Resume Review

What you need before you start

1. The resume — a PDF file. Always ask the user to share it as PDF (never request .docx or plain text, even if the user offers them, because we want to see what the ATS sees when it parses the PDF).
2. A target job description — pasted text or a link. The JD drives keyword matching and the 70/30 tailoring analysis.

Reading the resume

pages

• Multi-column layouts lose reading order
• Text inside images or icons → invisible to ATS
• Tables often break parsing
• Non-standard section names ("My Journey" instead of "Experience") confuse keyword extraction
• Headers/footers sometimes get dropped

The analysis framework

Step 1: Detect the candidate's level

• Fresher (0-1 year) — Projects and education matter most. Expect 1 page. Projects section is mandatory, not optional.
• Mid-level (2-5 years) — Experience section carries the weight. 1-2 pages. Impact bullets with metrics are the differentiator.
• Senior / Lead (5+ years) — Leadership signals, architecture decisions, and scale stories. Max 2 pages. Most recent role gets the most space.

Step 2: Detect the target market

• India — Naukri profile references, CTC mentions, Indian companies, Indian phone format
• International / Remote — Timezone signals, remote-specific language, non-Indian companies or locations
• Unclear — Ask the user: "Is this for roles in India, international/remote, or both?"

Step 3: Score on five dimensions

references/scoring-rubric.md

Step 4: Run the 7 Deadly Sins check

1. Tool Vomit — listing 30+ tools in a wall of text with no categorization or proficiency signal
2. Zero Metrics — bullets like "managed CI/CD pipelines" with no numbers, no scale, no outcome
3. "Responsible for..." / Pronouns — passive voice that hides action ("Responsible for monitoring..."), OR use of pronouns (I, me, we, he, she, his, her) that signal amateur writing. Bullets should lead with a power verb, no subject pronoun.
4. Generic Summary — "Passionate engineer seeking opportunities to grow" (delete on sight)
5. Multi-page Bloat — freshers >1 page, experienced >2 pages
6. No Projects Section — for freshers this is fatal; for experienced it's a major missed differentiator
7. Ignoring Keywords — skills that don't mirror the JD's language (e.g., resume says "K8s", JD says "Kubernetes" — ATS does NOT treat these as equivalent)

references/devops-rules.md

Step 5: Map to the JD — the 70/30 check

• What keywords from the JD are present in the resume?
• What keywords are missing but look like reasonable fits given the experience?
• What keywords are in the resume but buried (should be surfaced to the top of skills or summary)?

Step 6: Identify the top 3-5 bullets to rewrite

references/devops-rules.md

references/keywords-bank.md

The output: report structure

# Resume Review: [Candidate Name]

## Quick Take

Before the diagnosis — two things you're doing right: [specific strength 1, quoted from the resume], and [specific strength 2]. Keep these. Now here's what to fix.

---

## Recruiter Verdict: **[SHORTLISTED / BORDERLINE / LIKELY REJECTED / REJECTED]**

[2-3 sentences explaining the verdict in plain language. This is what a recruiter would say after the 6-second scan. Lead with the single biggest reason — the "why" behind the verdict.]

> **Note:** This verdict is a simulation based on ATS parseability, keyword match, and recruiter-style heuristics — not a guarantee. Real outcomes also depend on the applicant pool size, the hiring bar on the day, referrals, and factors beyond the resume. Treat this as directional signal, not destiny.

**ATS Score: XX/100 — [Grade]**
**Detected Level:** [Fresher / Mid-Level / Senior]
**Target Market:** [India / International / Both]
**Target Role:** [Extracted from JD]

---

## Score Breakdown

| Dimension | Score | Notes |
|-----------|-------|-------|
| ATS Compatibility | XX/25 | [one-line reason] |
| Keywords & JD Match | XX/25 | [one-line reason] |
| Impact & Metrics | XX/20 | [one-line reason] |
| Structure & Length | XX/15 | [one-line reason] |
| Contact & Presence | XX/15 | [one-line reason] |

**Grade scale:** 90+ A (interview-ready) · 80-89 B (minor tweaks) · 70-79 C (solid foundation, needs work) · 60-69 D (major rework) · <60 F (likely auto-rejected)

---

## Highlights ✓

- [3-5 concrete strengths — be specific, quote the resume]

## Lowlights ✗

- [3-5 concrete issues — quote the resume, explain why it fails]

> Include BOTH sections regardless of score. A high-scoring resume still has weak spots worth naming; a low-scoring resume usually has salvageable strengths worth preserving. If you can't find 3 highlights, find 2 but don't pad. If the resume is truly weak across the board, say so honestly in the lowlights.

---

## The 7 Deadly Sins

| # | Sin | Status |
|---|-----|--------|
| 1 | Tool Vomit | ✓ / ✗ |
| 2 | Zero Metrics | ✓ / ✗ |
| 3 | "Responsible for..." | ✓ / ✗ |
| 4 | Generic Summary | ✓ / ✗ |
| 5 | Multi-page Bloat | ✓ / ✗ |
| 6 | No Projects Section | ✓ / ✗ |
| 7 | Ignoring Keywords | ✓ / ✗ |

[One-line summary: "Clean on 5/7 — main issues are X and Y" or "Committing 4/7 — this is why you're getting ghosted"]

---

## JD Match Analysis

**Keywords present:** [comma-separated list of JD keywords found in resume]

**Keywords missing:** [comma-separated list of JD keywords NOT in resume — ranked by how critical they look]

**Keywords buried:** [keywords in resume that should be surfaced higher — e.g., moved to summary or top of skills]

**Estimated JD match:** XX% — [commentary on whether this clears the typical 80% threshold]

---

## Priority Fixes (Ranked by Impact)

1. **[Highest-impact fix]** — [1-2 sentences on what and why]
2. **[Next fix]** — [1-2 sentences]
3. **[Third fix]** — [1-2 sentences]
4. [Optional 4th-5th if relevant]

---

## Bullet Rewrites (Before → After)

Rewrite 3-5 of the weakest bullets using the STAR formula: "Did [X] using [Y], resulting in [Z]."

**1. [Section / Company]**
- ✗ Before: [exact bullet from resume]
- ✓ After: [rewritten bullet with action + tech + measurable impact]
- Why: [one line on what changed and why it's stronger]

[Repeat for each rewrite]

---

## Your #1 Focus Next

[This section is ALWAYS included. The goal is to give the candidate one concrete thing to invest in — based on their detected level + the gap vs the JD. This is career-level advice, not resume-level.]

**Given you're [Level] targeting [Role], your #1 focus should be: [one concrete skill, certification, project, or behavioral move].**

[2-3 sentences on WHY this is the highest-leverage thing they can do over the next 1-3 months. Be specific: "Earn AWS Solutions Architect Associate (3-6 weeks, 1 hr/day study)" beats "get certified". "Run a production K8s cluster at home, document the upgrade path in a blog post" beats "learn Kubernetes deeper". For SHORTLISTED candidates, the focus is on leveling up further (good → great). For REJECTED/BORDERLINE, it's on closing the biggest gap first.]

---

## Final Recommendation

[One short, empowering paragraph — 4-6 sentences. Pick one verdict:
- **"Ship it with these tweaks"** (score 85+)
- **"Revise once and ship"** (score 70-84)
- **"Rewrite before applying — current version is costing you interviews"** (score <70)

Then give the single most important thing to fix in the next 48 hours — literally one action. Close on an empowering note.

This paragraph matters. The candidate may have been job-hunting for months, may have been ghosted for weeks, may be reading this at midnight. Speak to them like a coach who knows they can do this: their resume is not them; this is fixable; here's the path. Avoid clichés like "you got this!" but do communicate belief and a concrete next step.

For REJECTED candidates especially: acknowledge the gap honestly but point to what's within their control. "You're not ready for this JD today. Here's what 6 focused months looks like — and here are 3 JDs you ARE ready for right now." That's empowering; false hope isn't.]

How to pick the Recruiter Verdict

• SHORTLISTED — ATS score ≥85 AND the candidate's level, experience range, and location roughly fit the JD. A recruiter would put this in the "interview" pile after the 6-second scan.
• BORDERLINE — ATS score 70-84 OR the score is high but there's a meaningful gap (level mismatch, missing critical keywords, minor geographic issue). A recruiter might shortlist if the pile is small, reject if the pile is large.
• LIKELY REJECTED — ATS score 60-69, OR score is higher but there's a clear disqualifier (e.g., 1.5 yrs experience applying to a 5+ yr role, wrong country with no relocation note, ATS-hostile formatting hiding keywords). Most recruiters reject on first pass.
• REJECTED — ATS score <60, OR any of: resume is image-based, critical JD requirements are absent, formatting makes the resume unparseable. Auto-rejection territory.

Calibration notes — how to score fairly

• Don't give participation points. If the resume is a wall of tools with no metrics, it earns a low score. Fluffing the score helps nobody — the user asked for honesty.
• Don't pile on. If the resume is genuinely strong, say so. Scoring a good resume at 70 because you feel like you should "find problems" is dishonest.
• Ground every finding in a quote or a specific page/section reference. Vague feedback is worthless. If you claim the summary is generic, quote the summary.
• Adjust for level. A fresher with 3 small projects and no metrics is normal — don't penalize like you would a senior. A senior with no scale stories is a serious problem — don't excuse like you would a fresher.
• Trust the JD. If the JD asks for Kubernetes and the resume says EKS everywhere, that's a keyword match problem worth flagging even if the candidate clearly knows the tech.

When to read the reference files

• references/scoring-rubric.md

  — when scoring any of the 5 dimensions (this is the detailed rubric)

• references/devops-rules.md

  — when analyzing a DevOps/SRE/Cloud/Platform resume, or when rewriting bullets into STAR format

• references/keywords-bank.md

  — when building the "missing keywords" list for a DevOps resume

• references/market-specific.md

  — when the target market is India or International/Remote and you need market-specific advice

• references/ats-rules.md

  — when diagnosing ATS compatibility issues (parseability, formatting, fonts, sections)

A note on tone — this is the most important section

• Critique the resume, not the person. "This bullet hides your impact" is better than "This bullet is terrible." The resume is fixable; the person is not being graded.
• For every weakness named, show the path to fixing it. Don't just say "weak summary" — show the rewrite, or at least the formula. A weakness without a fix is discouraging; a weakness with a fix is empowering.
• For strong resumes, show the path from good to great. Don't just say "this is strong." Say: "This is strong for mid-level. To position for senior, add X and Y — here's how." A SHORTLISTED resume still has room to grow; name it.
• Be honest about gaps, but frame them in terms of time and effort, not talent. "You're 1.5 years in; this JD needs 5. That's not a problem, that's a timeline. Here's what 6-12 months of focused work looks like." Gaps are closeable. Say so.
• For REJECTED candidates especially: do not crush them. A REJECTED verdict is hard to read. The final recommendation MUST give them something they can do — a clear action, a concrete path, a list of roles they ARE ready for today. Rejection without direction is cruel.
• Avoid false hope AND avoid false despair. A resume with major issues is not "almost there!" — but it's also not "hopeless." It's "needs 2 weeks of focused rewriting, and here's the order of operations." Precise is kind.
• Believe in them on the page. The candidate will feel your tone. If you write like you think they can do this, they'll feel it. If you write like you're tolerating them, they'll feel that too.