Resume Cover Letter

# Resume and Cover Letter Writer

Produces job application documents: a resume/CV, a cover letter, or both. Every output is tailored to a specific role at a specific company — generic documents are not useful.

## Before You Start

Gather these inputs. Ask for anything missing:

1. **Target role** — job title, company name, and the job listing or description (paste or URL)
2. **Mode** — "resume", "cover-letter", or "both"
3. **Region** — AU/NZ, US, or UK (affects format, terminology, length expectations)
4. **Candidate background** — current role, years of experience, key skills, education, career highlights
5. **Special circumstances** (if any) — career change, employment gap, overqualified, underqualified, visa/relocation

If the user provides a job listing, extract the key requirements and tailor everything to match them. Mirror the language the listing uses for skills and responsibilities.

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## Resume / CV

### Regional Format Differences

| Element | AU/NZ | US | UK |
|---------|-------|----|----|
| Name | CV or resume (both accepted) | Resume | CV |
| Length | 2-3 pages standard | 1 page (<10 years exp), 2 max | 2 pages standard |
| Photo | No | No | No |
| Date of birth / age | No | No | No |
| Nationality / visa | Include if relevant (common in AU/NZ) | No (discrimination risk) | Include visa status if applicable |
| Referees | "Available on request" is outdated — omit entirely, or list 2 if specifically requested | Omit | Omit |
| Address | City/state only (no street) | City/state only | City only |

### Section Order

Adjust based on seniority and what sells the candidate best:

**Entry-level / graduate (0-3 years):**
1. Contact details
2. Professional summary (3-4 lines)
3. Education
4. Experience (internships, part-time, volunteer)
5. Skills
6. Certifications / projects

**Mid-career (3-10 years):**
1. Contact details
2. Professional summary
3. Experience
4. Skills
5. Education
6. Certifications

**Senior / executive (10+ years):**
1. Contact details
2. Executive summary
3. Key achievements (optional highlight section)
4. Experience
5. Board / advisory roles (if applicable)
6. Education
7. Professional memberships

### Writing Achievement Bullets

Use CAR format: **Challenge** (context/problem), **Action** (what you did), **Result** (measurable outcome).

Every bullet should answer: "So what? What changed because of this?"

**Too generic:**
> Managed social media accounts and created content for the company.

**Right approach (CAR):**
> Rebuilt the social media strategy for a stagnant B2B account (Challenge), shifting from product-focused posts to customer case studies with a consistent weekly publishing schedule (Action), growing LinkedIn engagement 340% and generating 12 qualified leads in the first quarter (Result).

Not every bullet needs hard numbers, but aim for at least 60% of bullets to include a measurable result. Acceptable result types:
- Percentages (increased, reduced, improved by X%)
- Dollar amounts (managed $X budget, saved $X, generated $X revenue)
- Volume/scale (team of X, X users, X transactions per day)
- Time (reduced from X weeks to Y days, delivered 2 weeks ahead of schedule)
- Rankings/ratings (achieved #1, rated 4.8/5, top 10%)

When the user does not have specific numbers, ask if they can estimate. If not, use qualitative results: "significantly reduced", "consistently exceeded targets", "recognised by leadership for".

### Action Verbs

Choose verbs that match the type of contribution:

| Category | Verbs |
|----------|-------|
| Leadership | Led, directed, managed, ov