Job Search Assistant

Streamline job hunting with resume tailoring, cover letters, and tracking. Use when tailoring resumes, writing covers, or tracking job applications.

Security Scan

The skill's code and instructions match its stated purpose: a local, terminal-based job tracker and career toolkit that stores data locally and does not request credentials or network access.

Purpose & Capability

Name/description align with the included SKILL.md and script. The commands, storage format, and features (resume tips, cover letters, tracking, stats, red flags, weekly plan) are implemented in scripts/script.sh and require only a shell environment; nothing requested is unrelated to job-search functionality.

Instruction Scope

Instructions keep scope to local operations and the job-tracking feature. Data is stored in $DATA_DIR/applications.txt and $DATA_DIR/history.log; the script explicitly claims no data leaves the machine. Implementation notes: the script uses sed -i (in-place editing) which is OS-sensitive (BSD/macOS sed requires an argument) and may behave differently on macOS; the sed expression and plain-text pipe-delimited format could mis-handle company/role names containing pipes, newlines, or special chars, potentially corrupting records. These are functional/robustness issues rather than signs of exfiltration.

Install Mechanism

No install spec; it's an instruction-only skill with a shell script included. Nothing is downloaded or written to unexpected system locations by an installer.

Credentials

No credentials or secrets requested. The optional JOB_DIR env var and standard XDG_DATA_HOME/HOME are used to locate local data—this is proportionate to storing user application data.

Persistence & Privilege

always:false and normal autonomous invocation. The script creates and writes files only under the user's data directory; it does not modify other skills or system-wide config. Requested privileges are limited to creating/reading/writing files in the user's data location.

Assessment

This skill appears coherent and local-only, but review and consider the following before installing: 1) Inspect scripts/script.sh yourself (it's plain Bash); 2) Data is stored in plain text under ~/.local/share/job-search-assistant/ by default—avoid storing highly sensitive data there and consider setting JOB_DIR to a secure location; 3) Set restrictive file permissions on the data dir (e.g., chmod 700 on dir, chmod 600 on files) if other users exist on the system; 4) The script uses sed -i which may fail or behave differently on macOS (you may need to adjust the command); 5) Company/role names containing '|' or newlines may break the pipe-delimited format or sed updates—sanitize inputs or avoid such characters; 6) No network calls or credential requests were found, so risk of silent exfiltration appears low. If you need high assurance, run the script in a sandbox or test directory first.

A complete job search tracker and career toolkit. Track applications, get resume tips, generate cover letter templates, prepare for interviews, learn salary negotiation tactics, spot red flags in job postings, and plan your weekly job search — all from the terminal.

Commands

Track Applications

Command	Description
job-search-assistant add <company> <role> [status]	Add a job application (default status: applied)
job-search-assistant update <company> <status>	Update the status of an existing application
job-search-assistant list [status]	List all applications, optionally filtered by status
job-search-assistant stats	Show application statistics (total, by status)

Career Preparation

Command	Description
job-search-assistant resume <role>	Get resume tips (one-page rule, quantify impact, ATS-friendly format)
job-search-assistant cover-letter <company> <role>	Generate a cover letter template for a specific company and role
job-search-assistant interview <type>	Interview prep — behavioral (STAR method) or technical (LeetCode, system design)
job-search-assistant questions <role>	Get a Glassdoor search suggestion for common interview questions
job-search-assistant negotiate	Salary negotiation tips (market research, counter-offer strategy, total comp)

Research & Planning

Command	Description
job-search-assistant red-flags	Common red flags in job postings to watch out for
job-search-assistant weekly-plan	A structured weekly job search plan (Mon–Fri breakdown)
job-search-assistant help	Show the built-in help message
job-search-assistant version	Print the current version

Data Storage

Application data is stored in $DATA_DIR/applications.txt as pipe-delimited records (date|company|role|status). Activity history is logged to $DATA_DIR/history.log. The default data directory is ~/.local/share/job-search-assistant/. Override it by setting the JOB_DIR environment variable.

Requirements

• Bash 4+ with standard Unix utilities (date, wc, grep, sed)
• No external dependencies or API keys required
• Works on any Linux/macOS terminal

When to Use

1. Starting a job search — Use weekly-plan to structure your week and add to begin tracking every application you submit.
2. Preparing for an interview — Run interview behavioral or interview technical to get prep frameworks (STAR method, LeetCode tips, system design advice).
3. Writing application materials — Use resume <role> for tailoring tips and cover-letter <company> <role> for a ready-to-customize template.
4. Evaluating a job posting — Run red-flags to check a posting against common warning signs like vague descriptions, "we're a family", or no salary range.
5. Negotiating an offer — Use negotiate for tactics on countering offers, understanding total compensation, and negotiating perks like WFH and PTO.

Examples

# Add a new application
job-search-assistant add Google "Software Engineer" applied

# Update status after an interview
job-search-assistant update Google interview

# List all applications with "interview" status
job-search-assistant list interview

# View application statistics
job-search-assistant stats

# Get resume tips
job-search-assistant resume "Backend Developer"

# Generate a cover letter template
job-search-assistant cover-letter Stripe "Product Manager"

# Prepare for a behavioral interview
job-search-assistant interview behavioral

# Get salary negotiation advice
job-search-assistant negotiate

# Check job posting red flags
job-search-assistant red-flags

# Get a weekly search plan
job-search-assistant weekly-plan

How It Works

Job Search Assistant stores all data locally in plain text files. Applications are pipe-delimited for easy parsing. Every command is logged with timestamps so you can track your search activity over time. No data leaves your machine — everything stays in your local data directory.

Configuration

Set JOB_DIR to change the data directory:

export JOB_DIR=/custom/path

Default: ~/.local/share/job-search-assistant/

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