Integrating the jobdata API with Make

Table of contents

Integrating the jobdata API with Make lets you automatically fetch and process job listings for use cases like analytics dashboards, enrichment pipelines, notifications, and internal reporting.

This updated guide reflects current Make features (HTTP v4, keychain credentials, built-in pagination, modern error handling) and current jobdata API behavior.

Prerequisites

• Make account: Active Make account
• jobdata API key: Generate from your dashboard
• Use case: Know where you want to send the results (Google Sheets, Airtable, DB, Slack, etc.)

Quick API Notes (Important)

Before building your scenario, keep these current API behaviors in mind:

• Use endpoint URLs with a trailing slash, e.g. https://jobdataapi.com/api/jobs/
• API auth header format is:
• Authorization: Api-Key YOUR_API_KEY
• Jobs responses are paginated with:
• count, next, previous, results
• /api/jobs/ defaults to max_age=90 if no explicit age/range slicing is provided
• Some filters/features are plan-gated and can return 403 if your plan does not include them

Step 1: Create a New Scenario

1. In Make, click Create a new scenario.
2. Add the HTTP app (use HTTP v4, not legacy).
3. Select Make a request.

Step 2: Configure HTTP Request (Recommended Setup)

Configure the module like this:

• URL: https://jobdataapi.com/api/jobs/
• Method: GET
• Authentication type: API key (recommended)
• Parse response: Yes

API Key Configuration (Keychain)

In HTTP v4, store credentials in Make’s keychain instead of hardcoding headers.

• Key: Api-Key YOUR_API_KEY
• API key placement: In the header
• API key parameter name: Authorization

This produces the required header safely: Authorization: Api-Key YOUR_API_KEY

You can still use api_key query parameter for quick testing, but header auth is preferred for security.

Step 3: Add Query Parameters

Add filters relevant to your use case. Example starter set:

• title=python
• max_age=7
• has_remote=true
• page_size=200

Example request: https://jobdataapi.com/api/jobs/?title=python&max_age=7&has_remote=true&page_size=200

Notes

• If you want older data, set max_age explicitly.
• On eligible plans, you can disable max-age filtering with max_age=off (or null / 0).
• Some advanced filters are restricted by subscription tier.

Step 4: Enable Native Pagination (HTTP v4)

If you want more than one page, use HTTP v4 pagination instead of manual looping.

Set:

• Pagination type: URL or link based
• Items path: results
• Next page URL path: next
• Output format: Array of items (recommended)

This follows next until no further page is returned.

Step 5: Process the Results

After the HTTP module:

1. Map fields from each item in results (or paginated item output).
2. Add destination modules, e.g.: - Google Sheets / Airtable / Notion - PostgreSQL / MySQL - Slack / Email notifications
3. Optionally deduplicate by stable identifiers (id, application_url, or your own keying strategy).

Step 6: Add Error Handling

For production scenarios, add explicit error behavior:

• Enable Return error if HTTP request fails in the HTTP module
• Add an error handler route (Retry / Resume / Skip depending on business impact)
• Keep payload-safe fallback behavior for non-critical branches

Make also applies automatic exponential backoff for transient connection/timeout failures, but explicit handlers give you more control.

Step 7: Scenario Settings for Stability

In Scenario Settings, consider enabling:

• Store incomplete executions: On
• Sequential processing: On (especially for scheduled polling)
• Number of consecutive errors: Set a value your team monitors

These settings reduce missed runs and make recovery easier.

Step 8: Test End-to-End

1. Click Run once.
2. Verify: - Auth works (no 401/403 due to key formatting) - Pagination returns expected volume - Output mapping is correct - Destination modules receive valid data

Step 9: Schedule and Activate

• Set schedule cadence (e.g. every 15 minutes, hourly, daily)
• Activate scenario
• Monitor first runs and adjust filters/page size as needed

Optional: Make the Scenario Reusable with Inputs

Use Scenario Inputs for reusable templates (now broadly available), e.g.:

• keywords
• country_code
• max_age
• page_size
• destination_table

This lets non-technical teammates run the same scenario with different parameters without editing modules.

Troubleshooting

• 301 redirect: You used /api/jobs instead of /api/jobs/
• 403 Forbidden: Filter/feature likely requires higher plan tier
• 429 Too Many Requests: Reduce run frequency/concurrency and add retries
• Unexpectedly “recent only” results: max_age default behavior is active; set it explicitly

Conclusion

With HTTP v4 keychain auth, URL-based pagination, and modern error handling, Make is a strong fit for reliable jobdata API automation. Start with a narrow filter set, verify output quality, then scale cadence and destinations once stable.

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