CV Automation System - Phase 1

A Python-based system for generating professional, ATS-friendly CV documents from structured YAML data.

Features

• ATS-Optimized: Generates CVs compatible with Applicant Tracking Systems
• YAML-Based: Store all your professional information in a structured YAML file
• Professional Formatting: Clean, readable layout with optimal spacing and standard fonts
• Comprehensive Sections: Support for experience, education, skills, certifications, projects, and more
• Customizable: Easy to modify templates and section ordering
• Logging: Detailed logging for debugging and monitoring
• Contact Layout: Each contact detail on separate lines for better ATS parsing

Project Structure

JobSearchAutomation/
├── data/
│   └── example_cv.yaml          # Example template (included in git)
├── output/                      # Generated CVs (gitignored)
├── templates/                   # Optional template files
├── venv/                       # Virtual environment (gitignored)
├── generate_cv.py              # Main CV generation script
├── requirements.txt            # Python dependencies
├── .gitignore                 # Git ignore rules
└── README.md                  # This file

Quick Start

1. Quick Setup (Recommended)

# Clone the repository
git clone <repository-url>
cd JobSearchAutomation

# Create virtual environment
python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: venv\Scripts\activate

# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

# Run automated setup
python setup.py

2. Manual Setup (Alternative)

# Create virtual environment
python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: venv\Scripts\activate

# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

# Copy the example template
cp data/example_cv.yaml data/master_cv.yaml

# Edit with your information
nano data/master_cv.yaml  # or use your preferred editor

3. Generate Your CV

# Generate CV from your data
python generate_cv.py

# Or specify a different YAML file
python generate_cv.py --yaml-file data/my_cv.yaml

4. Test Your Setup

# Test the system with example data
python test_cv.py

The generated CV will be saved in the output/ directory with a timestamp.

YAML Data Structure

The YAML file should contain the following sections:

Personal Information (Environment Variables)

Personal information is now loaded from environment variables for better security and flexibility.

Setup:

1. Copy personal_info.env.example to personal_info.env
2. Update the values in personal_info.env with your actual information

Required Environment Variables:

• CV_NAME: Your full name
• CV_EMAIL: Your email address

Optional Environment Variables:

• CV_PHONE: Your phone number
• CV_LOCATION: Your location (city, state/country)
• CV_LINKEDIN: Your LinkedIn profile URL
• CV_WEBSITE: Your personal website
• CV_GITHUB: Your GitHub profile URL
• CV_FILENAME_PREFIX: Custom filename prefix for generated CVs

Example personal_info.env:

CV_NAME="John Doe"
CV_EMAIL="john.doe@email.com"
CV_PHONE="+1 (555) 123-4567"
CV_LOCATION="San Francisco, CA"
CV_LINKEDIN="linkedin.com/in/johndoe"
CV_WEBSITE="johndoe.dev"
CV_GITHUB="github.com/johndoe"
CV_FILENAME_PREFIX="John_Doe_CV"

Professional Summary

summary: |
  Your professional summary here. This should be a brief paragraph
  highlighting your key qualifications and career focus.

Work Experience

experience:
  - company: "Company Name"
    role: "Job Title"
    location: "City, State"
    start_date: "2022-01"
    end_date: "Present"
    description: |
      Brief description of your role and responsibilities.
    achievements:
      - "Achievement 1"
      - "Achievement 2"
    technologies: ["Python", "JavaScript", "React"]

Education

education:
  - degree: "Bachelor of Science in Computer Science"
    institution: "University Name"
    location: "City, State"
    graduation_date: "2020-05"
    gpa: "3.7"  # Optional
    relevant_coursework: ["Data Structures", "Algorithms"]

Skills

skills:
  programming_languages:
    - "Python"
    - "JavaScript"
    - "Java"
  frameworks_libraries:
    - "Django"
    - "React"
    - "Node.js"

Certifications

certifications:
  - name: "AWS Certified Solutions Architect"
    issuer: "Amazon Web Services"
    date: "2023-03"
    credential_id: "AWS-SAA-123456"  # Optional

Projects (Optional)

projects:
  - name: "Project Name"
    description: "Brief project description"
    technologies: ["Python", "Django", "PostgreSQL"]
    url: "github.com/username/project"  # Optional
    date: "2023"

Configuration

cv_config:
  font_family: "Arial"  # ATS-friendly fonts: Arial, Calibri, Georgia
  font_size: 11
  section_order:
    - "summary"
    - "experience"
    - "education"
    - "skills"
    - "certifications"
  include_timestamp: true

Command Line Options

python generate_cv.py [options]

Options:
  --yaml-file PATH    Path to YAML file (default: data/master_cv.yaml)
  --output-dir PATH   Output directory (default: output)
  -h, --help         Show help message

ATS Compatibility Features

• Standard Fonts: Uses Arial, Calibri, or Georgia fonts
• Simple Formatting: No tables, text boxes, or complex layouts
• Clear Headers: Standard section headers with proper spacing
• Bullet Points: Simple bullet points without custom symbols
• Proper Margins: 1-inch margins on all sides
• No Graphics: No embedded images or complex formatting
• Contact Parsing: Each contact detail on separate lines for ATS compatibility

Customization

Section Ordering

Modify the section_order in your YAML file to change the order of sections:

cv_config:
  section_order:
    - "summary"
    - "experience"
    - "skills"  # Move skills before education
    - "education"
    - "certifications"

Hidden Sections

Hide sections you don't want to include:

cv_config:
  hidden_sections:
    - "projects"
    - "languages"

Font Customization

cv_config:
  font_family: "Calibri"  # or "Georgia"
  font_size: 12

Logging

The script generates detailed logs in cv_generation.log and console output:

• INFO: General progress information
• DEBUG: Detailed processing steps
• WARNING: Non-critical issues
• ERROR: Critical errors that prevent generation

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. YAML file not found

   Error: YAML file not found: data/master_cv.yaml
   

   Solution: Copy data/example_cv.yaml to data/master_cv.yaml and update with your information.

2. Invalid YAML syntax

   Error parsing YAML file: while parsing...
   

   Solution: Check your YAML syntax. Use a YAML validator online.

3. Missing personal information

   Missing required personal information from environment: name, email
   

   Solution:

   • Copy personal_info.env.example to personal_info.env
   • Update CV_NAME and CV_EMAIL in personal_info.env
   • Or set environment variables manually: export CV_NAME="Your Name" and export CV_EMAIL="your@email.com"

Debug Mode

Enable debug logging by modifying the script:

logging.basicConfig(level=logging.DEBUG, ...)

Development

Adding New Sections

To add a new section to the CV:

1. Add the section to your YAML file
2. Create a method in the CVGenerator class:

   def add_new_section(self):
       """Add your new section."""
       if 'new_section' not in self.data:
           return
       # Implementation here

3. Add the section to the section_methods dictionary
4. Update the default section_order in the config

Testing

# Test with example data
python generate_cv.py --yaml-file data/example_cv.yaml

# Run automated tests to verify CV structure
python test_cv.py

# Check the generated CV in output/ directory

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Test thoroughly
5. Submit a pull request

License

This project is open source. See the LICENSE file for details.

Future Phases

This is Phase 1 of a larger automation system:

• Phase 2: Job-specific CV generation with n8n automation
• Phase 3: Automated job search and application

See REQUIREMENTS.md for the complete project roadmap.

Support

For issues and questions:

1. Check the troubleshooting section above
2. Review the logs in cv_generation.log
3. Open an issue on GitHub with your YAML file (remove personal information)
4. Include the error message and log output