Technical Job Search
OfficialFreeStreamline your software engineering job search tasks.
Free · Opens the source repo
What Technical Job Search does
The Technical Job Search skill is designed specifically for software engineers seeking assistance with various job search activities. This skill provides structured guidance on how to analyze job descriptions, tailor CVs and resumes, write effective cover letters, evaluate job offers, and draft follow-up emails after interviews. By focusing on discrete job search tasks, it helps users navigate the complexities of the job market with clarity and confidence.
When analyzing job descriptions, the skill extracts essential components such as must-have and nice-to-have requirements, summarizes the business problem the role addresses, and identifies potential red flags that might indicate issues with the role or company. This structured approach allows candidates to better understand what employers are looking for and to prepare accordingly.
For CV tailoring, the skill emphasizes the importance of matching language with the job description, leading with impactful results, and quantifying achievements. It also advises on cutting irrelevant information and mirroring seniority signals to ensure the CV resonates with hiring managers. Similarly, the skill provides a straightforward framework for writing cover letters that directly address the company, the candidate's qualifications, and their motivation for applying.
In evaluating job offers, the skill guides users through critical dimensions such as compensation, role clarity, and company health. It helps candidates identify potential red flags and encourages them to get everything in writing before accepting an offer. Finally, the skill outlines best practices for follow-up emails, ensuring that candidates maintain professionalism and express genuine interest without overwhelming the recipient with unnecessary details.
When to use it
Use this skill when you need help with specific job search activities, such as analyzing job descriptions or tailoring your CV.
When not to use it
This skill is not suitable for general career advice outside the context of an active job search.
What you can build with it
Analyzing a Job Description
Use the skill to break down a job description into must-haves and nice-to-haves, helping you understand what to emphasize in your application.
Tailoring Your CV
Follow the skill's guidelines to adapt your CV for a specific role, ensuring it aligns closely with the job description.
Writing a Follow-Up Email
After an interview, use the skill to craft a concise follow-up email that expresses gratitude and reiterates your interest.
How to install Technical Job Search
View source1. Install with the skills CLI
npx skills add github/awesome-copilot/technical-job-search --agent claude-code2. Or install it manually
Download the skill folder and drop it into ~/.claude/skills/ for all projects, or .claude/skills/ to scope it to one repo. Restart Claude Code so it picks up the new skill.
Anthropic's agentic coding CLI, and the reference implementation of Agent Skills. Drop a skill folder into ~/.claude/skills and Claude Code loads it automatically whenever a task matches the skill's description. Claude Code docs
Inside SKILL.md
Written by githubTechnical Job Search
Helps software engineers with discrete job search tasks: job description analysis, CV tailoring, cover letter writing, offer evaluation, and follow-up emails.
Job Description Analysis
When given a job description, extract and structure:
Must-haves (explicitly required or repeated multiple times):
- Technical skills, years of experience, specific domain knowledge
Nice-to-haves (preferred, a bonus, or mentioned once):
- List these separately. Candidates often disqualify themselves over requirements that are actually optional.
What the role actually solves (inferred from the description):
- Summarize in 2-3 sentences what business problem this hire addresses
Red flags to surface:
- "Wear many hats" with no clarity on scope — risk of undefined ownership
- 10+ must-have technologies for a single role — unrealistic bar or poor team planning
- No mention of team size, tech stack, or what the role ships — may indicate disorganization
CV / Resume Tailoring
When tailoring a CV to a specific job description:
- Match language exactly — use the same terminology as the JD, not synonyms. If the JD says "distributed systems", do not write "large-scale systems".
- Lead with impact — every bullet should have a result: "Reduced P99 latency by 40%" not "Worked on performance improvements".
- Quantify everything possible — users, QPS, team size, cost saved, revenue impact.
- Cut what does not match — a two-page CV tailored to the role beats a four-page generic one.
- Mirror the seniority signals — entry roles want "built", senior roles want "designed", staff and principal roles want "drove" or "defined".
Do not keyword-stuff. Write for the hiring manager reading it, not for an ATS parser.
Cover Letter Writing
A cover letter should answer three questions in under 300 words:
- Why this company? Something specific — a product, a technical challenge they have written about, a problem space you care about. Not "I admire your mission."
- Why you? One or two concrete things from your background that directly match what they need. Link to the specific role, not your full career history.
- Why now? What is your motivation at this point in your career? One sentence.
Format: three short paragraphs. No preamble ("I am writing to apply for..."). No summary of your CV.
Avoid:
- Restating your CV in prose form
- "I am passionate about..."
- Generic company praise ("a leader in the industry", "innovative company")
- Going longer than one page
Offer Evaluation
When evaluating a job offer, compare across these dimensions:
Compensation
- Base salary: check against market rate for role, level, and location (levels.fyi, Glassdoor, Blind, Comprehensive.io)
- Equity: current valuation, vesting schedule (4-year with 1-year cliff is standard), dilution risk for early-stage companies
- Bonus: target percentage vs actual historical payout
- Total comp = base + expected bonus + annualized equity value
Role clarity
- Scope: what does "owning" this role actually mean vs what is already decided?
- Team: size, structure, who you report to, tenure of the team
- Growth: what does the next level look like and how long do people typically take to get there?
Company health
- Stage: runway, revenue, growth rate — ask directly if not public
- Engineering culture signals: PR review process, incident postmortem culture, on-call burden
- Remote or hybrid reality: written policy vs actual practice
Red flags in an offer
- Pressure to decide in under 48 hours — a reasonable window is one to two weeks
- Equity with no clear liquidity path for a company that has been private for 10+ years
- A role described as greenfield that turns out to have 6 months of existing unmaintained code
Get everything in writing before accepting.
Follow-up Emails
After an interview, send a follow-up within 24 hours:
- One sentence thanking them for the time
- One sentence referencing something specific from the conversation (a problem discussed, a question they asked)
- One sentence reaffirming interest, if genuine
Do not write multiple paragraphs. Do not restate your qualifications. Do not follow up more than once if there is no reply.
Frequently asked questions about Technical Job Search
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