resume-alignment

name	resume-alignment
description	Align resume and cover letter to the job post (keywords, reverse chronology, action verbs, quantifiable results, experience cutoff). Before building, ask user for any more info (e.g. people at company). Output: resume-alignment.md, cover-letter.md, and connection-message.md for Documentor. Trigger: "resume alignment", "align resume", /resume-alignment.

Resume Alignment

Read job post and existing work from README; ask user for any more info; apply alignment rules; write resume-alignment.md, cover-letter.md, and connection-message.md. Documentor places connection message at very top (when present), then cover letter, then ---, then resume, then ---, then rest.

Rules

• Only write to resume-alignment.md, cover-letter.md, and connection-message.md. Do not modify README.md.
• Use only real experience and skills from source material; do not invent roles or metrics.
• Keep the resume concise (one to two pages when rendered). Keep the cover letter to one page when rendered.

Inputs

1. Project path – work/{company}/{job}/. Use work/config.md. Has README.md (including Job post section and possibly merged Existing work).
2. Job post – Full job post lives in the README in the 📄 Job post (full copy) section (or Level-0 / job post content in learn output).
3. Resume source – Existing resume content from work/ (READMEs in other company/job folders, work/ref/work-history/README.md, or Existing work section in current README). For format matching, also read work/README.md Career summary (narrative) and any Resume/cover format note in Existing work when present.
4. Recruiting contacts – If work/{company}/{job}/recruiting-contacts.md exists, or the README has a Hiring / recruiting contacts or ✉️ Connection message / Recruiter outreach section (or Findings > Hiring / recruiting contacts from learn output), read it. Use contact names, roles, LinkedIn URLs, and tastes/interests when drafting connection-message.md.

If the project path or job post content in README is missing, ask the user before proceeding.

Alignment rules

Apply these when writing the aligned resume and cover letter:

1. Keywords: Identify recurring nouns and skills in the job description. Insert them into your "Skills" and "Experience" sections and into the cover letter where accurate.
2. Reverse chronology: List your most relevant experience first (by relevance to this role, then by date if needed).
3. Action verbs: Start bullet points with words like "managed," "developed," "optimized," "led," "shipped," "designed," "increased," "reduced."
4. Quantifiable results: Use data to show impact. Example: "Increased sales by 20%" instead of "Improved sales."
5. Experience cutoff: Use the job's years of experience (from README section "Years of experience required" or job post). Include only roles within that window (e.g. if 12+ years, show roughly the last 12 to 15 years). Omit or aggregate older experience so the resume does not show far more years than the job asks for.
6. Cover letter: Align to the job (role, company, key requirements). Weave in any user-provided additional info (e.g. people at the company, prior collaboration). One page; clear opening, body, and close. Use the cover letter output format (structure below).

Process

1. Read job post and resume source

Read the README: ⏱ Years of experience required section (or Role summary / Job post) for the job's experience years. Read Job post (full copy) section or Role summary and Requirements for job context. Read Existing work, and any work/ READMEs or work-research content, for experience bullets, skills, and roles.

1a. Read recruiting contacts (if present)

If recruiting-contacts.md exists or README has Hiring/recruiting contacts or ✉️ Connection message section: read names, roles, LinkedIn, and tastes/interests for each contact. Use this when building connection-message.md (step 5b).

1b. Infer candidate format (match my formats)

Read Existing work in the current README and, if available, work/README.md Career summary (narrative) and any Resume/cover format subsection in Existing work. Note the candidate's usual: resume sections and order (e.g. Skills, then Experience in reverse chronology), bullet style (e.g. action verb + metric), cover letter length and structure (e.g. one page, opening/body/close). Note which roles and metrics in the narrative are most relevant to the current job post (e.g. fintech vs EdTech) so you can prioritize them when building. When building the aligned resume and cover letter (steps 4–5), preserve this structure so the output matches the candidate's other applications.

2. Ask for additional info (before building)

Ask the user: Do you have any more info to add? (e.g. people you know at the company, someone you worked with who now works there, other relevant experience.) Wait for their response. If they provide anything, use it when building the resume and cover letter.

3. Extract job keywords and themes

From the job post, list recurring nouns, skills, and requirements. Note role level and domain. Note the experience cutoff year: from "Years of experience required" compute the earliest start year to include (e.g. 12 years back from today).

4. Build aligned resume

Apply the five resume rules: weave in keywords, reorder experience (most relevant first), rewrite bullets with action verbs, add or keep quantifiable results, and cut off experience at the appropriate year. Match the candidate's format from step 1b (sections, order, bullet style). Output the resume in the standard copy-paste format (step 6): H1 name and title, H2 contact, # SKILLS as a plain list (one skill phrase per line; no backticks), # EXPERIENCE with ## Company — Role, date line, bullets as plain text (no backticks), # AWARDS as plain text. Produce a single resume document ready for Documentor to place and user to copy-paste into Google Docs.

5. Build aligned cover letter

One-page cover letter aligned to the job: role and company, why the candidate is a fit, 1–2 concrete ties to the job. Match the candidate's usual cover structure from step 1b (length, opening/body/close). Use the cover letter output format below. Incorporate any additional info the user provided (e.g. people at the company, prior collaboration). Clear opening, body, and sign-off.

5b. Build connection message(s) (LinkedIn)

If recruiting contacts exist (from step 1a): for each contact (or the primary one), write a short LinkedIn connection message. Keep under ~300 characters for connection requests. Reference: role applied for, company, and optionally one taste or interest from the contact when available. Use the contact's first name. Do not invent details. If recruiting-contacts.md already has a draft, refine it for tone and length; otherwise create it. Write to connection-message.md (see format below).

6. Write resume-alignment.md, cover-letter.md, and connection-message.md

Write resume to work/{company}/{job}/resume-alignment.md, cover letter to work/{company}/{job}/cover-letter.md. Resume output must use the standard copy-paste format (see below) so the Documentor can place it unchanged and the user can copy-paste the resume block into Google Docs for PDF. If recruiting contacts were read (step 1a), write connection-message.md to work/{company}/{job}/connection-message.md with the draft message(s) (one per contact or one primary). Documentor merges: connection message section at very top when present, ---, cover letter, ---, resume, ---, rest. Do not add --- or modify README.

Connection message output format (connection-message.md)

One draft per contact, or one primary. Each block: To: Full Name — Role. Then the message body (under ~300 characters). Example:

To: Jane Smith — Recruiter

Hi Jane — I applied for the Senior Product Designer role at Acme. Your focus on [one taste from profile] resonates with how I've approached [brief fit]. Happy to chat. Thanks, [Candidate first name]

Resume output format (copy-paste to Google Docs)

Use this structure. Do not use backticks or code formatting in the resume body; use plain text and markdown headings/emphasis only.

• Line 1: # {Full Name} – {Title} (H1)
• Line 2: ## [**{Portfolio URL}**](url) – [email](mailto:email) – phone (H2)
• # SKILLS (H1, all caps); then one skill phrase per line as a plain list (no backticks). Maximum 8 skills; each phrase max 40 characters.
• # EXPERIENCE (H1, all caps); one intro sentence (plain text); then per role: ## **Company** *— Role Title* (H2), date line (plain, e.g. 2018 – Current), bullets as - plain text (no backticks)
• # AWARDS (H1, all caps); one line plain text (no backticks)

No emoji in the resume. Use this format so the user can copy-paste the resume from the README into Google Docs unchanged.

Cover letter output format

Structure the cover letter as follows. Use the candidate's real name, portfolio, email, and phone from resume source or Existing work; do not invent contact info.

1. Header (top): Full name (bold). On the next line: portfolio URL (link), then contact on one line: email and phone separated by a vertical bar or comma (e.g. email | phone).
2. Date: Current date when generating (e.g. March 3, 2026). On its own line.
3. Recipient: One line, bold. Use a relevant salutation such as "Hiring Team", "Hiring Manager", "Recruiting Team", or "Dear Hiring Manager" depending on what the job post or application instructions suggest. No invented names.
4. Message body: Two to four short paragraphs (opening with role/company, experience and fit, why this role, close).
5. Closing line: One word or short phrase, e.g. "Sincerely," or "Best," or "Best regards,". Professionally appropriate to the type of role and industry.
6. Signature: Applicant's full name (bold) on the line after the closing.

Output cover-letter.md in plain text or markdown so the header, date, recipient, body, closing, and signature are clearly separated and copy-paste friendly. Preserve any bold for name and recipient if using markdown.