Automated Job Search Pipeline - Complete Setup Guide

Budget 45–60 minutes for first-time setup.

1. What You're Building

A system that runs every 5 hours, searches Adzuna for Java/C++ backend jobs in Canada and India, deduplicates, and appends them to applications.csv.

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2. Prerequisites

• Mac, Windows, or Linux computer
• Docker installed
• Adzuna developer account: https://developer.adzuna.com/signup

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3. Directory Layout

mkdir -p ~/job-hunt/n8n-data
mkdir -p ~/job-hunt/logs
cd ~/job-hunt/n8n-data

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4. Environment (.env)

Create ~/job-hunt/n8n-data/.env:

Adzuna_App_ID=YOUR_APP_ID
Adzuna_App_Key=YOUR_APP_KEY

No spaces around =.

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5. docker-compose.yml

In ~/job-hunt/n8n-data/docker-compose.yml:

version: '3.8'

services:
  n8n:
    image: n8nio/n8n:latest
    container_name: n8n-job-hunt
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "5678:5678"
    environment:
      - N8N_RESTRICT_FILE_ACCESS_TO=/files
      - N8N_BLOCK_FILE_ACCESS_TO_N8N_FILES=false
      - N8N_ENFORCE_SETTINGS_FILE_PERMISSIONS=false
      - NODE_FUNCTION_ALLOW_BUILTIN=fs
    volumes:
      - n8n_/home/node/.n8n
      - ../logs:/files
    env_file:
      - .env

volumes:
  n8n_
    driver: local

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6. Fix Permissions (Mac/Linux)

cd ~/job-hunt
sudo chown -R 1000:1000 logs
sudo chmod 777 logs

Windows: skip.

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7. Start n8n

cd ~/job-hunt/n8n-data
docker compose up -d

Open http://localhost:5678, create an account.

If n8n doesn’t start, see QUICK_REFERENCE.md.

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8. Import Workflow JSON

1. Save the separate workflow.json file from this repo (template).
2. In n8n: Workflows → Add workflow → ⋮ → Import from file → select workflow.json.
3. You should see a straight line of 9 nodes from “Every 5h (5/day)” to “Write to Disk”.

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9. Test Run

1. Click Execute workflow.
2. Wait ~30s; all nodes should turn green.
3. Check CSV:

cat ~/job-hunt/logs/applications.csv

You should see a header and some rows with CA/IN jobs.

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10. Activate Schedule

Click Publish in n8n. Workflow now runs every 5 hours while Docker is running.

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11. Where Things Live

• Workflow: in n8n UI
• Config: ~/job-hunt/n8n-data/docker-compose.yml, .env
• Output: ~/job-hunt/logs/applications.csv
• Quick fixes: QUICK_REFERENCE.md

For full details and troubleshooting, see DETAILS.md and QUICK_REFERENCE.md.