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feat: add ATS & keyword verification pass to /apply's compile-and-inspect loop (#40)

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An ATS reads the compiled PDF's embedded text layer, not the rendered page,
and LaTeX can silently produce PDFs whose text extracts as garbage: icon
glyphs where contact details should be, (cid:*) markers from fonts without
Unicode mappings, interleaved lines from multi-column layouts. This matters
more now that /add-template lets users bring arbitrary templates. The
existing Step 5 loop verifies what a human sees; this adds verification of
what a parser sees.

New Step 5d in /apply (CV only - cover letters rarely go through keyword
screening; cleanup renumbered to 5e):

- Extract the CV PDF's text layer with pdftotext -layout. pdftotext
  (poppler) is an optional dependency: if missing, the mechanical check is
  skipped with a warning and keyword coverage falls back to the visual PDF
  read - the same graceful-skip pattern as salary_lookup.py
- Parseability checks verified against a real extraction of the stock
  template: email/phone must survive as literal text (fontawesome icons
  extract as harmless glyph-name noise like MOBILE-ALT/Envelope, but a
  contact detail carried only by an icon or hyperlink is invisible to ATS),
  no (cid:*) or replacement-character garbage, reading order matching
  visual order, dates present
- Keyword coverage reuses the required/preferred list from Step 1, matched
  in the posting's language, reported as covered / synonym-only /
  missing-have-it / missing-gap. Honesty rule enforced: keywords the
  profile genuinely supports get added to experience bullets; genuine gaps
  stay visible, never stuffed

Integration: CLAUDE.md verification checklist section, ATS Parseability
guidance in 05-cv-templates.md, narrow Bash(pdftotext:*) entry in the
pre-approved permissions (keeping with the tightened scope from #27),
cv/*.txt gitignored (extraction is personal data; also deleted by the
step itself), and optional-dependency docs in README and SETUP.
This commit is contained in:
Ayobami Adegoke
2026-07-07 06:28:59 +02:00
committed by GitHub
parent b05fa05b4a
commit 2551824ecb
7 changed files with 78 additions and 3 deletions
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@@ -174,6 +174,23 @@ Cut content — do not compress geometry or `\vspace`. See "Relevance-weighted c
**Problem: content finishes early on page 2 (feels thin)**
Restore the highest-relevance item that was previously cut — a CV that ends mid-page 2 looks incomplete.
## ATS Parseability
Most employers run CVs through an ATS before a human sees them, and the ATS reads the PDF's embedded **text layer**, not the rendered page. A CV can pass visual inspection and still extract as garbage. After the layout passes the compile-and-inspect loop, verify the text layer:
```bash
cd cv && pdftotext -layout main_<company>.pdf main_<company>.txt
```
`pdftotext` comes from [poppler](https://poppler.freedesktop.org/), not the TeX distribution - it is an **optional** dependency. If it is not installed, skip the mechanical check with a warning and rely on the visual PDF read for keyword coverage.
What to check in the extraction:
- **Contact details as literal text.** The stock template's fontawesome contact icons extract as glyph names (`MOBILE-ALT`, `Envelope`) - harmless noise, because the actual address and number are printed beside them. The failure mode is a contact detail carried *only* by an icon or a hyperlink (like the `LinkedIn` link text, whose URL is not in the text layer): invisible to an ATS. The email address must always appear as printed text.
- **No garbled output.** `(cid:NNN)` markers or `�` characters mean a font is embedded without a Unicode mapping - an ATS sees the same garbage. This shows up with unusual fonts in custom templates, not with the stock moderncv setup under lualatex.
- **Reading order.** The stock banking style is single-column, so extraction order matches visual order. Custom templates (via `/add-template`) with sidebars or multi-column layouts can interleave unrelated lines; if extraction order is scrambled, the user is trading ATS compatibility for looks and should be told.
- **Keyword coverage.** Match the posting's required/preferred terms against the extracted text, in the posting's language. Prefer the posting's exact term over a synonym when it is truthfully applicable - ATS matching is often literal. Never add a keyword the profile does not support.
## Page Budget - Hard 2-Page Limit
The CV **must** fit on exactly 2 pages when compiled. Use these content limits as a guide: