Senior Backend Engineer

## The two main distribution channels When you post a job on Indeed or Google for Jobs, you have two options: 1. **Post directly** — log in to Indeed.com, fill out a form, click publish 2. **Syndicate via feed** — provide your own job listing in a machine-readable format (XML or JSON-LD); the job board pulls from your feed and indexes it Direct posting is easy but limited. Syndication is a bit more technical but gives you precise control: you can update a job's status, salary, or requirements in your system, and it reflects on Indeed within hours without re-entering data. Most serious hiring teams use feeds. ## The Indeed XML format Indeed accepts a proprietary XML feed. Here's the structure: ```xml Your Company Name https://yourcompany.com 2026-05-21T10:00:00Z Senior Backend Engineer 2026-05-21T08:00:00Z https://yourcompany.com/jobs/senior-backend-engineer We are hiring a senior backend engineer...

5+ years Python/Go experience

]]> 120000 Your Company US California San Francisco FULL_TIME ENGINEER ``` Key elements: - **``:** Job title (required) - **`<description>`:** Full job description. Wrap in `<![CDATA[...]]>` if it contains HTML or special characters. Don't put HTML *inside* the CDATA — keep it clean text or add the HTML markup. - **`<salary>`:** Base salary in USD. Some regions accept salary ranges, but Indeed primarily indexes single values. - **`<jobLocation>`:** City, state, country. If remote, either omit or set city to "Remote." - **`<date>`:** When the job was posted (ISO 8601 format). Indeed uses this to prioritize newer postings. - **`<repourl>`:** Link back to your careers page for that specific job. When someone clicks "Apply," they land here. - **`<employmentType>`:** FULL_TIME, PART_TIME, CONTRACT, TEMPORARY ## Google for Jobs: JSON-LD Google has a different format called **JobPosting** structured data in JSON-LD. This is embedded in your HTML as a `<script type="application/ld+json">` tag. ```html <script type="application/ld+json"> { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "JobPosting", "title": "Senior Backend Engineer", "description": "We are hiring a senior backend engineer...", "identifier": { "@type": "PropertyValue", "name": "Your Company", "value": "job_123" }, "datePosted": "2026-05-21", "hiringOrganization": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Your Company", "sameAs": "https://yourcompany.com", "logo": "https://yourcompany.com/logo.png" }, "jobLocation": { "@type": "Place", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "streetAddress": "123 Main St", "addressLocality": "San Francisco", "addressRegion": "CA", "postalCode": "94105", "addressCountry": "US" } }, "baseSalary": { "@type": "PriceSpecification", "currency": "USD", "minValue": 120000, "maxValue": 160000, "unitText": "YEAR" }, "employmentType": "FULL_TIME", "validThrough": "2026-06-21" } </script> ``` Critical fields for Google to index: - **`datePosted`:** Must be present and recent. Google de-ranks old postings. - **`hiringOrganization`:** Company name and (optionally) logo. Used for the employer brand snippet. - **`baseSalary`:** Salary range (min/max). Optional but improves CTR. - **`validThrough`:** Job closing date. Google removes postings after this date. - **`jobLocation`:** Full postal address or remote. ## CDATA pitfalls and special characters In XML, special characters like `<`, `>`, and `&` break the feed. Wrap your description in `<![CDATA[...]]>`: ```xml <description><![CDATA[ We are looking for a developer with 5+ years experience. Experience with: Java, Spring Boot, Docker. ]]></description> ``` Inside CDATA, you can include plain HTML: ```xml <description><![CDATA[ <p>We are looking for a developer with 5+ years experience.</p> <ul> <li>Java 8+</li> <li>Spring Boot</li> <li>Docker</li> </ul> ]]></description> ``` Without CDATA, the `<p>` and `<li>` tags break the XML parser. Indeed's feed validator will reject the entire feed. ## Salary encoding **Indeed XML:** Single salary value only. If you have a range, use the midpoint or the low end. ```xml <salary>140000</salary> ``` **Google for Jobs:** Supports ranges: ```json "baseSalary": { "@type": "PriceSpecification", "currency": "USD", "minValue": 120000, "maxValue": 160000, "unitText": "YEAR" } ``` If your job is hourly, use: ```json "baseSalary": { "@type": "PriceSpecification", "currency": "USD", "minValue": 45, "maxValue": 65, "unitText": "HOUR" } ``` ## Update frequency and refreshes Once you've set up a feed URL, Indeed crawls it periodically (usually daily, sometimes more frequently if jobs change often). When a job closes, remove it from the feed or set a closing date. Indeed will automatically de-index it. Google for Jobs crawls the HTML pages where you embed JobPosting JSON-LD. Every time a candidate visits your job page, Google's crawler indexes it. If you remove the JSON-LD markup, the job disappears from Google for Jobs within days. ## Validation and debugging **For Indeed XML:** - Use Indeed's [Feed Validator](https://support.indeed.com/hc/en-us/articles/204897847-Feed-file-validator) to test your feed before connecting it - Common errors: malformed CDATA, missing required fields, invalid date format **For Google for Jobs:** - Use [Google's Structured Data Testing Tool](https://search.google.com/structured-data/testing-tool) or the newer [Rich Results Test](https://search.google.com/test/rich-results) - Check for missing datePosted, invalid date formats, or CDATA-like string encoding issues ## How ClarityHire generates feeds ClarityHire auto-generates both an Indeed XML feed at `/api/jobs/feed.xml` and a Google for Jobs JSON-LD template that you embed on your job pages at `/careers/jobs/[job-id]`. When you update a job (title, salary, description), the feeds refresh automatically. Closed jobs are removed from feeds within 2 hours. The system respects your job's `visibility` flag: draft jobs don't appear in feeds. ## TL;DR Indeed expects XML with CDATA-wrapped descriptions, salary, and location. Google for Jobs expects JSON-LD markup on your HTML with `datePosted`, `validThrough`, and salary ranges. Both use ISO date formats (YYYY-MM-DD or ISO 8601 timestamps). CDATA is your friend when wrapping HTML descriptions in XML. Validate before deploying. Auto-remove closed jobs from feeds. Test with Google's Rich Results Test and Indeed's validator. Once set up, your jobs distribute to Indeed and Google without re-entry. The setup takes a day; the ongoing leverage is immense. </article></body></html>

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