CV Building Pipeline

End-to-end CV creation: from any input format → semantic accumulation → normalized master doc → quality-gated CV YAML → professional PDFs → strategic interview materials.

Core Philosophy: Premix Storage & Molds

Think of the master doc as premix storage — a neutral, ever-growing repository of your entire career. Think of each CV as a mold — a specific shape poured from the premix for a particular target.

Premix (master.md) — infinite potential, neutral, always accumulating. No tailoring lives here.
Molds (cv.yaml) — specific tailoring pulled from premix. Quality-gated, industry-appropriate, role-targeted.
Zero-assumption input — accepts anything: full biography, draft CV, fractals, LinkedIn paste, conversation. No format required.
Sidecar changelog — all additions/changes/removals tracked in cv_files/CHANGELOG.md. No VCS assumed.

Entry Points:

/cv-building or "build my CV" → Full pipeline (accumulate → normalize → quality gate → render → package)
"just want to add to my master" or "just want to fill/populate the master" → Accumulation only (add to master, update changelog)
"remove X from my master" or "take out this role" → Content removal (delete from master, update changelog)
"just render my CV" → Quality gate + render only (requires existing master)
"prepare interview materials" → Strategic package generation only

Prerequisites:

rendercv Python package: uv tool install "rendercv[full]" (or pip install "rendercv[full]")
typst compiler (installed with rendercv[full])

Pipeline Overview

Any Input → Semantic Accumulation → Master Normalization → Quality Gate (cv.yaml) → Package
     ↓              ↓                      ↓                      ↓                      ↓
Free-form     Merge with existing     Organized, neutral     Tailored, criteria-    PDFs + strategic
CV/fractals/  master doc              master doc             matched YAML           materials
conversation

Step 1: Semantic Accumulation

Accept any input and merge it into the growing knowledge base.

First-Time Setup

If cv_files/master.md doesn't exist:

Create the cv_files/ directory: mkdir -p cv_files
Initialize cv_files/master.md from the template: references/master/master.template.md
Create cv_files/CHANGELOG.md with a header and first entry
Proceed with accumulation as normal

Multi-Persona (Optional)

If the user needs separate identities (stage name, anon web3 identity, pen name), use suffixed master docs: cv_files/master_<persona>.md.

cv_files/master_stage-name.md — Actor's public identity
cv_files/master_anon.md — Anon web3/DAO resume
cv_files/master_real-name.md — Personal identity

Each persona gets its own master and changelog. Cross-persona accumulation is never assumed. If in doubt, default to single master.md.

Input Types (No Assumptions)

Input	Example	How to Handle
Full biography	"Here's my complete career history..."	Parse all sections into master
Existing CV	User pastes or uploads a resume	Extract all data points
Draft tailored CV	User has a CV for a specific role	Extract raw facts, strip tailoring
Fragments	"I also led a team of 5 at Company X"	Add to existing role or create new
LinkedIn export	JSON or text from LinkedIn	Parse structured data
Conversation	User describes achievements in chat	Extract and structure in real-time
Correction	"Actually my end date was March, not February"	Confirm, update existing, log in changelog

Accumulation Rules

Never discard — all user-provided data stays in master unless explicitly asked to remove
Always merge — new input supplements existing master, doesn't replace it
Track everything — every addition/change/removal logged in changelog
No completeness assumption — master can be partial, sparse, or empty. Always ready for more.
Explicit removal only — if user says "remove X" or "take out this role", delete from master and log in changelog. Never remove anything without explicit instruction.
Confirm corrections — when the user corrects existing info, acknowledge the change before applying: "Understood, updating [field] from [old value] to [new value]." Replace the value entirely (master is current truth, not a history doc), and log the change in the changelog.
Detect and merge recurring details — when new input overlaps with existing entries (same company, same role, overlapping dates), enrich the existing entry instead of creating a duplicate. Confirm before merging: "This looks like it overlaps with your [Role] at [Company]. Should I add these details to the existing entry, or is this a different position?" This prevents accidental double-entry from typos or fragmented input (merge conflicts).

Probing Questions

When input is vague or brief, use targeted questions to excavate career details. Question bank: references/master/question-bank.md

Pick the most relevant questions per role rather than asking all of them. Focus on:

Context: What would break if you disappeared?
Scale: Users, throughput, data volumes
Velocity: What manual processes did you automate?
Innovation: What did you build/adopt before it was standard?
Influence: Who did you mentor? What patterns still stand?

Detect Target Context (When Building CV)

Ask (or detect from user input):

Target role — Specific job title or paste a job description
Industry type — STEM, Business/Product, Arts/Creative, Social Impact
Company type — FAANG, startup, enterprise, nonprofit, agency
Level — Junior, Mid, Senior, Staff, Principal, Manager, Director
Page count — 1 or 2 pages (default: 1)

Step 2: Master Doc Normalizing

Organize accumulated data into cv_files/master.md using the template structure.

Read the template: references/master/master.template.md

What Happens Here

Structure only — organize into: Experience, Skills, Education, Projects, Leadership
NO tone gating — keep the user's voice and all raw data
NO culture fitting — this is the neutral source of truth
NO criteria matching — save tailoring for Step 3

Master Doc Sections

Career Goals & Target Context — Role targets, industry, level
Professional Experience — Each role: context, achievements, scale, velocity, innovation, influence
Technical Skills — Mastery / Proficiency / Learning Edge tiers
Education & Certifications — Degrees, honors, certifications
Projects & Open Source — Side projects, OSS, publications
Leadership & Community — Non-work achievements
Awards & Recognition — Industry awards, patents, papers
Creative Portfolio (if applicable) — For artists/creatives

Changelog

Every modification to master.md MUST be logged.

Write to cv_files/CHANGELOG.md:

# Changelog

## YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM
- **Added:** [What was added, e.g., "TechCorp Inc. role with 5 achievements"]
- **Updated:** [What was changed, e.g., "StartupXYZ end date: Feb 2022 → Mar 2022"]
- **Removed:** [What was removed, if any, e.g., "Removed placeholder education entry"]
- **Source:** [Where the info came from, e.g., "user paste", "conversation", "uploaded CV"]

This replaces any versioning system. The changelog is the single source of truth for what changed and when.

Output

Write/update cv_files/master.md and cv_files/CHANGELOG.md.

Important: This document stays neutral. All tailoring happens in Step 3.

Step 3: Quality Gate Processing

This is where the magic happens. Transform master data into cv_files/cv.yaml with industry-appropriate tone, culture fit, and role-specific criteria.

Read tone guide first: references/build/tone-guide.md

3a: Determine Gating Level

Based on the target industry, apply the appropriate tone level:

Industry	Gating Level	Key Characteristics
STEM (engineering, research, data)	Level 1 — Strict	Anti-cringe, metrics-heavy, technical precision
Business (product, consulting, finance)	Level 2 — Moderate	Business impact focus, storytelling OK, professional warmth
Arts/Creative (design, media, entertainment)	Level 3 — Flexible	Personality allowed, portfolio emphasis, mission-driven

See references/build/tone-guide.md for detailed gating rules per level.

3b: Craft CV Content

Headline (one-line identity under name):

3-4 pipe-separated positioning phrases tailored to target role
Note: RenderCV uses headline field (not label)
Example: Client-Facing AI Delivery | Cross-Functional Engineering Leadership | Systems Thinking

Sections — select and prioritize from master based on target:

What I Bring (0-3 bullet entries) — Top value propositions with bold headers
- For STEM: Technical achievements with metrics
- For Arts: Creative achievements with impact
- For Business: Revenue/growth metrics
Experience — Most impactful roles for this target, each with:
- company, position, location, start_date, end_date
- highlights: metrics-driven bullets (quantity depends on page count)
Education — Degrees, honors, relevant highlights
Additional sections as needed (Projects, Skills, Beyond Work)

3c: Bullet Density Rules (Level 1 - STEM)

Every highlight must contain:

A number that matters (%, time, money, users, scale)
Specific technology (never "database" — always "PostgreSQL with read replicas")
Business impact (why would a CEO care?)
Temporal context when impressive ("early 2023, before industry standard")

For Level 2-3: Adapt density — numbers still matter but narrative structure is equally valued.

Quality bar reference: See references/build/before-after-example.md for concrete before/after comparisons of CV bullets.

3d: Write cv.yaml (The Mold)

Each mold (cv.yaml) is suffixed by target to allow multiple simultaneous versions from the same master.

Naming convention: cv_files/cv_<company>_<position>.yaml

<company> — lowercase, hyphenated company name (e.g., stripe, plaid)
<position> — lowercase, hyphenated role (e.g., senior-backend, staff-engineer)
Optional variant suffix: _v2, _faang, etc. if multiple versions for same target

Examples:

cv_files/cv_stripe_senior-backend.yaml
cv_files/cv_plaid_staff-engineer.yaml
cv_files/cv_stripe_senior-backend_v2.yaml (alternate version)

Write the file following the exact RenderCV schema.

Schema Reference: See references/build/rendercv-schema.json or the human-readable cv-yaml-schema.md for the complete 4-section model (cv, design, locale, settings) and all 9 entry types.

Complete Examples: See references/molds/ for fully renderable sample CVs and design files from the official rendercv-skill.

YAML Structure:

cv:
  name: "Full Name"
  headline: "Positioning Phrase 1 | Phrase 2 | Phrase 3"
  location: "City, State/Country"
  email: user@example.com
  phone: "+1 555 123 4567"
  social_networks:
    - network: LinkedIn
      username: handle

  sections:
    What I Bring:
      - bullet: "**Bold Header:** Description with metrics."

    Experience:
      - company: Company Name
        position: Role Title
        location: City, Country
        start_date: 2023-07  # YYYY-MM format
        end_date: present    # or YYYY-MM
        highlights:
          - "**Category:** Achievement with numbers and tech."

    Education:
      - institution: University Name
        area: "Field (with honors)"
        degree: MEng
        start_date: 2011
        end_date: 2016

Key Rules:

Dates: Use start_date/end_date with YYYY-MM or YYYY. Use end_date: present for current roles. date (free-form) and start_date/end_date are mutually exclusive. If only start_date is given, end_date defaults to present.
Markdown: **bold**, *italic*, [link](url) are supported in strings. Block-level markdown (headers, lists, code blocks) is not rendered. Raw Typst commands and math ($$f(x)$$) also pass through.
Quotes: ALWAYS quote strings containing a colon (:). This is the most common cause of invalid YAML. When in doubt, quote.
Phone: E.164 international format only (+15551234567). Never invent — only include if user provides it.
Bullet characters: Only these are valid: ●, •, ◦, -, ◆, ★, ■, —, ○. Do not use en-dash (–), >, or *.
Section titles: snake_case keys auto-capitalize (work_experience → "Work Experience"). Keys with spaces or uppercase are used as-is.
Publication authors: Use *Name* (single asterisks) to highlight the CV owner in author lists.
Nested highlights: Sub-bullets are supported via indentation under highlights:.
No design in cv.yaml: Colors, fonts, margins, and layout are set during rendering via --design.theme or a separate design.yaml.

Write cv_files/cv_<company>_<position>.yaml.

For complete RenderCV schema, design patterns, CLI reference, and locale support: Install the official rendercv-skill — this skill's RenderCV integration is aligned to it for correctness.

Step 4: Package Outputting

Generate all output artifacts.

4a: Render PDFs

Available built-in themes (RenderCV v2.8+):

Theme	Style
`classic`	Blue accents, partial line dividers
`harvard`	Traditional academic, black text, centered
`engineeringresumes`	Maroon accents, no dividers, compact
`engineeringclassic`	Teal accents, full line dividers
`sb2nov`	Black text, full dividers, minimal
`moderncv`	Slate accents, moderncv-style headers

For complete theme design options, see the rendercv-skill reference.

To render a single theme:

rendercv render cv_files/cv_<company>_<position>.yaml --design.theme classic
# Output: cv_<company>_<position>_classic.pdf in root dir

Useful CLI options:

# Watch mode: auto-re-render on file change
rendercv render cv_files/cv_<company>_<position>.yaml --watch

# Custom output directory
rendercv render cv_files/cv_<company>_<position>.yaml --output-folder ./output

# Override fields without editing YAML
rendercv render cv_files/cv_<company>_<position>.yaml --design.theme moderncv --cv.name "Jane Doe"

# Separate design file (reuse across multiple molds)
rendercv render cv_files/cv_<company>_<position>.yaml --design cv_files/design.yaml

To render multiple themes:

python references/scripts/render_cv.py --cv-yaml cv_files/cv_<company>_<position>.yaml --themes classic,moderncv --output-dir .

To render all themes:

python references/scripts/render_cv.py --cv-yaml cv_files/cv_<company>_<position>.yaml --all --output-dir .

Output PDFs go to the root dir (the directory where the skill is invoked):

cv_<company>_<position>_classic.pdf
cv_<company>_<position>_moderncv.pdf
etc.

4b: Validate Page Count

Read each generated PDF to check page count.

If pages > target: Remove lowest-impact bullets first. Shorten verbose highlights. Remove least-relevant role if needed. Re-render.
If pages < target: Expand descriptions with more detail from master.md. Add additional roles. Re-render.
Repeat until page count matches target.

4c: Generate Strategic Package

Create supporting materials in cv_files/strategic-package_<company>_<position>/.

All materials are tailored to the same target role and draw from the master doc.

Package naming: Same suffix convention as the mold.

cv_files/strategic-package_stripe_senior-backend/
cv_files/strategic-package_plaid_staff-engineer/

Application Stage:

cover-letter.md — First written touchpoint. Hook + relevance + CTA. Under 200 words.
- See references/strategic/cover-letter-guide.md

Interview Stage Materials:

hr-interview.md — HR/Recruiter screen prep. Culture fit, motivation, logistics.
- See references/strategic/hr-interview-guide.md
technical-interview.md — Engineering deep-dive. System design, coding, architecture.
- See references/strategic/technical-interview-guide.md
user-interview.md — PM/Product sense interview. User empathy, cross-functional thinking.
- See references/strategic/user-interview-guide.md
topman-interview.md — Leadership/Executive interview. Vision, business impact, presence.
- See references/strategic/topman-interview-guide.md

Networking Materials:

elevator-pitch.md — 30-second spoken pitch for networking events.
- See references/strategic/elevator-pitch-guide.md
interview-opener.md — 2-minute "tell me about yourself" answer.
- See references/strategic/interview-opener-guide.md
deep-dive.md — 5-minute narrative of candidate's strongest achievement.
- See references/strategic/deep-dive-guide.md
outreach-email.md — Cold email template for reaching target companies.
- See references/strategic/outreach-email-guide.md

4d: Update Changelog

If any new information was discovered during CV crafting, add it to master.md and log in CHANGELOG.md.

Output Locations

File	Location
`master.md`	`cv_files/master.md` (shared across all targets)
`CHANGELOG.md`	`cv_files/CHANGELOG.md` (shared across all targets)
CV mold (YAML)	`cv_files/cv_<company>_<position>.yaml`
PDFs (all themes)	Root dir: `cv_<company>_<position>_classic.pdf`, etc.
Strategic package	`cv_files/strategic-package_<company>_<position>/`

Example: Target = Senior Backend at Stripe

File	Location
Master	`cv_files/master.md`
Changelog	`cv_files/CHANGELOG.md`
Mold	`cv_files/cv_stripe_senior-backend.yaml`
PDFs	`./cv_stripe_senior-backend_classic.pdf`, etc.
Strategic	`cv_files/strategic-package_stripe_senior-backend/`

Troubleshooting

rendercv: command not found → Run uv tool install "rendercv[full]" (or pip install "rendercv[full]")

PDF spills to extra pages → Reduce content, shorten bullets, or adjust margins in cv.yaml design section

Schema validation errors → Check YAML syntax. Strings containing : must be quoted. Dates must be YYYY-MM or YYYY. Phone numbers must be E.164 (+15551234567).

Theme not rendering → Use built-in theme names: classic, harvard, engineeringresumes, engineeringclassic, sb2nov, moderncv.

For complete RenderCV reference → Install the official rendercv-skill — covers schema, design patterns, CLI usage, and locale support.

cv-building