Technical Job Search
Helps software engineers with discrete job search tasks: job description analysis, CV tailoring, cover letter writing, offer evaluation, and follow-up emails.
Job Description Analysis
When given a job description, extract and structure:
Must-haves (explicitly required or repeated multiple times):
- Technical skills, years of experience, specific domain knowledge
Nice-to-haves (preferred, a bonus, or mentioned once):
- List these separately. Candidates often disqualify themselves over requirements that are actually optional.
What the role actually solves (inferred from the description):
- Summarize in 2-3 sentences what business problem this hire addresses
Red flags to surface:
- "Wear many hats" with no clarity on scope — risk of undefined ownership
- 10+ must-have technologies for a single role — unrealistic bar or poor team planning
- No mention of team size, tech stack, or what the role ships — may indicate disorganization
CV / Resume Tailoring
When tailoring a CV to a specific job description:
- Match language exactly — use the same terminology as the JD, not synonyms. If the JD says "distributed systems", do not write "large-scale systems".
- Lead with impact — every bullet should have a result: "Reduced P99 latency by 40%" not "Worked on performance improvements".
- Quantify everything possible — users, QPS, team size, cost saved, revenue impact.
- Cut what does not match — a two-page CV tailored to the role beats a four-page generic one.
- Mirror the seniority signals — entry roles want "built", senior roles want "designed", staff and principal roles want "drove" or "defined".
Do not keyword-stuff. Write for the hiring manager reading it, not for an ATS parser.
Cover Letter Writing
A cover letter should answer three questions in under 300 words:
- Why this company? Something specific — a product, a technical challenge they have written about, a problem space you care about. Not "I admire your mission."
- Why you? One or two concrete things from your background that directly match what they need. Link to the specific role, not your full career history.
- Why now? What is your motivation at this point in your career? One sentence.
Format: three short paragraphs. No preamble ("I am writing to apply for..."). No summary of your CV.
Avoid:
- Restating your CV in prose form
- "I am passionate about..."
- Generic company praise ("a leader in the industry", "innovative company")
- Going longer than one page
Offer Evaluation
When evaluating a job offer, compare across these dimensions:
Compensation
- Base salary: check against market rate for role, level, and location (levels.fyi, Glassdoor, Blind, Comprehensive.io)
- Equity: current valuation, vesting schedule (4-year with 1-year cliff is standard), dilution risk for early-stage companies
- Bonus: target percentage vs actual historical payout
- Total comp = base + expected bonus + annualized equity value
Role clarity
- Scope: what does "owning" this role actually mean vs what is already decided?
- Team: size, structure, who you report to, tenure of the team
- Growth: what does the next level look like and how long do people typically take to get there?
Company health
- Stage: runway, revenue, growth rate — ask directly if not public
- Engineering culture signals: PR review process, incident postmortem culture, on-call burden
- Remote or hybrid reality: written policy vs actual practice
Red flags in an offer
- Pressure to decide in under 48 hours — a reasonable window is one to two weeks
- Equity with no clear liquidity path for a company that has been private for 10+ years
- A role described as greenfield that turns out to have 6 months of existing unmaintained code
Get everything in writing before accepting.
Follow-up Emails
After an interview, send a follow-up within 24 hours:
- One sentence thanking them for the time
- One sentence referencing something specific from the conversation (a problem discussed, a question they asked)
- One sentence reaffirming interest, if genuine
Do not write multiple paragraphs. Do not restate your qualifications. Do not follow up more than once if there is no reply.
1---2name: technical-job-search3description: Use this skill when a software engineer asks for help with job search tasks: parsing or analyzing a job description, tailoring a CV/resume, writing a cover letter, evaluating a job offer, or drafting a post-interview follow-up email. Do not activate for general career advice unrelated to an active job search action.4license: MIT5---67# Technical Job Search89Helps software engineers with discrete job search tasks: job description analysis, CV tailoring, cover letter writing, offer evaluation, and follow-up emails.1011---1213## Job Description Analysis1415When given a job description, extract and structure:1617**Must-haves** (explicitly required or repeated multiple times):18- Technical skills, years of experience, specific domain knowledge1920**Nice-to-haves** (preferred, a bonus, or mentioned once):21- List these separately. Candidates often disqualify themselves over requirements that are actually optional.2223**What the role actually solves** (inferred from the description):24- Summarize in 2-3 sentences what business problem this hire addresses2526**Red flags to surface**:27- "Wear many hats" with no clarity on scope — risk of undefined ownership28- 10+ must-have technologies for a single role — unrealistic bar or poor team planning29- No mention of team size, tech stack, or what the role ships — may indicate disorganization3031---3233## CV / Resume Tailoring3435When tailoring a CV to a specific job description:36371. **Match language exactly** — use the same terminology as the JD, not synonyms. If the JD says "distributed systems", do not write "large-scale systems".382. **Lead with impact** — every bullet should have a result: "Reduced P99 latency by 40%" not "Worked on performance improvements".393. **Quantify everything possible** — users, QPS, team size, cost saved, revenue impact.404. **Cut what does not match** — a two-page CV tailored to the role beats a four-page generic one.415. **Mirror the seniority signals** — entry roles want "built", senior roles want "designed", staff and principal roles want "drove" or "defined".4243Do not keyword-stuff. Write for the hiring manager reading it, not for an ATS parser.4445---4647## Cover Letter Writing4849A cover letter should answer three questions in under 300 words:50511. **Why this company?** Something specific — a product, a technical challenge they have written about, a problem space you care about. Not "I admire your mission."522. **Why you?** One or two concrete things from your background that directly match what they need. Link to the specific role, not your full career history.533. **Why now?** What is your motivation at this point in your career? One sentence.5455Format: three short paragraphs. No preamble ("I am writing to apply for..."). No summary of your CV.5657Avoid:58- Restating your CV in prose form59- "I am passionate about..."60- Generic company praise ("a leader in the industry", "innovative company")61- Going longer than one page6263---6465## Offer Evaluation6667When evaluating a job offer, compare across these dimensions:6869**Compensation**70- Base salary: check against market rate for role, level, and location (levels.fyi, Glassdoor, Blind, Comprehensive.io)71- Equity: current valuation, vesting schedule (4-year with 1-year cliff is standard), dilution risk for early-stage companies72- Bonus: target percentage vs actual historical payout73- Total comp = base + expected bonus + annualized equity value7475**Role clarity**76- Scope: what does "owning" this role actually mean vs what is already decided?77- Team: size, structure, who you report to, tenure of the team78- Growth: what does the next level look like and how long do people typically take to get there?7980**Company health**81- Stage: runway, revenue, growth rate — ask directly if not public82- Engineering culture signals: PR review process, incident postmortem culture, on-call burden83- Remote or hybrid reality: written policy vs actual practice8485**Red flags in an offer**86- Pressure to decide in under 48 hours — a reasonable window is one to two weeks87- Equity with no clear liquidity path for a company that has been private for 10+ years88- A role described as greenfield that turns out to have 6 months of existing unmaintained code8990Get everything in writing before accepting.9192---9394## Follow-up Emails9596After an interview, send a follow-up within 24 hours:97- One sentence thanking them for the time98- One sentence referencing something specific from the conversation (a problem discussed, a question they asked)99- One sentence reaffirming interest, if genuine100101Do not write multiple paragraphs. Do not restate your qualifications. Do not follow up more than once if there is no reply.
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