Tailor the resume without lying
Ten minutes per application: your real experience, re-ordered and re-worded for what this employer actually screens for.
The problem
Every application wants the resume re-angled to the posting, which takes an hour you do not have per application.
What you get
A working system with the steps, tools, checkpoints, and expected return made explicit.
- Setup
- 20 minutes
- Back each week
- 3 hours
- Difficulty
- starter
Expected return
The working case
A planning estimate, not a guaranteed result. Measure the first four weeks against your own baseline.
144
hours returned per year
At 3 hours/week across 48 working weeks.
1
week to earn back setup
Compare the setup estimate with the weekly time returned.
Operating contract
Input
The source material, constraints, and examples a human would need to do this work well.
Checkpoint
A person reviews judgment calls, sensitive content, unfamiliar tools, and irreversible actions.
Success signal
Track time returned, corrections required, and exceptions. Keep it only if the measured result compounds.
The steps
- 01
Give it your full resume and the posting, with a strict honesty constraint.
Copy this prompt
Here is my resume and a job posting. Rewrite the resume to lead with what this role screens for. Hard rules: never invent or inflate anything; only re-order, re-word, and cut. Flag any requirement I genuinely do not meet, and suggest how to address the strongest gap in a cover letter instead. Resume: [paste]. Posting: [paste].
- 02
Ask for the cover letter in your voice: paste two emails you wrote so it can match how you actually sound.
- 03
Run a mock screen: "You are the hiring manager for this posting. Ask me the five toughest questions, one at a time, and press on weak answers."
What it runs on
- Claude
Handles resume + posting in one go; good at voice-matching.
Where this goes wrong
- Recruiters pattern-match AI cover letters instantly; the voice-matching step is not optional.
- Keep a master resume file; tailored versions drift and you lose track of what went where.
Definition of done
Run it for four weeks. Then make it earn its place.
- □ Baseline the manual time before launch.
- □ Keep a human approval step for consequential output.
- □ Record corrections and exceptions, not just successes.
- □ Expand, revise, or retire it after the first review.
Build the system around it
Related workflows
If this one stops working, tell us. Three reports in a month and it leaves the library until a person has looked at it again.