What is Job Wrapping? Automatically Import Job Listings

Job wrapping is the process of automatically importing job postings from employer career websites into your job board. Instead of manually copying listings, job wrapping automates the extraction and distribution of jobs across platforms.

The term "wrapping" comes from the idea of gathering up ("wrapping") an employer's open positions and posting them on your job board according to a schedule. You may also hear it called job scraping, mirroring, or spidering.

How job wrapping works

Job wrapping operates in three steps:

1. Data extraction

Software scans employer websites or data feeds and extracts job information:

• Job title
• Company name
• Location
• Description
• Requirements
• Salary (if available)
• Application URL

2. Data transformation

The extracted information is standardized to fit your job board's format:

• Consistent job categories
• Standardized locations
• Proper formatting
• Required field mapping

3. Data distribution

The transformed data is posted to your job board, either immediately or on a schedule.

Two methods of job wrapping

XML feeds

XML (Extensible Markup Language) feeds are structured files containing job listings. They're the standard format for job data exchange.

How it works:

• Employers or their ATS provide an XML feed URL
• Your job board parses the feed periodically
• New jobs are added, expired jobs are removed
• Updates happen automatically (typically every 6-24 hours)

Advantages:

• Reliable and structured data
• Supported by most ATS platforms
• Easy to parse and validate
• Industry standard

Most Applicant Tracking Systems (like Greenhouse, Lever, Workday, and Workable) automatically generate XML feeds, making integration simple.

Web scraping

Web scraping extracts job data directly from career pages by reading the HTML.

How it works:

• Scraper visits employer career pages
• Identifies job listings in the page structure
• Extracts relevant information
• Converts to structured data

Advantages:

• Works without employer cooperation
• Can extract from any public career page
• Useful when XML feeds aren't available

Challenges:

• Breaks when websites change
• May violate terms of service
• Requires ongoing maintenance
• Data quality can vary

Benefits of job wrapping

For job board owners

Content at scale: New job boards can quickly populate their platform with relevant listings, solving the chicken-and-egg problem of needing jobs to attract job seekers.

Always fresh content: Automated updates ensure your board shows current openings without manual work.

Reduced operational burden: No need to manually post and manage individual listings.

For employers

Broader distribution: Jobs posted once on their career site appear on multiple job boards automatically.

Time savings: No need to manually post on dozens of platforms separately.

Centralized management: Applications still flow to their ATS, keeping candidate data organized.

Job wrapping vs. backfill

Job wrapping and backfill are related but distinct:

Job wrapping is the technical process of extracting and importing jobs from external sources.

Backfill is the strategy of using wrapped jobs to populate your board with content, particularly when you're starting out or have gaps in certain categories.

In Cavuno, backfill uses job wrapping technology behind the scenes to automatically import relevant jobs for your board.

Setting up job wrapping

With Cavuno

Cavuno handles job wrapping through the backfill feature:

1. Go to Settings > Backfill
2. Configure job filtering rules
3. Add companies you want to include
4. Jobs are automatically imported and updated

See How to Set Up Automatic Job Importing for details.

Technical considerations

If building custom integrations:

XML feed sources:

• ATS-provided feeds (most common)
• Job aggregator feeds (Indeed, ZipRecruiter partnerships)
• Direct employer feeds

Update frequency:

• Industry standard is every 6-24 hours
• LinkedIn scrapes partner feeds every 24 hours
• More frequent updates require more resources

Data validation:

• Verify required fields are present
• Check for duplicates
• Validate location data
• Ensure description quality

Job wrapping best practices

Quality over quantity

Don't import every job you can find. Focus on relevant, high-quality listings that serve your audience.

Maintain freshness

Remove expired jobs promptly. Stale listings frustrate job seekers and hurt your reputation.

Respect employers

If an employer asks to be removed, honor the request. Building relationships matters more than short-term content.

Complement, don't replace

Job wrapping is a content strategy for growth, not a replacement for direct employer relationships. Your goal should be converting backfilled employers into paying customers.

Getting started

1. Understand backfill and how it fits your strategy
2. Configure your backfill settings
3. Focus on building traffic with your content
4. Convert backfilled employers into paying customers