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How to use your AI assistant for your job search

What an AI assistant can and can’t do in a job search, how to connect it to your search with MCP, and prompts that work.

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On its own, an AI assistant can't see job listings, your applications or your inbox, and it forgets your search when the conversation ends. That changes when you connect it to a tool through MCP (Model Context Protocol), the standard that Claude, Cursor, Codex, VS Code and Gemini CLI use for connectors. With a job-search tool connected, you can ask your assistant to follow companies, review new openings, save roles and log interviews, and the results stay in the tool where you can see them outside the chat.

Want to try it now? Refine's MCP server address is https://mcp.getrefine.co/mcp. Setup steps for each assistant are below.

What an assistant can and can't do on its own

Without a connection, an assistant is good at the thinking parts of a job search: rewriting a résumé bullet, practicing interview answers, comparing two offers you paste in. It's weak at the tracking parts:

  • It can't see live job listings. Some assistants can search the web, but they won't keep checking a company's careers page for you.
  • It doesn't remember your search. Each new conversation starts from zero, unless you paste everything back in.
  • It can't see your inbox or calendar unless you connect them.

The tracking parts are where searches usually fall apart: the role you meant to apply to, the recruiter you forgot to reply to, the interview notes you can't find.

What MCP is, in one paragraph

MCP is a way for an assistant to use another tool on your behalf. You add the tool's address to your assistant, sign in, and approve what it can access. After that, the assistant can call the tool's actions, such as "follow this company" or "list my saved jobs", and the data lives in the tool, not in the chat. You can disconnect it at any time.

Kinds of job-search tools your assistant can use

Kind of tool What it does What it doesn't do
Job-listing search Searches job boards or listing APIs when you ask Doesn't track anything between conversations
Application tracker Saves roles and tracks applications, interviews and offers Usually doesn't find new roles for you
Page monitor Tells you when a web page changes Doesn't know which change is a role you want
Email and calendar connector Reads and drafts email, reads your calendar Doesn't know which emails belong to which application

Refine combines the first two for the companies you choose, and connects your recruiter email to the right role.

Connect Refine to your assistant

Refine's server is hosted, so there's nothing to install. You'll sign in to Refine in your browser and approve access the first time.

Server address: https://mcp.getrefine.co/mcp

Claude and Claude Desktop

Go to Settings → Connectors, add a custom connector with the address above, then connect and approve access. Custom connectors depend on your Claude plan.

Claude Code

Run:

claude mcp add --transport http refine https://mcp.getrefine.co/mcp

Then run /mcp, select Refine and sign in.

Cursor

Add this to ~/.cursor/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "refine": {
      "url": "https://mcp.getrefine.co/mcp"
    }
  }
}

VS Code

Run MCP: Add Server, choose HTTP, and enter the address above.

Codex

Add this to ~/.codex/config.toml:

[mcp_servers.refine]
url = "https://mcp.getrefine.co/mcp"

Then run codex mcp login refine.

Gemini CLI

Run:

gemini mcp add --transport http refine https://mcp.getrefine.co/mcp

Then run /mcp auth refine if it asks you to sign in.

Prompts that work

Copy these and change the details.

Start with companies

  • "Follow Linear, Vercel and Notion for senior frontend roles, remote or New York."
  • "What new openings matched the companies I follow this week? Save the two that fit best."
  • "Which companies are similar to the ones I follow? Show three with roles that match my filters."

Run your process

  • "Mark the Datadog role as applied today and add a note: referred by Sam."
  • "Add a 45-minute technical interview for the Figma role next Tuesday at 2pm."
  • "Show my upcoming interviews and anything I owe a reply on."
  • "Prepare me for my next interview using what's saved for that role."

Email, with a safety net

  • "Summarize the recruiter emails I haven't answered and draft replies, but don't send them."

Can Claude track my job applications?

Yes, when it's connected to a tracker. With Refine connected, Claude can save roles to your board, mark them as applied, and record interviews, offers and negotiation notes. Everything shows up on your Refine board, so you can check and change it yourself, and it's still there in your next conversation or in a different assistant.

Can an assistant watch career pages for me?

Not by itself. An assistant only acts when you message it. But it can ask a connected tool to do the watching: when you say "follow Stripe for product roles", Refine checks Stripe's careers page about once a day and keeps new matches ready for your next conversation and in your dashboard. On Refine Plus, you can also get them by email, daily or weekly.

Email and calendar: what's read, what's sent

Connecting Gmail and Calendar is a separate step you approve in your browser, and it's part of Refine Plus. Once connected, Refine recognizes job-search emails and interview invites and keeps them with the right role.

Refine's tools are built so that an assistant shows you the exact message and asks before sending any email. Even so, the safest habit is to ask for drafts ("draft, don't send") and send them yourself when you're happy.

Before you connect any job-search tool

The same checklist applies to Refine and to any other tool:

  1. How do you sign in? Prefer tools that use a browser sign-in (OAuth) over pasting passwords or keys into a chat.
  2. What can it access? Check what you're approving: jobs, email, calendar.
  3. Can it send email? If so, make sure it asks before sending.
  4. Where is your data kept? Check the tool's privacy policy.
  5. How do you disconnect? You should be able to remove access from your assistant's settings and from the tool.

Common questions

Do I need to know how to code?

No. In Claude and Claude Desktop, you paste the address into Settings → Connectors. The command-line steps are only for developer tools like Claude Code, Codex and Gemini CLI.

Does it work with ChatGPT?

Refine's setup docs currently cover Claude, Cursor, VS Code, Codex and Gemini CLI. Check getrefine.co/mcp for updates.

Is it free?

Search, following companies and your application board are on Refine's Free plan. Email alerts and connected inboxes are part of Plus, which is $14.99/month with the first 30 days free. See pricing.

Start with one prompt

Connect Refine, then ask your assistant: "Follow three companies I'd say yes to tomorrow, with one role filter each." Start with Refine for free.