obsidian-resume

Obsidian → Harvard Resume + Job Search Skill

Overview

This skill does three things in sequence:

1. Parse exported Obsidian notes (obsidian_export.json) into a structured profile
2. Generate a Harvard OCS-style LaTeX resume (compiles to PDF with pdflatex)
3. Search live job listings that match the user's skills and experience

---

Step 0 — Check for export file

Before anything else, ask the user:

"Have you run export_vault.py yet? If yes, paste the contents of obsidian_export.json here. If not, I can also work directly from pasted markdown notes."

If they have the JSON: parse it using the schema in references/export_schema.md.
If they paste raw markdown: extract profile data directly — see Parsing Rules below.

---

Step 1 — Parse Obsidian notes into a profile

Build a structured profile object with these fields:

profile:
  name: string
  email: string
  phone: string
  location: string
  linkedin: string (optional)
  github: string (optional)
  website: string (optional)
  summary: string (2–3 sentences, optional)

  education:
    - degree: string
      school: string
      location: string
      dates: string          # e.g. "Sep 2016 – Jun 2020"
      gpa: string (optional)
      honors: string (optional)
      relevant_courses: [string] (optional)

  experience:
    - title: string
      company: string
      location: string
      dates: string
      bullets: [string]      # strong action verbs, quantified impact

  projects:
    - name: string
      tech: string           # comma-separated stack
      dates: string (optional)
      bullets: [string]

  skills:
    technical: [string]
    languages: [string]
    tools: [string]
    soft: [string] (optional)

  awards: [string] (optional)
  publications: [string] (optional)
  volunteer: [string] (optional)

Parsing rules

• Obsidian frontmatter keys (title:, company:, dates:, tags:) map directly to profile fields
• Headings (## Experience, ## Skills) signal sections
• Bullet points (-) under a job heading become bullets[]
• Dataview fields (company:: Acme Corp) are treated like frontmatter
• Tags #career, #resume, #job mark notes as relevant
• If a field is missing, leave it out — do NOT invent data
• Dates: preserve whatever format the user wrote; do not reformat

---

Step 2 — Generate Harvard OCS LaTeX resume

Read the full template in references/harvard_template.md before generating.

Harvard OCS rules (strict)

Rule	Detail
Font	10–12pt, Times New Roman or Latin Modern
Margins	0.5–1 inch all sides
Section headers	ALL CAPS, bold, followed by a full-width horizontal rule
Name	Large (16–18pt), bold, centered at top
Contact line	Single line, centered, below name
Dates	Right-aligned on same line as job title/company
Bullets	Start with strong past-tense action verb; quantify impact where possible
Length	1 page for <10 years experience; 2 pages max
Order	Education → Experience → Projects → Skills → Awards
No photos	No headshots or graphics
No colors	Pure black and white (use \color{black} everywhere)

LaTeX output format

Output the complete .tex file — do not truncate. Structure:

\documentclass[10pt, letterpaper]{article}
% ... preamble (see references/harvard_template.md for full preamble)

\begin{document}

% ── HEADER ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
\begin{center}
  {\LARGE\textbf{FULL NAME}} \\[4pt]
  \small [email protected] \; $\cdot$ \; +1 (555) 000-0000 \; $\cdot$ \; City, Country \\
  \small \href{https://linkedin.com/in/handle}{linkedin.com/in/handle} \; $\cdot$ \; \href{https://github.com/handle}{github.com/handle}
\end{center}

\vspace{-6pt}

% ── EDUCATION ───────────────────────────────────────────────
\section*{EDUCATION}
\hrule
\vspace{4pt}

\noindent\textbf{University Name} \hfill City, Country \\
\textit{Degree, Major} \hfill \textit{Sep 20XX -- Jun 20XX} \\
GPA: X.X/4.0 \; | \; Honors: Dean's List

\vspace{6pt}

% ── EXPERIENCE ──────────────────────────────────────────────
\section*{EXPERIENCE}
\hrule
\vspace{4pt}

\noindent\textbf{Company Name} \hfill City, Country \\
\textit{Job Title} \hfill \textit{Jan 20XX -- Dec 20XX}
\begin{itemize}[leftmargin=1.5em, topsep=2pt, itemsep=0pt]
  \item Accomplished [X] by doing [Y], resulting in [Z\%] improvement
  \item Led team of N engineers to deliver feature used by X users
\end{itemize}

\vspace{6pt}

% ── PROJECTS ────────────────────────────────────────────────
\section*{PROJECTS}
\hrule
\vspace{4pt}

\noindent\textbf{Project Name} \textit{| Tech Stack} \hfill \textit{Month 20XX}
\begin{itemize}[leftmargin=1.5em, topsep=2pt, itemsep=0pt]
  \item Built [X] using [Y] that achieved [Z]
\end{itemize}

\vspace{6pt}

% ── SKILLS ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
\section*{SKILLS}
\hrule
\vspace{4pt}

\noindent\textbf{Languages:} Python, TypeScript, Go \\
\noindent\textbf{Frameworks:} React, FastAPI, Node.js \\
\noindent\textbf{Tools:} Docker, GitHub Actions, AWS, PostgreSQL

\end{document}

LaTeX special characters — escape these always

Character	Escaped
&	\&
%	\%
$	\$
#	\#
_	\_
{ }	\{ \}
~	\textasciitilde{}
^	\textasciicircum{}
\	\textbackslash{}

Vietnamese and accented characters work natively with \usepackage[T1]{fontenc} + \usepackage[utf8]{inputenc} — include both in preamble.

Bullet writing rules

Rewrite the user's raw notes into resume bullets:

• Start with a past-tense action verb (Built, Led, Designed, Reduced, Launched, Automated...)
• Include a metric whenever the notes hint at one (users, %, time saved, $ value, team size)
• Keep each bullet to 1 line (≤90 chars) where possible
• Do NOT invent metrics — if there are none, write a strong qualitative bullet

---

Step 3 — Live job search

After generating the resume, extract a search profile:

search_profile:
  top_skills: [3–5 most prominent technical skills]
  roles: [2–3 job titles that fit the experience level]
  location: [from profile, default "Ho Chi Minh City" or "Remote"]
  years_experience: [estimate from dates]
  seniority: [Junior / Mid / Senior / Lead]

Then use web search to find live job listings. Run these searches:

1. "{role}" "{top_skill}" jobs {location} 2025
2. "{role}" remote Vietnam 2025 site:linkedin.com OR site:vietnamworks.com OR site:topcv.vn
3. "{role}" "{top_skill}" "{top_skill_2}" job opening

For each search, extract up to 3 real listings with:

• Job title
• Company
• Location / Remote status
• URL to apply
• Why it matches (1 sentence referencing specific skills from the resume)

Present results as a table:

Role	Company	Location	Match reason	Link
...	...	...	...	Apply

Then offer to write a tailored cover letter for any listing.

---

Step 4 — Cover letter (on request)

When the user picks a job, generate a cover letter:

• Format: Plain text, 3 paragraphs, under 280 words
• Para 1: Why this specific company/role (reference something real about the company)
• Para 2: 2 strongest achievements from the resume that match the job
• Para 3: Brief close + call to action
• Tone: Confident, direct, not generic — avoid phrases like "I am writing to express my interest"

---

Output checklist

Before presenting the LaTeX to the user, verify:

• All special characters are escaped
• inputenc and fontenc packages included (for non-ASCII names)
• Every \begin{} has a matching \end{}
• Dates are right-aligned using \hfill
• Section headers use \section*{} (no numbering) + \hrule
• No invented data — only what came from the notes
• File compiles with pdflatex resume.tex (mentally trace through)

---

Files in this skill

File	Purpose
SKILL.md	This file — main instructions
scripts/export_vault.py	Run locally to export Obsidian vault → JSON
references/harvard_template.md	Full LaTeX preamble + section examples
references/export_schema.md	JSON schema for obsidian_export.json

---

Quick reference — how to use this skill

1. Run python export_vault.py --vault ~/path/to/vault on your computer
2. Paste the output JSON into Claude
3. Claude generates your Harvard LaTeX resume
4. Save the .tex file and compile: pdflatex resume.tex
5. Claude searches live jobs matching your profile
6. Pick a job → Claude writes a tailored cover letter