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JobRecon

JobRecon

How JobRecon Works

Federal data plus AI analysis. We're showing our work because you deserve to know where the numbers come from.

How Career Matching Works

Here's the actual process — not the marketing version:

1. Military Crosswalk Foundation

We start with 77,989 official crosswalk records from the Department of Defense Military Crosswalk (DMDC) and O*NET. These records map Military Occupational Codes (MOCs) from all service branches to Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) codes used in the civilian workforce.

2. AI Semantic Matching

Using Claude (Anthropic), we analyze 61,343 occupation embeddings to find careers that match not just by classification code, but by actual skills, knowledge, and work activities. Each recommendation includes:

  • Confidence score (0-100%)
  • Detailed reasoning explaining the match
  • Skills alignment analysis
  • Certification pathway recommendations

3. Career Clustering

Occupations are organized into 28 career clusters (e.g., Information Technology, Healthcare, Protective Services) to help you explore related fields beyond your exact military specialty.

4. Match Confidence Calculation

Our confidence scores reflect:

  • Skills overlap between military and civilian roles
  • Knowledge domain similarity
  • Work activity alignment
  • Education/training transferability
  • Veteran success rates in that occupation (when available)

All recommendations are generated with strict context isolation - we never mix data across different military codes to prevent cross-contamination.

Data Sources

O*NET 30.2

Records: 1,016 occupations

Coverage: Complete SOC taxonomy

Updated: Feb 2026

BLS OEWS Wages

Records: 189,000+ wage records

Coverage: National + 400 metro areas

Updated: May 2024 (rel. Apr 2025)

Census CBP

Records: 49,166 records

Coverage: 3,142 counties

Updated: 2022 data

DMDC Military Crosswalks

Records: 77,989 records

Coverage: All 5 branches

Updated: Current

AI Career Recommendations

Records: 136,467 records

Coverage: Claude-generated

Updated: Jan 2026

SOC→OPM Federal Mapping

Records: 441 mappings

Coverage: Federal GS series

Updated: Current

USAJobs Postings

Records: 7,806+ active

Coverage: Live federal jobs

Updated: Daily refresh (6 AM UTC)

Adzuna Job Search API

Records: Live private sector

Coverage: US & UK markets

Updated: Real-time API calls

Semantic Embeddings

Records: 61,343 records

Coverage: All occupations

Updated: Dec 2025

Career Similarity Graph

Records: 130,164 pairs

Coverage: Occupation relationships

Updated: Dec 2025

AI Analysis — What It Is and What It Isn't

Career matches are generated by Claude (Anthropic). Here's exactly what it analyzes, and where the limitations are:

Input Data:

  • Complete O*NET occupation descriptions
  • Skills, knowledge, and abilities profiles
  • Work activities and context
  • Education and training requirements
  • Military occupation definitions and specialties

Generation Process:

  • Each military code is processed independently to prevent cross-contamination
  • AI analyzes semantic similarities beyond simple keyword matching
  • Recommendations are ranked by confidence with detailed reasoning
  • All outputs are reviewed for accuracy and relevance

What This Means for You:

  • AI-generated content is clearly labeled throughout JobRecon
  • Recommendations explain why a career matches, not just that it does
  • Confidence scores help you prioritize which careers to explore first
  • AI suggestions are guidance, not guarantees of placement

Limitations:

  • AI may miss niche specializations or emerging roles
  • Confidence scores are estimates, not certainties
  • Always verify with career counselors and TAP advisors
  • Regional job markets may differ from national data

Career Outlook Intelligence

Every career on JobRecon includes a Career Longevity Score — a number from 0 to 100 that reflects how resistant that occupation is to AI and automation displacement. It is not a prediction of whether your job will exist in 10 years. It is a signal about what kind of work the occupation requires — and whether that work is the kind machines are good at.

Work that requires human judgment in unpredictable situations, reading people, building trust, and adapting to things that can't be scripted scores higher. Work that is primarily rule-following, data processing, or physical tasks that can be mechanized scores lower. Most careers fall somewhere in the middle — and that's useful information too.

The score is based entirely on federal O*NET data — the same authoritative source the Department of Labor uses to describe occupational requirements. We did not train a model on subjective predictions. We measured what the work actually requires, then weighted those requirements by how much each one resists automation.

Very High

58–100

Human-skill dominant

High

50–57

Strong judgment req.

Moderate

40–49

Mixed profile

Lower

28–39

Automation exposure

At Risk

0–27

High displacement risk

A note for veterans: Military SOC codes (55-series) are civilian proxies — they describe what the military occupation maps to in civilian terms, not the full scope of what you did in uniform. Leadership, adaptability under pressure, security clearance, and the ability to function in high-stakes ambiguous environments are not fully captured in these scores. If you see a low score on a military-coded role, read it as a limitation of the civilian data — not a reflection of your value to an employer.

Live Job Search Methodology

How We Find Live Job Openings

JobRecon searches two complementary job markets in real-time:

1. Federal Sector (USAJobs)

  • Source: Official USAJOBS API (opm.gov)
  • Coverage: All federal government job postings
  • Update Frequency: Our database refreshes daily at 6 AM UTC with all active postings
  • Real-time Search: When you search, we query our current database snapshot plus the live USAJobs API for the most recent postings
  • Unique Features:
    • Veteran hiring preference identification
    • Military spouse hiring path
    • Security clearance requirements
    • GS grade and salary transparency
    • Application deadlines

2. Private Sector (Adzuna)

  • Source: Adzuna Job Search API (adzuna.com)
  • Coverage: Aggregates from major job boards including Indeed, LinkedIn, Monster, CareerBuilder, and company career sites
  • Update Frequency: Real-time API calls - you see jobs as soon as they're posted to partner sites
  • Unique Features:
    • Salary prediction for jobs without posted pay
    • Top hiring companies by occupation
    • Geographic salary distribution
    • Job density analysis

How We Combine Them:

When you search for jobs, our job-search-orchestrator Edge Function:

  1. Translates your military code (MOC) to civilian occupation codes (SOC)
  2. Maps SOC codes to federal GS series (for USAJobs search)
  3. Generates search terms for private sector (for Adzuna search)
  4. Queries both APIs in parallel
  5. Returns unified results with consistent formatting

Why Two Sources?

  • Federal jobs have veteran hiring preferences and stable benefits - critical for military transition
  • Private sector often has more openings, faster hiring, and diverse opportunities
  • Together they give you the complete picture of available opportunities

Data Freshness:

  • Federal: Database updated daily, live API queried on search
  • Private: Real-time - reflects current job board postings
  • Stale postings removed automatically by source providers

Limitations:

  • Private sector jobs may not explicitly state veteran preference (we can't filter like we do for federal)
  • Salary data for private jobs may be predicted, not actual
  • Not all companies post to job boards (some only hire through recruiters or referrals)
  • Job density varies by location - rural areas will show fewer results

How JobRecon Is Funded

JobRecon is free to use because organizations pay to reach its users — not the other way around.

Sponsorship placements. Employers, training providers, credentialing organizations, and veteran-focused nonprofits and foundations can purchase placement zones within the app. Sponsored content is labeled "Sponsored" at the point of display and is visually distinct from organic career match results.

Referral fees. When a user applies for a job, enrolls in a training program, or registers for a certification exam through a partner link, JobRecon may receive a referral fee from the partner. The fee is paid by the partner. There is no cost to the user and no effect on career data or match results.

What sponsorship does not affect. Career match rankings, salary data, job market projections, and credential recommendations are derived entirely from federal data sources (O*NET, BLS, DMDC) and are not influenced by sponsor relationships. A sponsor cannot purchase a higher match ranking or alter the underlying data.

Data. JobRecon does not sell user data. Sponsor organizations do not receive personally identifiable information about users.

Limitations & Disclaimers

Important Limitations to Understand:

1. Wage Data Reflects Averages, Not Guarantees

Salary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics represents median wages across all workers in an occupation. Your actual offer will depend on:

  • Your education, certifications, and experience
  • Employer size and industry
  • Local market conditions
  • Negotiation skills
  • Security clearance status (for cleared roles)

2. Job Market Depth Based on Establishment Counts

Our job market strength indicators use Census Bureau data on employer counts, not current job openings. "Strong market" means many employers hire for this role, not that there are openings today.

3. Career Translation is Guidance, Not Placement

AI recommendations help you explore options, but they don't guarantee you'll qualify or get hired. Always:

  • Verify requirements with actual job postings
  • Consult with TAP/SFL-TAP career counselors
  • Research licensing requirements for your state
  • Consider additional training or certifications

4. Federal GS Grade Recommendations Are Estimates

Recommended GS grades are based on military pay grade equivalents and typical hiring patterns. Actual grade offers depend on:

  • Your qualifications and specialized experience
  • Agency hiring authorities (e.g., direct hire, Veterans' Recruitment Appointment (VRA))
  • Position requirements and budget
  • Negotiation (yes, you can negotiate federal salaries)

5. Data Freshness Varies by Source

  • USAJobs postings: Updated daily
  • BLS wage data: Annual (May 2024, released Apr 2025)
  • Census data: 2022 (latest available)
  • AI recommendations: Generated January 2026

Treat this as a starting point, not a final answer. Use your TAP counselor, your network, and real job postings to validate before you commit to a path.