Resume Generator

<purpose> Generate a single-page PDF resume using Puppeteer to render the /resume React page. Optimized for ATS (Applicant Tracking Systems) and print. </purpose>

<whentoactivate> Activate when the user:

• Asks to generate, create, or update their resume
• Says "create my resume", "make a resume", "export resume PDF"
• Wants to refresh the resume after updating portfolio content
• Asks about resume format or PDF generation

Trigger phrases: "resume", "generate resume", "PDF", "export resume", "make resume" </whentoactivate>

Critical Files

Design Principles

1. Never Cut Experience

Critical: Include ALL jobs from content/experience/index.yaml. Missing experience (especially major companies) damages credibility more than a slightly longer resume.

• If page is too long → reduce highlights per job, NOT number of jobs
• Set MAX_JOBS to match total jobs in experience file
• Every role adds signal; cutting roles removes career trajectory

2. Metrics Over Descriptions

Highlights should follow Action → Outcome format with quantified results:

❌ "Managed product development"
✅ "Shipped Advanced API from 0→1: 17 methods serving 1M+ daily requests"

3. ATS-First Design

• Plain text (no images, icons, or complex layouts)
• Standard fonts: Georgia, Times New Roman (serif) or Arial, Helvetica (sans)
• Clear section headers: Header, Summary, Experience, Skills
• All text must be selectable/copyable

4. Single Page Target

One-page resumes get 2x more callbacks. Fit content by:

1. Reducing highlights per job (2-3 is sufficient)
2. Tightening typography (9-10pt base)
3. Never by cutting jobs

Format Guidelines

Layout Constants (ResumePage.tsx)

const RESUME_CONFIG = {
  SUMMARY_SKILL_CATEGORIES: 2,   // Categories in impact summary
  SKILLS_PER_CATEGORY: 3,        // Skills per category in summary
  SUMMARY_COMPANIES: 4,          // Companies to list in summary
  MAX_JOBS: 6,                   // Include ALL jobs - adjust to match your experience
  MAX_HIGHLIGHTS_PER_JOB: 3,     // Bullets per job (action → outcome format)
};

Adjust MAX_JOBS to match the total number of jobs in your experience file.

Resume Structure

1. Header: Name / Current Role + contact info (email, location)
2. Impact Summary: One-liner tagline + top skills + notable companies + key stats
3. Professional Experience: Each job with company, role, period, location, and bullets
4. Skills: 2-column grid organized by category

Skills Section Layout

Skills are displayed in a 2-column grid with category names in bold:

Category A: skill1, skill2, skill3...    | Category B: skill1, skill2...
Category C: skill1, skill2, skill3...    | Category D: skill1, skill2...

Categories are pulled from content/skills/index.yaml. Common category structures:

For Engineers:

• Languages & Frameworks, Infrastructure, Databases, Tools

For Product Managers:

• Domain Expertise, Product Leadership, Technical Execution, Tools

For Designers:

• Design Tools, Research Methods, Platforms, Collaboration

Typography (ResumePage.css)

• Font: Georgia / Times New Roman (ATS-safe serif)
• Base size: 9.5pt
• Line height: 1.35
• Page: Letter size (8.5in × 11in)
• Margins: 0.4in top/bottom, 0.5in left/right

Known Issues & Fixes

1. Black Box at Bottom of PDF

Cause: ThemeProvider applies dark background (#08080a) to body/#root, which bleeds into the PDF outside the .resume-page container.

Fix: CSS must override parent elements in @media print:

@media print {
  html,
  body,
  #root {
    background: white !important;
    min-height: auto !important;
    padding: 0 !important;
    margin: 0 !important;
  }
}

2. PDF Exceeds One Page

Fix: Reduce MAXHIGHLIGHTSPERJOB in ResumePage.tsx. Do NOT reduce MAXJOBS - missing experience is worse than a slightly longer resume.

3. Missing Experience/Jobs

Cause: MAX_JOBS was set too low, cutting off important companies.

Fix: Always set MAX_JOBS to the total number of jobs in content/experience/index.yaml. Count your jobs and update the config.

4. Yellow/Colored Underline on Role Title

Fix: Ensure .resume-role-highlight has no border-bottom or background-color.

5. Theme Colors Bleeding Through

Fix: Reset all children with:

.resume-page * {
  background: transparent;
  color: inherit;
}

6. Fonts Not Loading in PDF

Fix: The script waits for document.fonts.ready + 500ms buffer. If fonts still don't load, increase POSTFONTBUFFER_MS in generate-resume.ts.

Generation Workflow

Prerequisites

1. Dev server running: npm run dev
2. Content files populated:

- content/profile.yaml (name, email, location, tagline, stats) - content/experience/index.yaml (jobs with highlights) - content/skills/index.yaml (categorized skills)

Steps

1. Validate content: npm run validate
2. Preview at http://localhost:5173/resume
3. Verify single-page fit (no vertical scrollbar)
4. Check all experience is included
5. Generate:

npm run generate:resume

1. Verify output at public/resume.pdf

Custom Filename

npm run generate:resume -- --name "Jane Smith"
# Output: public/jane-smith.pdf

Custom URL

npm run generate:resume -- --url http://localhost:3000
# Uses different dev server port

Troubleshooting

After Generation

Update hero CTA in content/profile.yaml to link to the resume:

hero:
  cta:
    secondary:
      label: "Download Resume"
      href: "/resume.pdf"

Technical Details

Puppeteer Configuration (generate-resume.ts)

const PAGE_DIMENSIONS = {
  LETTER: {
    WIDTH_PX: 816,   // 8.5" at 96dpi
    HEIGHT_PX: 1056, // 11" at 96dpi
  },
};

const TIMING = {
  POST_FONT_BUFFER_MS: 500,    // Wait after fonts.ready
  PAGE_LOAD_TIMEOUT_MS: 30000, // Navigation timeout
};

PDF Export Settings

await page.pdf({
  path: output,
  format: 'letter',
  printBackground: true,
  margin: {
    top: '0.4in',
    right: '0.5in',
    bottom: '0.4in',
    left: '0.5in',
  },
  preferCSSPageSize: true,
});

Content Sources

The resume pulls data from these content files:

Quality Checklist

Before Generating

• Content YAML files pass validation (npm run validate)
• Preview at /resume shows correct info
• ALL jobs are included (count them!)
• Resume fits on single page (no scrollbar)
• All highlights follow "Action → Outcome" format
• Metrics are quantified (%, $, numbers)

After Generating

• Open PDF and verify visual appearance
• Check all text is selectable (ATS-friendly)
• Verify no dark backgrounds or visual artifacts
• Confirm all companies/roles are present
• Test PDF in an ATS simulator if available