A good web browser can be your helping hand during your job search, and how you set it up can make a huge difference in how successful your job search is. As Chrome is a favorite among job seekers, this article covers tips and tricks for optimizing Chrome for job hunting.

1. Make a Dedicated Chrome Profile

To focus your job search, clearing out the clutter from your browser is essential. For this reason, creating a dedicated Chrome profile for a job search should be the first thing you do.

With your new profile ready, you can add extensions relevant to your job search, bookmark the useful pages only, and don’t let anything distract you as you search. Follow the below steps to create a dedicated Chrome profile:

Launch Chrome. In the top-right corner, click on the profile menu. At the bottom of the menu, click on + Add. Click on Sign in. Sign in with your email address and password. Click on the Yes, I’m in button.

2. Ensure Sync Is Turned On

Your browser setup shouldn’t be limited to one computer. Instead, you should be able to resume your job search where you left off last time, regardless of your location or device. By enabling sync on your browser, you can easily accomplish this.

While Chrome asks you to enable sync when you sign in, and you may have already done so if you followed the instructions in the first step carefully, it’s worth double-checking. Follow the below steps to confirm that sync is enabled:

In the top-right corner, click on three vertical dots and click Settings. Then click on Sync and Google services.

You are good to go if you see sync already enabled in the right pane. Otherwise, you need to click the Turn on sync… button to enable it.

3. Install Relevant Extensions

Browser extensions make your browser more functional and help you be more productive. Listed below are a few types of extensions you should install:

Grammar Checker Extension: The grammar checker extension ensures that your written communications remain error-free. Grammarly is one of the most popular grammar checkers, but you can also try other options. Email Signature Extension: The email signature extension allows you to create a signature containing your contact information and add it to your email platform. So, the next time you send an email, the signature will be automatically added. As a result, you won’t have to provide your contact information whenever you send your job application via email. There are several email signature generators out there, but WiseStamp stands out. Password Manager: Since you’ll be applying for numerous jobs on different websites, you’ll need a reliable password manager extension to keep track of your credentials. Among the popular extensions, LastPass is a good choice. Read-It-Later Extension: A read-it-later extension allows you to save any helpful web content you want to read later. Among the things you can keep in this extension may include interview advice articles, a list of open jobs, and much more. You should check out Save to Pocket, a handy read-it-later extension.

4. Create Dedicated Tab Groups

The convenience of having a dedicated Chrome profile makes managing your job search more straightforward, but grouping tabs by job search activity will further streamline the process. For instance, you can create a dedicated tab group that includes websites of those companies where you have already applied.

As a result, you won’t have to provide your contact information whenever you send your job application via email. There are several email signature generators out there, but WiseStamp stands out.

In the same way, you can categorize all job-search websites in a separate group to keep things streamlined. This way, rather than having to remember each website and open them individually, you can open the tab group and navigate through all the websites within that group.

You can create a tab group by right-clicking on any tab and selecting Add tab to new group from the context menu. Next, name the group, select a color and press Enter.

To add a new tab to an existing tab group, right-click on the tab and select Add tab to group > [group name].

Check out our article to know more about managing tab groups in Google Chrome and how to use them efficiently.

With Chrome’s site search feature, you can search for information on a specific website directly from the browser’s address bar. Once you add the website to your site search list, you need to enter your assigned shortcut, press the space bar, enter the keyword, and Chrome will open the website with your relevant search results.

Let’s put Crossover, a recruitment platform, into Chrome’s site search to see how it works:

In the top-right corner, click on three vertical dots and select Settings. In the left-sidebar, click on the Search engine. In the right-pane, click Manage search engines and site search. Next to the Site search, click the Add button. In the Search engine field, enter “crossover. com”, “crossover” in the Shortcut field, and “https://www. crossover. com/jobs?search=%s” in the last field. After filling out the fields, click Add. Enter “crossover” in the address bar, which you had set as a shortcut, and press the space bar. This will bring up the site search in the address bar, as shown below. Enter your query and hit Enter, and the website will direct you to the search results on the added website.

6. Configure Web Clipper

During a job search, we often have to bookmark important pages, capture screenshots of relevant information, and copy and paste the job description to check it later. While these tasks can be performed in the browser in multiple ways, a web clipper simplifies the process.

For example, OneNote Web Clipper is simply an extension that allows you to perform all the above-mentioned tasks in a few clicks. Furthermore, it also allows you to save the desired information from within the extension, so you won’t have to waste time browsing through your hard drive.

You can configure OneNote Web Clipper on your browser by following these steps:

Visit the OneNote Web Clipper extension page on the Chrome web store. Click on the Add to Chrome option. Then click on Add Extension. Click on the extension and sign in with your Microsoft, school, or work account. To sign in successfully, follow the instructions on the screen.

Upon completing the sign-in process, you will see four options when you click on the extension again. What each option does is as follows:

Full Page: Captures an image of the entire webpage you are on. Region: Captures a screenshot of your preferred region on the site. Article: Saves the webpage as editable text. Bookmark: Make a bookmark of the URL you are visiting.

To use any option, click on the extension, choose a relevant option, and select a location on your computer where you would like to save the clipped information. Once that’s done, hit Clip to capture and save the information.

Ace Your Job Search With Chrome

Hopefully, the above tips will help you maximize your job search efficiency with Chrome. While these tips may help you level up your job search, choosing the right platform for job hunting is equally important.

LinkedIn is an excellent platform for job seekers, but not many take advantage of the platform’s marketing tools. Use LinkedIn InMail, join LinkedIn groups, and other tools to take your job search to the next level if you haven’t done so already.