| name | cv-tailor |
| description | Tactical sub-skill that takes one job description and produces a complete tailored application package — 1-page CV PDF, 250-400 word cover letter PDF, ≤60-word LinkedIn cold DM, 3-bullet "why I fit" summary. Triggered by user pasting a JD URL/text or saying "apply to this", or invoked by the job-hunt orchestrator skill in Phase 2. All outputs land under applications/<company>-<role>-<date>/. Reads writing rules from memory/feedback.md before generating. |
CV-Tailor (Generic)
You are tailoring application materials for one specific role. Always read the user's memory files first:
memory/project.md — user profile + target market + eligibility (visa, location)memory/feedback.md — accumulated writing rules (what to do, what to avoid)
These encode hard rules that override your defaults.
Workspace expectations
${WORKSPACE}/cv_master.tex ← canonical 1-page CV (never modified by this skill)
${WORKSPACE}/build.sh ← Tectonic-based build script
${WORKSPACE}/experience-bank/*.md ← per-project bullet variants by role type
${WORKSPACE}/templates/ ← cover_letter / linkedin_dm / why_i_fit templates
${WORKSPACE}/applications/<company>-<role>-<YYYY-MM-DD>/ ← output target
When to invoke
Trigger when user:
- Pastes a JD URL (Ashby / Greenhouse / Lever / Workable / careers page)
- Pastes JD text
- Says "apply to this", "tailor for this role", "/cv-tailor"
- The orchestrator skill (job-hunt) routes Phase 2 here
Required inputs
At minimum:
- JD source — URL or pasted text
- Company name (extract from JD if not given)
- Role title (extract from JD)
Optional but useful:
- Application deadline (sort priority)
- Whether user has a referral / warm intro
If JD is a URL, use WebFetch to pull it. If WebFetch fails (LinkedIn / Workday often block), ask the user to paste the JD text.
Step-by-step algorithm
Step 1 — Analyse the JD
Write to applications/<company>-<role>-<date>/analysis.md:
# JD Analysis
**Company:** ...
**Role:** ...
**Location:** ... (in-person / hybrid / remote?)
**Stage:** ... (seed / Series A-D / public)
**JD URL:** ...
## Role type (pick ONE primary, optional secondary)
- [ ] Growth / Marketing
- [ ] Product / APM / PM
- [ ] BizOps / Operations / Founder Associate / Chief of Staff
- [ ] Solutions Engineer / Customer-facing technical
- [ ] Engineering / Founding Engineer
- [ ] Data / Analyst
- [ ] Customer Success / Support
- [ ] Other: ___
## Top 5 keywords / required signals from JD
## What this employer cares about most (read between the lines)
## Visa / sponsorship language in JD
## User's strongest matching evidence
(pull 3-5 bullets from experience bank that match)
## User's weakest gaps for this JD
(honest list — informs cover-letter "why I'd grow into this" angle)
## Recommended angle for cover letter
(one sentence describing the narrative thread)
## CV tailoring decisions
- Tagline: ...
- About variant: ...
- Project bullets selected: ...
- Skills section reorder: ...
Step 2 — Tailor the CV
- Copy
cv_master.tex → applications/<company>-<role>-<date>/cv.tex.
- Edit ONLY these blocks (do not restructure):
- Tagline: adjust to match the role (e.g. for Growth:
... | Content / Distribution / Growth | ...).
- About paragraph: rewrite using the variant from
memory/project.md defaults or experience-bank/about-variants.md matching the role type. Tweak final sentence to name the role / company. Keep ≤4 lines.
- Project bullets: for each project, swap in 1–3 bullets from
experience-bank/<project>.md that match keywords from the JD. Keep total page = 1.
- Skills section: reorder so technologies most relevant to the JD appear first.
- Build with
cd ${WORKSPACE} && tectonic --chatter minimal applications/<company>-<role>-<date>/cv.tex (or use build.sh).
- Verify 1 page:
pdftotext -bbox-layout cv.pdf - | grep -c '<page' — must equal 1. If 2, trim one bullet from the longest project section.
Step 3 — Cover letter
Use templates/cover_letter.template.md or write fresh. Fill placeholders:
{{COMPANY}}, {{ROLE}}, {{HIRING_MANAGER_OR_TEAM}} (use "Hiring team" if unknown){{HOOK}} — opens with the most JD-relevant accomplishment, NOT a generic intro{{WHY_THIS_COMPANY}} — 2–3 sentences citing something concrete you can verify (a launch, blog post, feature, recent funding). Never write generic praise.{{WHY_ME}} — 3 bullets max, each starting with a verb, each tied to one JD keyword{{CLOSE}} — short, no "looking forward to hearing from you" filler
Length target: 250–400 words. Cut ruthlessly.
Save as applications/<company>-<role>-<date>/cover_letter.tex (matches CV style) or .md if using pandoc. Build PDF with Tectonic or pandoc.
Step 4 — LinkedIn cold DM
Use templates/linkedin_dm.template.md. Hard rules:
- ≤60 words
- Opens with one specific, verifiable thing about the company / founder (not "I love your mission")
- One sentence on user's strongest signal
- One sentence ask: "Could I send you my CV?" or "Open to a 15-min chat?"
- No emojis. No "hope this finds you well."
Save to applications/<company>-<role>-<date>/linkedin_dm.txt.
Step 5 — "Why I fit" 3-bullet summary
Use templates/why_i_fit.template.md. Three bullets, each ≤25 words, each tied to a JD requirement. For pasting into application form free-text fields like "Why are you interested in this role?".
Save to applications/<company>-<role>-<date>/why_i_fit.txt.
Step 6 — Hand off
Print to user:
- Output directory path
- 1-page CV preview command (
open <pdf>)
- One-paragraph summary of choices made: which bullets selected, which About variant, what cover letter angle
- Anything ambiguous in the JD that needs user confirmation before sending
Always proceed to Phase 3 (Pre-submission Review) of the orchestrator. Don't push to Submit.
Hard rules
- Never invent metrics. If a JD asks for "experience scaling X to Y users" and user only has Z, say Z — do not inflate.
- Master CV is canonical — never modify it directly. Always work in a per-application copy.
- 1 page always for the CV (default; respect
config.yaml if it overrides). If overflowing, drop the weakest bullet, not the strongest.
- Cover letter must cite something verifiable about the company. If you cannot find anything specific, use WebFetch on the company's homepage / blog before writing — do not write generic praise.
- Visa line stays in About if user's
memory/project.md says they need it (e.g., "UK Graduate Visa eligible — no sponsorship required"). Drop it only if the JD explicitly invites either path.
- Tone: terse, factual, builder voice. No "passionate", "thrive", "fast-paced environment", "leverage synergies". Cut these on sight.
- Read
memory/feedback.md before writing. It contains rules the user has already taught you. Apply them preemptively.
Output structure (final state)
${WORKSPACE}/applications/<company>-<role>-<YYYY-MM-DD>/
├── analysis.md # JD analysis
├── cv.tex / cv.pdf # Tailored 1-page CV
├── cover_letter.md or .tex / .pdf # 250-400 word cover letter
├── linkedin_dm.txt # ≤60-word DM
└── why_i_fit.txt # 3 bullets for application form
Reference files
- Master CV:
${WORKSPACE}/cv_master.tex
- Experience bank:
${WORKSPACE}/experience-bank/*.md
- Templates:
${WORKSPACE}/templates/*.md
- Build:
${WORKSPACE}/build.sh (Tectonic-based, ATS-friendly LaTeX)
