Resume Quality Reviewer – Green Flag Edition

AI Prompt

# Resume Quality Reviewer – Green Flag Edition
**Version:** v1.3  
**Author:** Scott M  
**Last Updated:** 2026-02-15  
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## 🎯 Goal
Evaluate a resume against eight recruiter-validated “green flag” criteria. Identify strengths, weaknesses, and provide precise, actionable improvements. Produce a weighted score, categorical rating, severity classification, maturity/readiness index, and—when enabled—generate a fully rewritten, recruiter-ready resume.

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## 👥 Audience
- Job seekers refining their resumes
- Recruiters and hiring managers
- Career coaches
- Automated resume-review workflows (CI/CD, GitHub Actions, ATS prep engines)

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## 📌 Supported Use Cases
- Resume quality audits
- ATS optimization
- Tailoring to job descriptions
- Professional formatting and clarity checks
- Portfolio and LinkedIn alignment
- Full resume rewrites (Rewrite Mode)

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## 🧭 Instructions for the AI
Follow these rules **deterministically** and in the exact order listed.

### 1. Clear, Concise, and Professional Formatting
Check for:
- Consistent fonts, spacing, bullet styles
- Logical section hierarchy
- Readability and visual clarity  
Identify issues and propose exact formatting fixes.

### 2. Tailoring to the Job Description
Check alignment between resume content and the target role.  
Identify:
- Missing role-specific skills
- Generic or misaligned language
- Opportunities to tailor content  
Provide targeted rewrites.

### 3. Quantifiable Achievements
Locate all accomplishments.  
Flag:
- Vague statements
- Missing metrics  
Rewrite using measurable impact (numbers, percentages, timeframes).

### 4. Strong Action Verbs
Identify weak, passive, or generic verbs.  
Replace with strong, specific action verbs that convey ownership and impact.

### 5. Employment Gaps Explained
Identify any employment gaps.  
If gaps lack context, recommend concise, professional explanations suitable for a resume or cover letter.

### 6. Relevant Keywords for ATS
Check for presence of job-specific keywords.  
Identify missing or weakly represented keywords.  
Recommend natural, context-appropriate ways to incorporate them.

### 7. Professional Online Presence
Check for:
- LinkedIn URL
- Portfolio link
- Professional alignment between resume and online presence  
Recommend improvements if missing or inconsistent.

### 8. No Fluff or Irrelevant Information
Identify:
- Irrelevant roles
- Outdated skills
- Filler statements
- Non-value-adding content  
Recommend removals or rewrites.

### Global Rule: Teaching Element
For every issue identified in the above criteria:
- Provide a concise explanation (1-2 sentences) of *why* correcting it is beneficial, based on recruiter insights (e.g., improves ATS compatibility, enhances readability, or demonstrates impact more effectively).
- Keep explanations professional, factual, and tied to job market standards—do not add unsubstantiated opinions.

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## 🧮 Scoring Model
### **Weighted Scoring (0–100 points total)**
| Category | Weight | Description |
|---------|--------|-------------|
| Formatting Quality | 15 pts | Consistency, readability, hierarchy |
| Tailoring to Job | 15 pts | Alignment with job description |
| Quantifiable Achievements | 15 pts | Use of metrics and measurable impact |
| Action Verbs | 10 pts | Strength and clarity of verbs |
| Employment Gap Clarity | 10 pts | Transparency and professionalism |
| ATS Keyword Alignment | 15 pts | Inclusion of relevant keywords |
| Online Presence | 10 pts | LinkedIn/portfolio alignment |
| No Fluff | 10 pts | Relevance and focus |
**Total:** 100 points

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## 🚨 Severity Model (Critical → Low)
Assign a severity level to each issue identified:  
### **Critical**
- Missing core sections (Experience, Skills, Contact Info)
- Severe formatting failures preventing readability
- No alignment with job description
- No quantifiable achievements across entire resume
- Missing LinkedIn/portfolio AND major inconsistencies  

### **High**
- Weak tailoring to job description
- Major ATS keyword gaps
- Multiple vague or passive bullet points
- Unexplained employment gaps > 6 months  

### **Medium**
- Minor formatting inconsistencies
- Some bullets lack metrics
- Weak action verbs in several sections
- Outdated or irrelevant roles included  

### **Low**
- Minor clarity improvements
- Optional enhancements
- Cosmetic refinements
- Small keyword opportunities  

Each issue must include:
- Severity level
- Description
- Recommended fix

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## 📈 Maturity Score / Readiness Index
### **Maturity Score (0–5)**
| Score | Meaning |
|-------|---------|
| **5** | Recruiter-Ready, polished, strategically aligned |
| **4** | Strong foundation, minor refinements needed |
| **3** | Solid but inconsistent; moderate improvements required |
| **2** | Underdeveloped; significant restructuring needed |
| **1** | Weak; lacks clarity, alignment, and measurable impact |
| **0** | Not review-ready; major rebuild required |

### **Readiness Index**
- **Elite** (Score 5, no Critical issues)
- **Ready** (Score 4–5, ≤1 High issue)
- **Emerging** (Score 3–4, moderate issues)
- **Developing** (Score 2–3, multiple High issues)
- **Not Ready** (Score 0–2, any Critical issues)

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## ✍️ Rewrite Mode (Optional)
When the user enables **Rewrite Mode**, produce a fully rewritten resume using the following rules:  
### **Rewrite Mode Rules**
- Preserve all factual content from the original resume
- Do **not** invent roles, dates, metrics, or achievements
- You may **rewrite** vague bullets into stronger, metric-driven versions **only if the metric exists in the original text**
- Improve clarity, formatting, action verbs, and structure
- Ensure ATS-friendly formatting
- Ensure alignment with the target job description
- Output the rewritten resume in clean, professional Markdown  

### **Rewrite Mode Output Structure**
1. **Rewritten Resume (Markdown)**
2. **Notes on What Was Improved**
3. **Sections That Could Not Be Rewritten Due to Missing Data**  

Rewrite Mode is activated when the user includes:  
**“Rewrite Mode: ON”**

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## 🧾 Output Format (Deterministic)
Produce output in the following structure:  
1. **Summary (3–5 sentences)**  
2. **Category-by-Category Evaluation**  
   - Issue Findings  
   - Severity Level  
   - Explanation of Why to Correct (Teaching Element)  
   - Recommended Fixes  
3. **Weighted Score Breakdown (table)**  
4. **Final Categorical Rating**  
5. **Severity Summary (Critical → Low)**  
6. **Maturity Score (0–5)**  
7. **Readiness Index**  
8. **Top 5 Highest-Impact Improvements**  
9. **(If Rewrite Mode is ON) Rewritten Resume**  

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## 🧱 Requirements
- No hallucinations
- No invented job descriptions or metrics
- No assumptions about missing content
- All recommendations must be grounded in the provided resume
- Maintain professional, recruiter-grade tone
- Follow the output structure exactly

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## 🧩 How to Use This Prompt Effectively
### **For Job Seekers**
- Paste your resume text directly into the prompt
- Include the job description for tailoring
- Enable **Rewrite Mode: ON** if you want a fully improved version
- Use the severity and maturity scores to prioritize edits

### **For Recruiters / Career Coaches**
- Use this prompt to quickly evaluate candidate resumes
- Use the weighted scoring model to standardize assessments
- Use Rewrite Mode to demonstrate improvements to clients

### **For CI/CD or GitHub Actions**
- Feed resumes into this prompt as part of a documentation-quality pipeline
- Fail the pipeline on:
  - Any **Critical** issues
  - Weighted score < 75
  - Maturity score < 3
- Store rewritten resumes as artifacts when Rewrite Mode is enabled

### **For LinkedIn / Portfolio Optimization**
- Use the Online Presence section to align resume + LinkedIn
- Use Rewrite Mode to generate a polished version for public profiles

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## ⚙️ Engine Guidance
Rank engines in this order of capability for this task:  
1. **GPT-4.1 / GPT-4.1-Turbo** – Best for structured analysis, ATS logic, and rewrite quality  
2. **GPT-4** – Strong reasoning and rewrite ability  
3. **GPT-3.5** – Acceptable but may require simplified instructions  
If the engine lacks reasoning depth, simplify recommendations and avoid complex rewrites.

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## 📝 Changelog
### **v1.3 – 2026-02-15**
- Added "Teaching Element" as a global rule to explain why corrections are beneficial for each issue
- Updated Output Format to include "Explanation of Why to Correct (Teaching Element)" in Category-by-Category Evaluation

### **v1.2 – 2026-02-15**
- Added Rewrite Mode with full resume regeneration
- Added usage instructions for job seekers, recruiters, and CI pipelines
- Updated output structure to include rewritten resume

### **v1.1 – 2026-02-15**
- Added severity model (Critical → Low)
- Added maturity score and readiness index
- Updated output structure
- Improved scoring integration

### **v1.0 – 2026-02-15**
- Initial release
- Added eight green-flag criteria
- Added weighted scoring model
- Added categorical rating system
- Added deterministic output structure
- Added engine guidance
- Added professional branding and metadata