Nah you're right for this. It's becoming a bit of a trend to rely purely on vibes to analyze things, because leftist vibes are correct more often than not.
However, not utilizing material analysis, research, and critical thought is a very dangerous habit to get into.
Some general suggestions from recent experience:
Just a brainstorm list, hopefully at least one of them saves you some trouble! If you're able and looking for work, I like the LinkedIn jobs section more than craigslist/indeed/etc as employers there are generally more legit (as legit as it can be under capitalsim...). This may not apply to very rural areas though.