Resume Tailor

Resume Tailor

Turn one master resume into a role-specific, ATS-readable resume that mirrors the JD's real language and shows the gaps instead of hiding them.

When to use

• User says "tailor my resume for this job," "optimize for ATS," "make a version for ."
• A pipeline row hits status: tailoring.
• The user pastes a JD and wants a matching resume.

Inputs

• Reads:
  • workspace/documents/master-resume.md – the single source of truth for real experience, titles, dates, and numbers.
  • The job description, from workspace/pipeline/applications/<id>-company-role.md (the "Why this role" / job URL) or pasted directly.
  • workspace/profile/target-roles.md – for level/track context if the JD is thin.
  • templates/resume-template.md – output skeleton.
  • docs/ats-guide.md – parser-safe formatting rules (see Rules).
• Needs from user:
  • The JD text or URL (ask if neither is on file, and never guess the requirements).
  • The application id (so output lands as <id>-resume.md). If none exists yet, ask the tracker/setup step to mint one, or use a temporary Jxxx and flag it.

Workflow

1. Locate the JD. Pull it from the applications/<id> file or the pasted text. If missing, stop and ask. Do not draft against an assumed spec.
2. Extract the requirements ledger. From the JD, list:
   • Hard requirements / must-haves (years, degrees, named tools, certifications).
   • Nice-to-haves.
   • Exact keyword phrasing the ATS scans: job title variants, skills, tools, methodologies, acronyms + their spelled-out forms (e.g. "ABM (account-based marketing)"). Copy the JD's spelling, not a synonym.
3. Map each item to real evidence. For every requirement, find the line in master-resume.md that proves it. Mark each as: Met (with the source bullet), Partial (adjacent experience), or Missing (no real evidence). Never invent a bullet to fill a Missing.
4. Draft the tailored resume from templates/resume-template.md into workspace/output/<id>-resume.md:
   • Rewrite the summary to name the target role and lead with the strongest Met proof.
   • Reorder and rewrite experience bullets so the most JD-relevant land first. Lead with impact + quantified outcome pulled verbatim-in-spirit from the master (numbers unchanged).
   • Mirror the JD's exact keywords only where true. Insert the spelled-out + acronym pairing so both forms are parseable.
   • Cut anything irrelevant to this role. Relevance beats completeness. One page for under 10 years, two for senior. A tight one beats a padded two.
   • Group the Skills section to front-load JD-named skills the candidate actually has.
5. Run the ATS check (see rubric below) and write the coverage report + gap list into the output file.
6. Slop gate. Run the writing-quality skill over the drafted resume to kill AI tells, hollow verbs, and filler. Resume prose is terse by nature, so the gate mostly catches summary-line slop and inflated adjectives.
7. Eval gate. Submit the resume to the artifact-eval skill (resume spec). If it returns REVISE/FAIL, fix the named issues and re-submit. Do not mark final until PASS.
8. Log it. Update the applications/<id> Materials section with the resume path, keywords targeted, and the gap list. Hand the status change (tailoring → applied once submitted) to application-tracker. This skill does not flip to applied on its own, since a human still has to submit.

ATS check rubric

Run every tailored resume against this before it's final.

Keyword coverage

• Coverage % = (JD must-have keywords present in resume, truthfully) ÷ (total JD must-have keywords). Report the number.
• Target ≥ 75% on must-haves. Below that, the miss is usually a real gap, not a wording problem. Surface it, don't stuff.
• No keyword stuffing, no white-text tricks, no skills the candidate can't defend in an interview.

Formatting that breaks parsers (all must be false)

• No tables, multi-column layouts, or text boxes.
• No images, logos, icons, or charts.
• No content in headers/footers (many parsers drop them). Contact info goes in the body.
• Standard section headings only: Summary, Experience, Skills, Education, Certifications.
• Real selectable text (not a flattened or scanned PDF), reverse-chronological order.
• Simple round bullets, no wingding glyphs, and no nested tables for indentation.
• One standard font, consistent date format (Mon YYYY).

Gap visibility (the honesty check)

• Every JD must-have with no real evidence appears in the "Must-haves NOT met" list.
• No bullet, number, title, date, or credential exists that isn't traceable to master-resume.md.

Output

• Writes to: workspace/output/<id>-resume.md (the tailored resume).
• Appends to: workspace/pipeline/applications/<id>-company-role.md, the Materials section (path, angle, keywords) and the gap list.
• Format: the resume in resume-template.md structure, followed by a fenced report block:

  ## ATS Report: <id>
  Keyword coverage: N% (X of Y must-haves)
  Must-haves met: [...]
  Must-haves NOT met (gaps, human decides): [...]
  Formatting: PASS / issues: [...]
  writing-quality: PASS | artifact-eval: PASS (resume v<ver>, score N)
  

Rules & quality bar

• No fabrication. Not experience, not numbers, not titles, not dates, not credentials. If it isn't in the master resume, it doesn't go in.
• Gaps stay visible. The gap list is a feature. It tells the human where to expect pushback and whether to apply at all.
• Relevance > completeness. Cutting the wrong-fit bullets is the tailoring. a longer resume is not a better one.
• Mirror, don't parrot. Use the JD's exact terms only where they're genuinely true of the candidate.
• Human submits. This skill never auto-applies. It produces the file. A person sends it.
• One JD per pass. Don't blend two postings into a Frankenstein resume.
• Ends only after writing-quality PASS and artifact-eval (resume spec) PASS.

Related skills

• job-fit-scoring – run first. Its fit breakdown pre-identifies the gaps you'll surface here.
• company-research – sharpens the summary line and which keywords actually matter.
• cover-letter – pairs with the tailored resume and shares the chosen angle.
• writing-quality – mandatory slop gate before final.
• artifact-eval – mandatory PASS (resume spec) before final.
• application-tracker – owns the status flip and stores the record.
• search-and-scale-os – orchestrator that calls this during the tailoring stage.