resume-creator

name	resume-creator
description	Guides users through building a complete, ATS-optimized resume using a proven 2026 methodology. Use when the user wants to create, rewrite, or improve a resume. Covers keyword strategy, a 5-section template, the Badass Bullet Point Formula, Professional Summary generation, and PDF export via a bundled script. Outputs a ready-to-paste markdown source and a styled 2-page PDF.

Resume Creator

Builds ATS-optimized, 2-page resumes following Greg Langstaff's 2026 methodology. Walk through the workflow below, gathering input at each step before writing.

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Workflow

Step 1 — Gather inputs. Ask the user for:

• Target job title and/or a job posting to pull keywords from
• Industry and total years of experience
• 3–5 key achievements with numbers (revenue, %, time saved, team size, etc.)
• Contact info: full name, phone, city/state, email, LinkedIn URL
• Work history: job titles, companies, dates, locations, 1–2 sentence context per role
• Education: credential type, field, school, city/state (omit if irrelevant — use Certifications instead)
• Certifications, awards (optional)

Step 2 — Build the Areas of Expertise grid. Extract keywords from the job posting into 3 categories:

1. Industry Terminology
2. Job Specific Skills
3. Equipment or Software

Format as a 4-column bullet grid (12–16 terms). These are the primary ATS keyword injection points.

Step 3 — Generate Professional Summary. Use titled-sentence style (recommended) or straight paragraph:

• Titled-sentence style: each sentence starts with a bold keyword topic. Example: Test Infrastructure: Built 2,000+ TestRail test cases and cut suite creation from 2–3 days to 5–6 hours.
• Straight paragraph style: plain sentences, no titles.

3–5 sentences. No em dashes. No fluff. Preview real strengths supported by the resume.

Step 4 — Write experience entries. For each role:

• Header line: Job Title | Start Date – End Date (or Present)
• Second line: **Company Name**, City, ST
• Bullets using the Badass Bullet Point Formula (3–6 per role, 5–8 for the most recent senior role): [Action Verb] + [Specific / Quantifiable Detail] + [Result]
• Every bullet proves impact — no responsibility lists.

For roles with multiple sub-projects under one title, use sub-project headers (see Markdown Format below).

Step 5 — Write Certifications. When the user has no relevant education degree, replace the Education section with Certifications:

• **Certificate Name**, Organization | YEAR

Step 6 — Assemble the full resume using the structure below. Output as a markdown file named [firstname-lastname]-resume-ats.md.

Step 7 — Generate PDF. Run the bundled script to produce a styled PDF:

# One-time setup (from the project directory)
python3 -m venv .venv && .venv/bin/pip install reportlab --quiet

# Generate
.venv/bin/python scripts/generate_resume_pdf.py \
  --source [firstname-lastname]-resume-ats.md \
  --output [firstname-lastname]-resume.pdf

If the output spills past 2 pages, tighten by removing redundant bullets (not by shrinking fonts). If page 2 has large empty space, add a short Technical Toolkit paragraph at the end.

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Resume Structure (2-page template)

Page 1

YOUR NAME                          ← centered, 21pt bold, dark navy
Professional Title  |  Professional Title   ← dual titles if targeting 2 role types
Phone  |  City, ST  |  email  |  LinkedIn URL

PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY -----------------------------------------------
[3–5 sentences. Titled-sentence or straight paragraph. No em dashes.]

AREAS OF EXPERTISE -------------------------------------------------
• Keyword 1        • Keyword 4        • Keyword 7        • Keyword 10
• Keyword 2        • Keyword 5        • Keyword 8        • Keyword 11
• Keyword 3        • Keyword 6        • Keyword 9        • Keyword 12

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE --------------------------------------------
Company Name — Context Description
**Job Title** | Start – End | Location

  • Action Verb + Specific Detail + Result
  • (5–8 bullets for top role, 3–5 for others)

**Second Role at Same Company** | Start – End | Location

  • bullet

Page 2

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE CONTINUED ----------------------------------
[Continue remaining roles in same format]

CERTIFICATIONS -----------------------------------------------------
• **Certificate Name**, Organization | YEAR

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Markdown Format Reference

The bundled generate_resume_pdf.py script parses this exact markdown format:

# Full Name
Professional Title  |  Professional Title
Phone  |  City, ST  |  email  |  [linkedin.com/in/handle](url)

## Professional Summary
[one or more non-empty lines — the parser reads each line as its own summary paragraph]

## Areas of Expertise
Keyword 1 | Keyword 2 | Keyword 3 | Keyword 4 | Keyword 5 | ...

## Professional Experience

### Company Name — Context
**Job Title** | Start – End | Location

- Bullet one
- Bullet two

**Second Role** | Start – End | Location

- Bullet one

#### Sub-project Name | Start – End

- Bullet under sub-project

### Next Company
**Job Title** | Start – End | Location

- Bullet

## Certifications

- **Certificate Name**, Organization | YEAR

Key format rules:

• ### = company header
• **Title** | dates = main role (bold in PDF)
• #### Name | dates = sub-project under a role (bold, slightly indented spacing, visually subordinate)
• ## Areas of Expertise keywords separated by | → rendered as 4-column grid
• First two lines after # Name become the header block: line 1 = title (larger bold), line 2+ = contact info
• Certifications section replaces Education when no relevant degree

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Design Specification

Element	Spec
Page size	US Letter, margins 0.7" left/right, 0.65" top, 0.6" bottom
Name	Helvetica-Bold, 22pt, centered, near-black #111111
Dual title line	Helvetica-Bold, 11pt, centered, #1F2937
Contact line	Helvetica, 9.4pt, centered, gray #6B7280
Section headers	Helvetica-Bold, 11.6pt, UPPERCASE, navy #16324F, spaceBefore=11
Summary text	Helvetica, 9.5pt, leading 13, supports multi-line titled-sentence paragraphs
Company name	Helvetica-Bold, 10.9pt, #111827, spaceBefore=7
Main role line	Helvetica, 9.5pt, role bolded inline, metadata gray
Sub-project line	Helvetica, 9.4pt, role bolded inline, spaceBefore=5
Bullet text	Helvetica, 9.3pt, leading 12, compact list spacing
Certifications	Single-column bullet list, 8.9pt, compact leading 10.6
AoE grid	4-column Table (no visible borders), 9.2pt, bullet prefix
Color scheme	Navy #16324F + white — no color accents in body
Length	Exactly 2 pages — do not compress to 1

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ATS Rules

• No tables, columns, text boxes, or graphics in the body (the AoE grid uses an invisible Table — text remains extractable).
• Keywords: pulled from the target job posting → inject into Areas of Expertise first, then echo the most important ones in the Summary.
• Hook fast: name, dual titles, and summary must lead with clear value.
• Metrics beat responsibilities: every bullet in the top role should have a number or concrete outcome.