Automate Job Search with AI Cover Letters using Google Jobs, RemoteOK & GPT-3.5

Description

Automated Job Search with AI-Generated Cover Letters

🎯 What This Template Does

This workflow transforms your job search from a time-consuming daily chore into a fully automated system. Every 24 hours, it searches Google Jobs and RemoteOK for positions matching your criteria, generates unique AI-powered cover letters for each role, and delivers a polished HTML email digest straight to your inbox.

⚡ Key Features

Multi-Platform Search**: Simultaneously queries Google Jobs (via SerpAPI) and RemoteOK
Smart Filtering**: Automatically removes duplicates and low-quality postings
AI-Powered Cover Letters**: Uses OpenAI GPT-3.5 to write personalized 60-word cover letters for each position
Beautiful Email Digests**: HTML-formatted emails with job details, descriptions, and apply buttons
Zero Manual Work**: Runs automatically every 24 hours
Cost-Effective**: $0 for first 3 months using free API tiers, then $3/month

⏱️ Time Saved

| Method | Time Required |
|--------|---------------|
| Manual Job Search | 2-3 hours daily |
| With This Workflow | 0 minutes (fully automated) |
| Annual Time Savings | ~800 hours per year |

📋 Prerequisites

1. SerpAPI Account
Cost**: FREE tier (100 searches/month)
Sign up**: https://serpapi.com/
What you need**: API key from dashboard

2. OpenAI Account
Cost**: FREE ($5 trial credits)
Sign up**: https://platform.openai.com/
What you need**: API key (requires phone verification)

3. Email Service
Cost**: FREE (use existing email)
Options**: Gmail, Outlook, or any SMTP provider
Gmail users**: Use App Password (requires 2FA enabled)

🚀 Quick Start Guide

Step 1: Get API Keys (10 minutes)

SerpAPI Setup
Go to https://serpapi.com/ and sign up
Verify your email
Log in → Dashboard
Copy your API key

OpenAI Setup
Go to https://platform.openai.com/
Create account and verify phone number
Profile icon → View API keys
Create new secret key
Copy immediately (shown only once)

Gmail Setup (if using Gmail)
Google Account → Security
Enable 2-Step Verification
Search for "App Passwords"
Generate app password for Mail
Copy the 16-character password

Step 2: Add Credentials to n8n (5 minutes)

Add SerpAPI
n8n Credentials → Add Credential
Select "HTTP Query Auth"
Name: api_key
Value: [paste your SerpAPI key]
Save

Add OpenAI
Add Credential → OpenAI
Paste your API key
Save

Add SMTP
Add Credential → SMTP
Configure:
Host: smtp.gmail.com
Port: 587
Security: STARTTLS
Username: [email protected]
Password: [app password]
Save

Step 3: Configure Your Search (2 minutes)

Click the "Settings" node and update:

query - Your target job title
✅ Good: senior react developer
✅ Good: product manager saas
✅ Good: data scientist machine learning
❌ Bad: developer (too broad)

location - Where you want to work
For remote: Remote
For city: San Francisco, CA
For city: New York, NY
For state: Texas
💡 Tip: Start with Remote for most options

email - Your email address
Use the SAME email from SMTP setup
Example: [email protected]

Step 4: Connect Credentials

Click "Search Google Jobs" node → Select SerpAPI credential
Click "Generate Letter" node → Select OpenAI credential
Click "Send Email" node → Select SMTP credential
Click "No Results Email" node → Select SMTP credential

Step 5: Test & Activate

Click "Execute Workflow" button (top right)
Watch nodes light up green ✅
Wait 30-60 seconds
Check your email inbox
If successful → Toggle "Active" switch
Done! You'll receive daily job digests

📧 What You'll Receive

Each day, you'll get an email containing:

Up to 4 highly relevant job listings**
Company name and location for each
Job description snippets
AI-generated personalized cover letter** for each position
Direct "Apply Now" button
Source attribution (Google Jobs vs RemoteOK)