Skip to main content

How Job Matching Works

Career Mode uses a sophisticated matching system to connect you with opportunities that truly align with your skills, interests, and career goals. Here's how it works.

See how it works in the app →

The Matching Process​

1. Employers Submit Opportunities​

Companies post job openings on daily.dev with detailed requirements:

  • Role title and seniority level
  • Required and preferred technical skills
  • Team structure and company culture
  • Compensation range
  • Location and remote work policies
  • Tech stack and tools used

Important: These jobs are not publicly displayed on daily.dev. They're only visible to matched developers.

2. We Analyze Your Profile​

Our system evaluates multiple signals to understand your skills, interests, and preferences:

From your daily.dev activity:

  • Articles you read and engage with
  • Tags you follow
  • Squads you participate in
  • Content you bookmark or share
  • Your reading consistency and patterns

From your Career Mode profile:

  • Work experience and career trajectory
  • Education and certifications
  • Technical skills and expertise
  • Open source contributions
  • Side projects and publications

From your job preferences:

  • Desired role type and scope
  • Salary expectations
  • Location preferences
  • Preferred tech stack
  • Employment type preferences

3. Intelligent Matching Algorithm​

We match opportunities to developers based on:

Technical fit:

  • Skills match between your background and job requirements
  • Experience level alignment (junior, mid, senior, staff, etc.)
  • Tech stack overlap with your preferences

Interest alignment:

  • Content engagement patterns indicating genuine interest
  • Preference for certain technologies or domains
  • Career direction based on recent activity

Practical considerations:

  • Salary alignment with expectations
  • Location compatibility
  • Employment type match
  • Availability status (actively looking vs. open if right)

4. Quality Over Quantity​

Unlike traditional job boards, we prioritize match quality over volume:

  • Selective matching: We only show opportunities that meet a high confidence threshold
  • No spray-and-pray: You won't see dozens of loosely-relevant jobs
  • Curated experiences: Each match is intentionally selected for you
tip

You won't receive tons of job matches. Career Mode is designed for quality, not quantity. A few highly relevant opportunities are more valuable than dozens of mediocre ones.

Daily.dev as Trusted Broker​

A key differentiator: employers don't choose candidates. We do.

How Traditional Hiring Works​

On most platforms:

  1. Employers search for candidates
  2. They filter and select who to reach out to
  3. Mass outreach to many candidates
  4. High volume, low personalization

How Career Mode Works​

With our approach:

  1. We analyze both sides: opportunities and developers
  2. We match based on sophisticated signals, not just keywords
  3. We present opportunities to developers
  4. Both parties must opt in before connecting

Why this matters: You're not competing in a visible marketplace. Employers can't browse profiles and cherry-pick candidates. We act as the trusted broker, ensuring every match is intentional and high-quality.

The Double Opt-In System​

Career Mode requires mutual interest before any introduction happens:

Step 1 - Developer approval:

  • You receive a match notification
  • You privately review the opportunity
  • You decide: interested or not interested

Step 2 - Employer approval:

  • If you're interested, we share your profile with the employer
  • The hiring manager reviews your background
  • They decide: proceed with introduction or pass

Step 3 - Warm introduction:

  • Only if both parties say yes, we facilitate an email introduction
  • The conversation moves forward from there
  • No ghosting, no wasted time

This double opt-in ensures:

  • Both parties are genuinely interested
  • Time is respected on both sides
  • Higher conversion from introduction to meaningful conversation

Signals That Improve Matching​

Want to receive better matches? These actions strengthen our understanding of your interests:

High-Impact Signals​

  1. Complete your profile: Work experience, education, and skills give us concrete data
  2. Upload your CV: Rich historical context about your background
  3. Set clear preferences: Specific job preferences reduce ambiguity
  4. Configure tech stack: Explicit technology preferences override assumptions
  5. Update availability: Indicates urgency and readiness

Ongoing Signals​

  1. Read consistently: Regular engagement helps us understand evolving interests
  2. Engage authentically: Upvote, comment, and bookmark content you genuinely care about
  3. Join relevant Squads: Squad participation shows interest areas
  4. Update your profile: As you grow, reflect changes in your profile
info

The matching algorithm continuously learns and improves. The more you engage authentically with daily.dev, the better our matches become.

What Makes a "Good Match"?​

A high-quality match typically has:

  • 85%+ technical skills overlap: Most required skills align with your background
  • Interest validation: Your reading and engagement patterns support this interest
  • Preference alignment: Matches your role type, location, and salary expectations
  • Career progression fit: Represents growth from your current or most recent position
  • Culture and values fit: Company values align with your demonstrated interests

When You Don't Receive Matches​

Not receiving many matches? This could mean:

Limited opportunities in your niche:

  • Highly specialized tech stacks have fewer openings
  • Very specific location requirements narrow the pool

Preference constraints:

  • Salary expectations might be above market for your experience level
  • Location limitations restrict available roles
  • Tech stack preferences might be too narrow

Profile incompleteness:

  • Missing work experience or skills data
  • Unclear job preferences
  • No CV uploaded

What to do:

  1. Review and broaden your job preferences slightly
  2. Ensure your profile is complete and up-to-date
  3. Upload your CV if you haven't already
  4. Verify your tech stack reflects your actual interests
  5. Consider expanding location preferences or remote work options
tip

If you're open to opportunities but not receiving matches, try incrementally broadening your preferences. Small adjustments can significantly expand the opportunity pool.

Match Timing​

How often you'll receive matches: Varies significantly based on:

  • Your specialization and skill level
  • Market demand in your tech stack
  • Number of employers actively hiring on daily.dev
  • How selective your preferences are

Typical patterns:

  • Common stacks (JavaScript, Python, cloud): More frequent opportunities
  • Specialized stacks (Elixir, embedded, niche domains): Less frequent but highly relevant
  • Senior+ roles: Less frequent but higher quality
  • Actively looking: Prioritized for timely opportunities

Continuous Improvement​

Our matching algorithm continuously evolves:

  • We learn from match outcomes (acceptances, interviews, hires)
  • We refine understanding of what makes a successful match
  • We incorporate new signals as Career Mode grows
  • We listen to feedback to improve accuracy

The more developers use Career Mode, the smarter it becomes.

Next Steps​