrick. Narrated by JT, an AI voice, from the Job Trawlers blog post.

  5. Sep 26

    Stop trying to beat the robot. Beat the filter.

    The famous stat that 75% of resumes are auto-rejected came from a company selling resume optimization, and it folded in 2013. What's actually true is more useful and more unsettling. The parser doesn't judge you, a person configured the filters you can see, and two class actions are now testing the AI screening layers you can't. Key takeaways - The 75% figure traces back to a 2012 sales pitch by a company selling resume optimization. It folded in 2013, and no methodology was ever published. - The parser doesn't judge you. It extracts your data into fields. In the base case the judging happens later, by a person searching a database. - But AI screening layers sit on top, and employers switch them on. Those do rank and reject. Mobley v. Workday is a certified nationwide collective action on that question, and Workday's own filings put ~1.1 billion applications rejected through its system in the relevant period. - The score your resume checker shows you is still invented. It has no connection to any employer's system. - The part you can actually see is the knockout question. Eligibility rules a recruiter configured, readable before you apply. - The best-documented filter is brutal and has nothing to do with your wording. Half of US companies screen out anyone with a six-month employment gap. - Mirror the posting's language for things you've actually done. Don't stuff, and never hide white text — it shows up in the plain text a recruiter reads. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:20 So where did the 75% number come from? 00:02:31 What the software actually does 00:05:57 So what actually removes people? 00:07:53 So what actually helps? 00:11:34 How do you mirror without regurgitating? 00:14:35 The gap filter, and what to do about it 00:15:45 Where Job Trawlers fits 00:16:44 A prompt to check an application before you send it 00:17:26 The useful version of the worry 00:18:52 Try Job Trawlers Read the full post, with the prompt, sources and charts: https://jobtrawlers.com/blog/what-an-ats-actually-does?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=what-an-ats-actually-does Try Job Trawlers: https://jobtrawlers.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=what-an-ats-actually-does Written by Scott Baldwin. Music by Giants Killed Patrick. Narrated by JT, an AI voice, from the Job Trawlers blog post.

  6. Sep 19

    Write the manual. Don't send it.

    The personal README has a serious critic, and she's right about almost everything. Her objections are aimed at managers publishing rules for their teams — which is not what a job seeker is doing. Written privately and checked by someone who knows you, it's the best interview prep most people never do. Key takeaways - The strongest criticism of these documents is about managers publishing rules for the people who report to them. A job seeker has no such power, and most of the objection dissolves. - What survives the criticism is real. These things are self-serving, people are poor witnesses to themselves, and the document rots. All three have fixes. - Every line needs an incident behind it. If you can't name a time it was true, it's aspiration and it gets cut. - The step everyone skips is having two people who've worked with you mark it up. That's what separates this from an exercise in self-flattery. - Don't send it to an employer. The whole job-search value is in the writing. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:47 Where did the idea come from? 00:03:15 The best criticism of it is correct 00:04:40 So why write one anyway? 00:05:42 What survives, and what to do about it 00:06:29 What goes in it 00:08:03 The evidence test 00:09:11 Get it marked 00:09:56 What does it do during a search? 00:10:47 Don't send it 00:11:36 Where Job Trawlers fits 00:12:09 A prompt to draft it with 00:12:43 The document isn't the point 00:13:38 Try Job Trawlers Read the full post, with the prompt, sources and charts: https://jobtrawlers.com/blog/personal-readme?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=personal-readme Try Job Trawlers: https://jobtrawlers.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=personal-readme Written by Scott Baldwin. Music by Giants Killed Patrick. Narrated by JT, an AI voice, from the Job Trawlers blog post.

  7. Sep 12

    Stop searching for 'junior'. Search these instead.

    We looked at 134,840 roles collected over 30 days. About one in seven was entry level — and 97.7% of those said nothing in the title about being entry level. If you're searching your dream title with 'junior' in front of it, you're looking at roughly 2% of the market that would take you. Key takeaways - Entry-level roles aren't rare. About one in seven of everything we saw in a month. - 97.7% of them carry no early-career word in the title at all. Not junior, not graduate, not entry level, not trainee. - Seniority mostly isn't in the title. It's in the requirements, three paragraphs down. So search the function, then filter by level. - Searching six ordinary words instead reaches about twelve times as many entry-level roles as "junior" does. - Internships barely appear in a general job search. That's a different pipeline, and if you're a student it's the one to work. - A referral doesn't get you the job. It gets you read, which is the scarce thing. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:44 What does a month of hiring look like? 00:02:51 The word you're searching for barely exists 00:04:13 So what are they called instead? 00:05:57 Where are the internships? (Mostly, not here) 00:07:20 What does a referral actually do? 00:09:04 Networking when you'd rather not 00:11:09 Build a board, not a mentor 00:12:52 Where Job Trawlers fits 00:13:43 A prompt for the search you should be running 00:14:11 The market isn't hiding from you 00:15:24 Try Job Trawlers Read the full post, with the prompt, sources and charts: https://jobtrawlers.com/blog/finding-your-first-real-job?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=finding-your-first-real-job Try Job Trawlers: https://jobtrawlers.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=finding-your-first-real-job Written by Scott Baldwin. Music by Giants Killed Patrick. Narrated by JT, an AI voice, from the Job Trawlers blog post.

  8. Sep 5

    You start Monday. Don't arrive with a plan.

    Most 30-60-90 day plans are performances: deliverables in month one, written to look impressive. The research says a new manager takes about six months to break even, and that acting before you've diagnosed is how people burn the credibility they'll need later. Here's the version that flexes to the job you actually took. Key takeaways - A typical new mid-level manager takes around six months to contribute as much value as they consume. Your plan's job is to shorten that, not to pretend it isn't happening. - Most plans are performances. The tell is deliverables in month one. - Before choosing how fast to act, work out which of five situations you've joined. A turnaround and a healthy team punish opposite behaviours. - The plan is a conversation with your manager, not a private document. Written alone and never shared, it's a to-do list with ambition. - The version an employer asks for during interviews is a different document, and it should be mostly questions. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:34 The number that reframes everything 00:03:16 Why are most plans performances? 00:04:24 Which job did you actually take? 00:05:55 The plan is a conversation 00:07:33 What goes in each phase 00:08:53 Early wins, chosen properly 00:09:52 What if they ask for one in the interview? 00:11:17 The week between signing and starting 00:12:05 Where Job Trawlers fits 00:13:02 A prompt to build the plan with 00:13:33 The plan is not the point either 00:14:42 Try Job Trawlers Read the full post, with the prompt, sources and charts: https://jobtrawlers.com/blog/your-first-90-days?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=your-first-90-days Try Job Trawlers: https://jobtrawlers.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=your-first-90-days Written by Scott Baldwin. Music by Giants Killed Patrick. Narrated by JT, an AI voice, from the Job Trawlers blog post.

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Job-search research and guides, read aloud. Every episode starts as a post researched and written by humans, then read by JT, an AI voice.

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