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Tracer Links

What it is​

Tracer Links are per-job redirect links that are generated when a PDF is created.

When enabled for a job, JobOps rewrites eligible outbound RxResume links to your JobOps host, then redirects to the original destination after recording a click event.

Examples:

  • original: https://github.com/yourname
  • traced: https://jobops.dakheera47.com/cv/amazon-de

Format details:

  • path prefix is always /cv/
  • token format is <company-slug>-<xx>
  • <xx> is two lowercase letters (a-z)
  • visible link text in the PDF is also updated to the traced URL

Why it exists​

Without tracer links, resume links are "fire and forget".

Tracer links let you answer:

  • whether links in a specific job PDF were opened
  • which destination links are being opened most
  • rough human vs bot traffic split
  • per-job and global engagement trends over time

The feature is privacy-safe by design:

  • no raw IP is stored
  • referrer host is stored (not full referrer URL)
  • bot traffic is flagged and can be filtered in analytics

How to use it​

  1. Open Settings and go to the Tracer Links section.
  2. Click Verify now and confirm status is Ready.
  3. Open a job in Jobs.
  4. Enable Tracer links for this job in tailoring or job details.
  5. Generate or regenerate the PDF.
  6. Open Tracer Links in navigation to view:
    • global totals
    • top jobs and top links
    • per-job drilldown by Job ID

Important behavior:

  • Tracer links are off by default per job.
  • Toggle changes apply on the next PDF generation only.
  • Existing PDFs are not modified retroactively.
  • Existing tracer URLs remain valid, even if a newer PDF generates new links.

Readiness and enable/disable behavior​

You can only turn tracer links on when readiness is healthy.

Readiness checks:

  • a resolvable public base URL
  • a successful health probe to <public-base-url>/health
  • a non-localhost/non-private host for public usage

If readiness is unavailable, enable is blocked until verification passes.

Required background-run setting​

If PDFs are generated by background pipeline runs, set:

JOBOPS_PUBLIC_BASE_URL=https://your-jobops-host

JobOps uses this URL when request host inference is not available.

URL uniqueness rules​

Tracer links are unique enough for tracking while still readable.

  • same job + same source path + same destination URL => token is reused
  • same job + same source path + changed destination URL => new token
  • old tokens continue to redirect (not retroactively deleted)

Risk and responsibility disclaimer​

Tracer links are redirect links. Some recruiters, companies, universities, or security tools may treat redirects as suspicious behavior and may whitelist, blacklist, filter, or flag these links as phishing-like.

By enabling and using this feature, you accept full responsibility for any consequences that result from its use. Responsibility for policy, trust, and reputation outcomes sits with the user/operator of the instance, not with the app.

Common problems​

Cause:

  • readiness is not Ready
  • host is local/private or unreachable from the verifier

Fix:

  • configure a real public host
  • set JOBOPS_PUBLIC_BASE_URL for background flows
  • make sure <public-base-url>/health is reachable
  • retry Verify now

Cause:

  • base URL cannot be resolved at generation time, or instance health is not reachable for that run

Fix:

  • ensure JOBOPS_PUBLIC_BASE_URL is set correctly
  • verify the deployment is publicly reachable
  • regenerate the PDF

Cause:

  • toggle changes only apply to newly generated PDFs

Fix:

  • regenerate the PDF for that job

Analytics look inflated by scanners​

Cause:

  • link scanners and preview bots may open links automatically

Fix:

  • use the Include likely bots filter in Tracer Links analytics