Construct a Resume

Analyze a job listing, match it against the user's logged evidence, and produce a tailored resume that speaks directly to what the role demands. Evidence comes in different types — accomplishments, lessons, expertise, decisions, influence, and insights — and the resume should draw on all of them.

Steps

1. Load Configuration

Read .claude/i-did-a-thing.local.md to get settings. If missing:

No configuration found. Please run /i-did-a-thing:setup first.

Then stop.

2. Load the Arsenal

Read all files in:

•<things_path>/arsenal/ — skill summaries with evidence
•<things_path>/targets/profile.md — professional profile
•<things_path>/logs/ — all log entries (read frontmatter of each to build an index)

If fewer than 3 logs exist:

You only have <n> logged entries. I can work with this, but your resume will be stronger with more evidence. Consider running /i-did-a-thing:thing-i-did a few more times to build your arsenal.

3. Get the Job Listing

If the user provided a URL as an argument, use WebFetch to retrieve it. If they pasted text, use that directly. If neither:

Paste the job listing or give me a URL and I'll pull it for you.

4. Analyze the Job Listing

Parse the listing to extract:

•Role title and level
•Required skills (hard and soft)
•Preferred/nice-to-have skills
•Key responsibilities
•Company values or culture signals
•Industry/domain context

Present the analysis:

Here's what I see in this listing:

Role: <title> Must-haves: <skills> Nice-to-haves: <skills> Key themes: <themes>

Let me match this against your arsenal.

5. Match Against Arsenal

For each required and preferred skill in the listing:

•Search arsenal files for matching skills
•Search log frontmatter for matching skills_used, tags, category, and evidence_type
•
Score each log's relevance to the listing, weighting evidence types by what the listing emphasizes:
- •Listing asks for "learning agility," "growth mindset," or "adaptability" → weight lesson entries higher
- •Listing asks for "technical depth," "domain expertise," or "subject matter expert" → weight expertise entries higher
- •Listing asks for "sound judgment," "strategic thinking," or "architectural decisions" → weight decision entries higher
- •Listing asks for "influence," "leadership without authority," or "mentorship" → weight influence entries higher
- •Listing asks for "vision," "innovation," or "strategic direction" → weight insight entries higher
- •Standard behavioral requirements → weight accomplishment entries as default
•Identify strong matches (direct evidence), partial matches (related evidence), and gaps (no evidence)

Present the match analysis:

Strong matches (you have direct evidence):

•<skill>: <n> entries, best example: "<log title>" (<evidence_type>)

Partial matches (related experience):

•<skill>: closest evidence is <description>

Gaps (no logged evidence):

•<skill>: consider logging relevant experience or highlighting transferable skills

6. Build the Resume

Use the template in references/resume-format.md to construct the resume.

Resume construction rules:

•Tailor the summary to echo the listing's language and priorities
•Order experience sections by relevance to this role, not chronologically
•
Pull resume bullets directly from log files' "Resume Bullets" sections, using the type-appropriate format:
- •Accomplishment entries → STAR-format bullets
- •Lesson entries → "Learned X from Y, now apply Z" format
- •Expertise entries → "Deep expertise in X, demonstrated through Y" format
- •Decision entries → "Evaluated X, Y, Z; chose Z based on A, B, C" format
- •Influence entries → "Drove adoption of X, resulting in Y" format
- •Insight entries → "Identified pattern X, proposed Y" format
•Adapt bullets to use keywords from the job listing where truthful
•Quantify everything possible using metrics from logs
•Include skills section ordered by listing priority, only including skills with evidence
•Match tone to the company's culture signals

Use AskUserQuestion to ask:

Resume format preference?

•traditional — clean, professional, ATS-friendly
•narrative — summary-driven with accomplishment highlights
•technical — skills-forward with project details

7. Write the Resume

Write the resume to <things_path>/resumes/<date>-<company-slug>.md.

Include a metadata header (not part of the resume itself):

yaml

---
target_role: "<role title>"
target_company: "<company>"
listing_url: "<url if provided>"
date_generated: <date>
match_score: "<strong_matches>/<total_requirements>"
evidence_types_used:
  accomplishment: <n>
  lesson: <n>
  expertise: <n>
  decision: <n>
  influence: <n>
  insight: <n>
logs_referenced:
  - "<log filename>"
  - "<log filename>"
gaps_identified:
  - "<skill>"
---

8. Review with User

Present the resume and ask:

How does this look?

•Looks great — save it
•I want to adjust some sections
•Regenerate with a different format
•Let me add more evidence first

If they want adjustments, use AskUserQuestion to identify which sections, then Edit the file.

9. Generate a Cover Letter Seed (Optional)

Use AskUserQuestion:

Want me to draft cover letter talking points too?

•Yes — give me bullet points I can use
•Yes — draft a full cover letter
•No — just the resume

If yes, generate talking points or a full draft that:

•References specific entries from logs (not just accomplishments)
•Connects the user's trajectory to the role
•Uses the company's own language from the listing
•Emphasizes the strongest matches

Write to <things_path>/resumes/<date>-<company-slug>-cover.md.

10. Gap Action Plan

End with actionable advice:

To strengthen your candidacy for this role:

•Log these existing experiences (you probably have them, just haven't documented them):

•<suggested entries to log, specifying evidence type>

•e.g., "Log an expertise entry about your distributed systems knowledge"

•e.g., "Log a decision entry about the database migration approach you chose"

•Build these skills (gaps you could fill):

•<skill>: <suggestion for how to build evidence>

•Diversify your evidence (types you're missing):

•<e.g., "You have strong accomplishments in distributed systems but no logged expertise entries — consider logging your deep knowledge as an expertise entry">

•<e.g., "For 'sound judgment,' a decision entry would be more compelling than another accomplishment">

•Practice these interview questions (likely to come up for this role):

•"<question from question bank that tests a key requirement>"

Run /what-did-you-do:practice to drill specific questions, or /what-did-you-do:prep-for to build a full preparation plan for this company.