Before you apply: a checklist

Every job page on USA Jobs 24 has a short list of things to check for that particular job. This is the full checklist behind it. It takes about ten minutes and saves wasted applications.

1. Check the job is still open

We read each employer's careers site once a day, early in the morning Eastern time. A job can close on the employer's site a few hours before it leaves ours. When you press Apply, look at the employer's page first: if it says the job is closed or no longer accepting applications, tell us and move on.

2. Check where you can work from

Read the location line in the employer's own advert, not just the city in the title. A hybrid job normally means set days in the office each week, so ask how many. A remote job is rarely open to all fifty states: many employers can only hire in states where they already run payroll, and the advert usually lists them. If you would have to move, ask early whether relocation help is offered.

3. Check you are eligible to work

Most adverts say whether the employer will sponsor a work visa. If the advert says it will not, or the role needs a security clearance or US citizenship, applying without it wastes your time and theirs. Defense, aerospace and government-contract roles are the most likely to have these rules.

4. Match the experience honestly

If the advert asks for five years and you have four, apply. If it asks for five and you have one, your time is better spent elsewhere. For new-grad and intern roles, check the graduation dates the employer will accept. Our guide to entry-level jobs covers what to put on a first resume.

5. Tailor your resume to the advert

Most large employers use software to sort applications before a person reads them. Use the advert's own words for skills and tools wherever they are true for you, and keep them in plain text, not in a picture or a table. Our ATS resume checker shows what that software can read in your file. The resume guide has the detail.

6. Know your number before the first call

Many adverts now carry a pay range, and several states require one. Each job page here shows how the advertised pay compares with similar jobs. Decide the lowest offer you would accept before a recruiter asks. Our take-home pay calculator shows roughly what a salary leaves after federal and state tax. The salary negotiation guide explains how to ask for more.

7. Apply only on the employer's own site, and never pay

Every Apply button on USA Jobs 24 goes to the employer's own careers page. Genuine employers do not charge an application fee, ask for gift cards, or send a check and ask you to buy equipment with it. Nobody genuine needs your bank login. If someone contacts you about a job and asks for money, stop and run the message through our scam checker. Read how to spot a fake job offer, and report fraud to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov.

Read how we check every job.