A developer created a bot to automate job searching on hh.ru, which processed 1,518 vacancies and submitted 339 applications between June 17 and August 17. The bot used Playwright to interact with the platform, as the site closed its API for job seekers in December 2025.
The bot filtered vacancies based on 14 search queries and stop-words, using an LLM to evaluate role relevance on a scale of 0 to 100. Applications were only sent if the score exceeded a set threshold. The bot also drafted cover letters, answered basic recruiter questions, and handled simple questionnaires.
Out of 339 applications, the developer received 26 invitations, resulting in a 7.7% conversion rate. Nearly 40% of applications resulted in rejections, while 20% were never opened by employers. The bot sent applications to 258 different companies.
The developer iteratively improved the bot, noting that filtering by seniority level and optimizing the opening sentence of cover letters significantly increased conversion. Conversely, expanding the search criteria to increase volume led to a drop in conversion rates.
The experiment showed that vacancies requiring tests during the application process yielded no invitations. The developer concluded that while the bot effectively reduced routine tasks, the platform itself proved to be a slow channel for communication compared to other job search sites.
