How I automated my job search using AWS Lambda, Python and product thinking

A lean serverless system that watches the career pages of companies I wanted to work for and emails me the moment a matching role goes live.

While job hunting in Ireland, I found myself checking the same career pages of companies I admired again and again, hoping a relevant role would finally appear. It was tedious and inefficient.

As a product manager, I asked myself: can I build something lean to fix this real-world friction?

The answer was yes: a simple serverless system that checks job boards hourly (or at whatever frequency I want) and emails me when the roles I’m looking for go live.

What I built

An automated job alert system that monitors selected company career pages for exact-match role keywords (like “Product Manager” or “Part-Time Analyst”). When it finds a match, it sends me an email, so I save time and never miss a chance.

It’s a fully serverless pipeline built on AWS Lambda, EventBridge and Python, with email alerts sent through the Gmail API.

Why I built it

Like many students and working professionals, I was manually checking several websites every day for openings at target companies. I wanted something that would:

run in the background (serverless)
cost next to nothing
be customisable per role or company
send email alerts instantly

Tools like Google Alerts or RSS readers existed, but they lacked keyword accuracy or failed on some career portals. So I built my own MVP.

How it works

AWS EventBridge triggers an AWS Lambda function every hour.
The Lambda function checks each configured career page for its list of exact-match keywords.
On a match, it sends an email alert through the Gmail API, to a primary recipient and, optionally, several CCs.

Key features

Supports multiple web pages, each with its own keyword list
Tracks and logs every matching keyword
Sends real-time alerts
Modular, ready for future integrations (Slack, Telegram and so on)

Outcome and takeaways

The project solved a real pain point for me, and it became a hands-on example of:

applying product thinking to personal problems
building fast with serverless architecture
bridging the gap between code, infrastructure and user value

It also turned into a great conversation starter with recruiters, and showed initiative beyond just applying for jobs.

Final thought

Sometimes the best way to stand out isn’t just how you apply. It’s what you build to automate, accelerate or personalise the journey.