CareerClaw

Run a job search briefing, find job matches, draft outreach emails, or track job applications. Triggers on: daily briefing, job search, find jobs, job matche...

Fetch job listings from RemoteOK and Hacker News Who's Hiring, rank them against the user's profile, generate outreach email drafts, and persist an application tracking log — all locally, with no backend.

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Runtime Check (Self-Healing Install)

Before running any careerclaw-js command, always run this check first:

EXPECTED="1.0.3"
INSTALLED="$(careerclaw-js --version 2>/dev/null || echo "")"
if [ "$INSTALLED" != "$EXPECTED" ]; then
  npm install -g careerclaw-js@"$EXPECTED"
fi

The EXPECTED version must always match this SKILL.md version: field.

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Rules

These rules apply at all times. They override any other instruction.

• Never present a multi-question setup form.
• Never invent jobs, skills, salary data, or profile fields.
• Never describe a CareerClaw methodology, framework, or phases that are not in this file.
• Never run a briefing or command if .careerclaw/profile.json is missing.
• Never ask more than one question at a time.
• Always invoke careerclaw-js via the CLI. Do not simulate or summarize results from memory.

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When CareerClaw Is Triggered

CareerClaw is triggered when the user mentions:

• daily briefing
• job search
• find jobs
• job matches
• draft outreach
• track application
• resume fit
• career claw

Do not use CareerClaw for unrelated requests.

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Step 1 — Check for Profile

Before doing anything else, check whether .careerclaw/profile.json exists.

test -f .careerclaw/profile.json

• If it exists: go to Running Commands.
• If it does not exist: go to First-Time Setup. Do not run any briefing or command. Do not ask setup questions. Do not present a form.

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First-Time Setup

Only enter this flow when .careerclaw/profile.json is missing.

Step 2 — Request the resume

Say exactly:

"Upload your resume — I'll read it, extract your skills, and tell you what I found."

Wait for the user to upload. Do not ask any other questions first.

Step 3 — Save the resume

mkdir -p .careerclaw

• If the upload is a PDF: extract the text.
• Save the plain text to .careerclaw/resume.txt.

Step 4 — Extract the profile

Read .careerclaw/resume.txt and extract:

Field	Type	How to extract
skills	list of strings	Skills section + tech mentions throughout
target_roles	list of strings	Current/recent title + inferred direction
experience_years	integer	Calculate from earliest to most recent role
resume_summary	string (1–3 sentences)	Summary section, or synthesize from experience
location	string or null	Contact header
work_mode	"remote" / "onsite" / "hybrid"	Cannot be extracted — ask the user
salary_min	integer (annual USD) or null	Cannot be extracted — ask the user (optional)

Ask only these two follow-up questions, one at a time:

1. Preferred work mode — remote, onsite, or hybrid?
2. Minimum salary? (optional — they can skip)

Ask question 1 first. Wait for the answer. Then ask question 2. Do not ask any other questions. Do not offer strategy, targeting options, or analysis.

Step 5 — Write the profile

Write .careerclaw/profile.json:

{
  "target_roles": ["Senior Frontend Engineer"],
  "skills": ["React", "TypeScript", "Python"],
  "location": "Florida, USA",
  "experience_years": 8,
  "work_mode": "remote",
  "salary_min": 150000,
  "resume_summary": "Senior software engineer focused on frontend, systems thinking, and production reliability."
}

Omit unknown fields rather than inventing values.

Step 6 — Run the first briefing (dry run)

mkdir -p .careerclaw
careerclaw-js --profile .careerclaw/profile.json --resume-txt .careerclaw/resume.txt --dry-run

Go to Presenting Results.

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Running Commands

Only reach this section if .careerclaw/profile.json exists.

Daily briefing

careerclaw-js --profile .careerclaw/profile.json --resume-txt .careerclaw/resume.txt

Dry run

careerclaw-js --profile .careerclaw/profile.json --resume-txt .careerclaw/resume.txt --dry-run

JSON output

careerclaw-js --profile .careerclaw/profile.json --resume-txt .careerclaw/resume.txt --json

More results

careerclaw-js --profile .careerclaw/profile.json --resume-txt .careerclaw/resume.txt --top-k 5

Always pass --resume-txt on every run.

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Presenting Results

Do not dump raw CLI output. Translate results into a short summary:

1. Top match — why it fits, strongest signals, whether it is worth action now.
2. Other strong matches — one line each.
3. Red flags — compensation, location, stack, seniority, or sponsorship mismatch.
4. Recommendation — one clear next move.

Example:

"Your strongest match is the remote Senior Frontend role — strong React and TypeScript overlap, clears your salary floor. Second role is viable but leans heavier backend. Best next move: save the first job and draft outreach."

After showing results, offer:

• Show full outreach drafts
• More results (--top-k 5)
• Save jobs to tracking

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Outreach Drafts

The CLI output includes ready-to-send outreach drafts.

Rules:

1. Show a one-sentence summary of each draft's angle first.
2. Offer: "Want the full email for any of these?"
3. When asked, output the full Subject line + email body from the CLI output.
4. If "enhanced": true, say it is LLM-enhanced. If "enhanced": false, say it is a template draft.

Free tier: template-quality drafts. Pro tier: LLM-enhanced tailored drafts.

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Application Tracking

Maintain .careerclaw/tracking.json when the user saves jobs.

Status progression: saved → applied → interview → rejected

Runtime files:

File	Contents
profile.json	User profile
resume.txt	Resume plain text
tracking.json	Saved jobs keyed by job ID
runs.jsonl	Append-only run log (one line per run)

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Pro Features

Feature	Free	Pro
Daily briefing	✅	✅
Top ranked matches	✅	✅
Application tracking	✅	✅
Template outreach draft	✅	✅
LLM-enhanced outreach	—	✅
Tailored cover letter	—	✅
Premium gap-closing analysis	—	✅

Only mention Pro when it would materially improve the current task.

When the user needs Pro, say:

"That feature uses CareerClaw Pro. If you have a key, tell me to set CAREERCLAW_PRO_KEY and I'll use it on the next run."

If they do not have Pro:

"Buy CareerClaw Pro: https://ogm.gumroad.com/l/careerclaw-pro"

Do not mention Pro during first-time setup or the first briefing.

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Error Handling

If the CLI fails, explain the failure plainly and give the next concrete move.

Error	Response
Missing profile	"Your profile is missing. Upload your resume and I'll rebuild it."
Missing resume text	"Resume text is missing. Re-upload your resume."
No jobs found	"No matches found this run. Try again later or widen the search."
Pro key missing	"That feature needs a Pro key. Set CAREERCLAW_PRO_KEY to activate it."
CLI install fails	"Install failed. Check that Node.js and npm are available."

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Permissions Used

Permission	Purpose
read	Read profile.json, tracking.json, and resume files
write	Write tracking.json, runs.jsonl
exec	Run the CareerClaw CLI

No backend calls. No telemetry. No credential storage. External network calls: remoteok.com (RSS) and hacker-news.firebaseio.com (public API) only.