cv-tailor

name	cv-tailor
description	Customize resumes and cover letters for specific job applications with deterministic CV selection and formatting-safe edits. Use when a user asks to tailor a CV for a role/company/JD URL, generate role-matched resume+cover letter, compare against prior versions, or produce a Word redline/change summary.

CV Tailor

Generate tailored application materials in a repeatable, review-first workflow.

Required Inputs

• Company
• Role title
• Job description URL or pasted JD text

If JD text is thin, fetch it via URL or request pasted text before continuing.

Execution Standard

Follow references/repeatable-sop.md.

Key defaults:

1. Two-phase pipeline: Python prep → Claude analysis → Python apply.
2. Select base CV via scripts/select_base_cv.py (closest prior or Master CV fallback).
3. Validate analysis schema before generation (hard fail on invalid input).
4. Prefer formatting-safe in-place edits; do not full-rebuild resume by default.
5. Preserve dates/company names and core structure unless user asks otherwise.
6. Output artifacts + explicit change summary every run.

Workflow

Phase 1 -- Prep (Python)

Get the job description from the user. If they provide a URL, fetch it via WebFetch. If they paste text, use it directly. Write the JD text to a temp file yourself. The user should never create temp files.

# Write JD to temp file (you do this, not the user)
# Then run prep:
uv run cv-tailor/scripts/run_pipeline.py --phase prep --company "Acme" --role "AI PM" --jd-path /path/you/created.txt

Selects base CV, reads it, writes data/pending-analysis.json.

Phase 2 -- Analysis (Claude)

Report progress: "Reading JD... Analyzing against your resume..."

Read data/pending-analysis.json. It contains:

• base_cv_paragraphs -- exact strings from the base resume
• jd_text -- job description
• instructions -- what to do
• output_schema -- required output format

Produce targeted edits where old is an exact match to a paragraph in base_cv_paragraphs. Write results to data/analysis.json.

Report: "Planning X bullet edits, summary rewrite, Y-paragraph cover letter."

Preview Before Apply

Before running the apply phase, present a summary to the user:

"I'll edit X bullets, rewrite your summary, and write a Y-paragraph cover letter. Here's what changes:

• [Brief summary of each bullet edit]
• [Summary change]
• [Cover letter approach]

Apply?"

Wait for confirmation before proceeding.

Page count pre-check: Estimate whether the edits will push the resume past 2 pages. If the number of added/expanded bullets is high, flag it: "These edits might push past 2 pages. Want me to trim before applying?" Suggest specific cuts if needed.

Phase 3 -- Apply (Python)

uv run cv-tailor/scripts/run_pipeline.py --phase apply --company "Acme" --role "AI PM"

Validates schema, patches resume, generates cover letter + redline + QC + manifest.

Next step: After producing artifacts, suggest: "Want me to add this to your tracker?"

Scripts

Script	Role
scripts/run_pipeline.py	Pipeline orchestrator — --phase prep and --phase apply
scripts/build_analysis.py	Reads base CV + JD, writes pending-analysis.json for Claude
scripts/select_base_cv.py	Deterministic base CV selection from registry
scripts/validate_analysis.py	Schema + contract validation gate
scripts/docx_safe_patch.py	Phrase-level docx edits preserving run-level formatting
scripts/generate_redline.py	Change-log / redline artifact generation
scripts/quality_gate.py	Final quality checks before deliverables
scripts/index_store.py	CV registry builder — maps all CV files
scripts/reindex_cv_assets.py	Manual registry rebuild utility

Output Artifacts (always)

• Tailored resume .docx
• Tailored cover letter .docx
• Word redline/change-log .docx
• Chat summary: what changed and why

After Completion

After producing artifacts:

1. Suggest adding to tracker: "Want me to add this to your tracker?"
2. If user confirms, hand off to job-tracker skill with company + role.

Writing Quality Rules

• Never use em dashes (—). Use commas, periods, or parentheses instead.
• Never sound like AI. No "leveraging", "spearheading", "passionate about", "thrilled to". Write like a human.
• Resume must stay within 2 pages. If edits push it to page 3, cut or condense. Check page count before finalizing.
• Cover letter must stay within 1 page. 3-4 paragraphs max.

Error Handling

• If style/layout drifts, switch to micro-edit mode.
• If dependency error (docx missing), run via workspace venv python.
• If base CV unavailable, stop with remediation steps.
• If analysis.json validation fails, surface errors and stop before patching.