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Send personalized job application emails with Telegram, OpenAI, and Gmail

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Created by: Joe V || joevenner

Joe V

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Last update 3 hours ago

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🔧 Setup Guide - Hiring Bot Workflow

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📋 Prerequisites

Before importing this workflow, make sure you have:

  • ✅ n8n Instance (cloud or self-hosted)
  • ✅ Telegram Bot Token (from @BotFather)
  • ✅ OpenAI API Key (with GPT-4 Vision access)
  • ✅ Gmail Account (with OAuth setup)
  • ✅ Google Drive (to store your resume)
  • ✅ Redis Instance (free tier available at Redis Cloud)

🚀 Step-by-Step Setup

1️⃣ Upload Your Resume to OpenAI

First, you need to upload your resume to OpenAI's Files API:

# Upload your resume to OpenAI
curl https://api.openai.com/v1/files \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_OPENAI_API_KEY" \
  -F purpose="assistants" \
  -F file="@/path/to/your/resume.pdf"

Important: Save the file_id from the response (looks like file-xxxxxxxxxxxxx)

Alternative: Use OpenAI Playground or Python:

from openai import OpenAI
client = OpenAI(api_key="YOUR_API_KEY")

with open("resume.pdf", "rb") as file:
    response = client.files.create(file=file, purpose="assistants")
    print(f"File ID: {response.id}")

2️⃣ Upload Your Resume to Google Drive

  1. Go to Google Drive
  2. Upload your resume PDF
  3. Right-click → "Get link" → Copy the file ID from URL
    • URL format: https://drive.google.com/file/d/FILE_ID_HERE/view
    • Example ID: 1h79U8IFtI2dp_OBtnyhdGaarWpKb9qq9

3️⃣ Create a Telegram Bot

  1. Open Telegram and message @BotFather
  2. Send /newbot
  3. Choose a name and username
  4. Save the Bot Token (looks like 123456789:ABCdefGHIjklMNOpqrsTUVwxyz)
  5. (Optional) Set bot commands:
    /start - Start the bot
/help - Get help

4️⃣ Set Up Redis

Option A: Redis Cloud (Recommended - Free)

  1. Go to Redis Cloud
  2. Create a free account
  3. Create a database
  4. Note: Host, Port, Password

Option B: Local Redis

# Docker
docker run -d -p 6379:6379 redis:latest

# Or via package manager
sudo apt-get install redis-server

5️⃣ Import the Workflow to n8n

  1. Open n8n
  2. Click "+" → "Import from File"
  3. Select Hiring_Bot_Anonymized.json
  4. Workflow will import with placeholder values

6️⃣ Configure Credentials

A. Telegram Bot Credentials

  1. In n8n, go to Credentials → Create New
  2. Select "Telegram API"
  3. Enter your Bot Token from Step 3
  4. Test & Save

B. OpenAI API Credentials

  1. Go to Credentials → Create New
  2. Select "OpenAI API"
  3. Enter your OpenAI API Key
  4. Test & Save

C. Redis Credentials

  1. Go to Credentials → Create New
  2. Select "Redis"
  3. Enter:
    • Host: Your Redis host
    • Port: 6379 (default)
    • Password: Your Redis password
  4. Test & Save

D. Gmail Credentials

  1. Go to Credentials → Create New
  2. Select "Gmail OAuth2 API"
  3. Follow OAuth setup flow
  4. Authorize n8n to access Gmail
  5. Test & Save

E. Google Drive Credentials

  1. Go to Credentials → Create New
  2. Select "Google Drive OAuth2 API"
  3. Follow OAuth setup flow
  4. Authorize n8n to access Drive
  5. Test & Save

7️⃣ Update Node Values

A. Update OpenAI File ID in "PayloadForReply" Node

  1. Double-click the "PayloadForReply" node
  2. Find this line in the code:
    const resumeFileId = "YOUR_OPENAI_FILE_ID_HERE";
  3. Replace with your actual OpenAI file ID from Step 1:
    const resumeFileId = "file-xxxxxxxxxxxxx";
  4. Save the node

B. Update Google Drive File ID (Both "Download Resume" Nodes)

There are TWO nodes that need updating:

Node 1: "Download Resume"

  1. Double-click the node
  2. In the "File ID" field, click "Expression"
  3. Replace YOUR_GOOGLE_DRIVE_FILE_ID with your actual ID
  4. Update "Cached Result Name" to your resume filename
  5. Save

Node 2: "Download Resume1" (same process)

  1. Double-click the node
  2. Update File ID
  3. Update filename
  4. Save

8️⃣ Assign Credentials to Nodes

After importing, you need to assign your credentials to each node:

Nodes that need credentials:

Node Name Credential Type
Telegram Trigger Telegram API
Generating Reply OpenAI API
Store AI Reply Redis
GetValues Redis
Download Resume Google Drive OAuth2
Download Resume1 Google Drive OAuth2
Schedule Email Gmail OAuth2
SendConfirmation Telegram API
Send a message Telegram API
Edit a text message Telegram API
Send a text message Telegram API
Send a chat action Telegram API

How to assign:

  1. Click on each node
  2. In the "Credentials" section, select your saved credential
  3. Save the node

🧪 Testing the Workflow

1️⃣ Activate the Workflow

  1. Click the "Active" toggle in the top-right
  2. Workflow should now be listening for Telegram messages

2️⃣ Test with a Job Post

  1. Find a job post online (LinkedIn, Indeed, etc.)
  2. Take a screenshot
  3. Send it to your Telegram bot
  4. Bot should respond with:
    • "Analyzing job post..." (typing indicator)
    • Full email draft with confirmation button

3️⃣ Test Email Sending

  1. Click "Send The Email" button
  2. Check Gmail to verify email was sent
  3. Check if resume was attached

🐛 Troubleshooting

Issue: "No binary image found"

  • Solution: Make sure you're sending an image file, not a document

Issue: "Invalid resume file_id"

  • Solution:
    1. Check OpenAI file_id format (starts with file-)
    2. Verify file was uploaded successfully
    3. Make sure you updated the code in PayloadForReply node

Issue: "Failed to parse model JSON"

  • Solution:
    1. Check OpenAI API quota/limits
    2. Verify model name is correct (gpt-5.2)
    3. Check if image is readable

Issue: Gmail not sending

  • Solution:
    1. Re-authenticate Gmail OAuth
    2. Check Gmail permissions
    3. Verify "attachments" field is set to "Resume"

Issue: Redis connection failed

  • Solution:
    1. Test Redis connection in credentials
    2. Check firewall rules
    3. Verify host/port/password

Issue: Telegram webhook not working

  • Solution:
    1. Deactivate and reactivate workflow
    2. Check Telegram bot token is valid
    3. Make sure bot is not blocked

🔐 Security Best Practices

  1. Never share your credentials - Keep API keys private
  2. Use environment variables in n8n for sensitive data
  3. Set up Redis password - Don't use default settings
  4. Limit OAuth scopes - Only grant necessary permissions
  5. Rotate API keys regularly
  6. Monitor usage - Check for unexpected API calls

🎨 Customization Ideas

Change AI Model

In the PayloadForReply node, update:

const MODEL = "gpt-5.2"; // Change to gpt-4, claude-3-opus, etc.

Adjust Email Length

Modify the system prompt:

// From:
Email body: ~120–180 words unless INSIGHTS specify otherwise.

// To:
Email body: ~100–150 words for concise applications.

Add More Languages

Update language detection logic in the system prompt to support more languages.

Custom Job Filtering

Edit the system prompt to target specific roles:

// From:
Only pick ONE job offer to process — the one most clearly related to Data roles

// To:
Only pick ONE job offer to process — the one most clearly related to [YOUR FIELD]

Add Follow-up Reminders

Add a "Wait" node after email sends to schedule a reminder after 7 days.

📊 Workflow Structure

Telegram Input
    ↓
Switch (Route by type)
    ↓
├─ New Job Post
│   ↓
│   Send Chat Action (typing...)
│   ↓
│   PayloadForReply (Build AI request)
│   ↓
│   Generating Reply (Call OpenAI)
│   ↓
│   FormatAiReply (Parse JSON)
│   ↓
│   Store AI Reply (Redis cache)
│   ↓
│   SendConfirmation (Show preview)
│
└─ Callback (User clicked "Send")
    ↓
    GetValues (Fetch from Redis)
    ↓
    Format Response
    ↓
    Download Resume (from Drive)
    ↓
    ├─ Path A: Immediate Send
    │   ↓
    │   Send Confirmation Message
    │   ↓
    │   Edit Message (update status)
    │
    └─ Path B: Scheduled Send
        ↓
        Wait (10 seconds)
        ↓
        Download Resume Again
        ↓
        Schedule Email (Gmail)
        ↓
        Send Success Message

💡 Tips for Best Results

  1. High-Quality Resume: Upload a well-formatted PDF resume
  2. Clear Screenshots: Take clear, readable job post screenshots
  3. Use Captions: Add instructions via Telegram captions
  4. Review Before Sending: Always read the draft before clicking send
  5. Update Resume Regularly: Keep your Google Drive resume current
  6. Test First: Try with a few test jobs before mass applying

🆘 Need Help?

📝 Checklist

Use this checklist to verify your setup:

  • [ ] OpenAI resume file uploaded (got file_id)
  • [ ] Google Drive resume uploaded (got file ID)
  • [ ] Telegram bot created (got bot token)
  • [ ] Redis instance created (got credentials)
  • [ ] All n8n credentials created and tested
  • [ ] PayloadForReply node updated with OpenAI file_id
  • [ ] Both Download Resume nodes updated with Drive file_id
  • [ ] All nodes have credentials assigned
  • [ ] Workflow activated
  • [ ] Test message sent successfully
  • [ ] Test email received successfully

🎉 You're all set! Start applying to jobs in 10 seconds!

Made with ❤️ and n8n