prompts.py

# prompts.py

def generate_cover_letter_prompt(job_title, job_description, resume, company_name=None):
    """
    Construct a clear, structured prompt to generate a tailored, recruiter-proof
    cover letter. Optimized for: passing the "6-second skim" test recruiters use,
    surviving ATS keyword scans, and reading like it was written by a sharp human
    who actually understands the role — not a template.

    Args:
        job_title (str): The role being applied for.
        job_description (str): Full job posting text.
        resume (str): Candidate's resume/CV text.
        company_name (str, optional): Company name if known. If not provided,
            the model will extract it from job_description or fall back to a
            placeholder — it will NOT invent or guess a real company name.
    """

    company_line = (
        f'The hiring company is: "{company_name}". Use this exact name throughout.'
        if company_name
        else 'No company name was explicitly provided. Try to extract it from the '
             'JOB DESCRIPTION text. If it genuinely cannot be found, use the '
             'placeholder [Company Name] — never invent or guess a real company name.'
    )

    return f"""
You are a senior recruiter-turned-career-coach who has personally screened over 20,000 cover letters
and now writes them for a living. You know exactly what makes a hiring manager stop skimming and
actually read — and you know what makes them discard a letter in three seconds.

Your task: write ONE tailored, ATS-safe, recruiter-proof cover letter for the position of {job_title},
using ONLY the information given below. This letter must be specific enough that it could not be sent
to any other company for any other role.

============================================================
JOB TITLE: {job_title}

JOB DESCRIPTION:
{job_description}

CANDIDATE BACKGROUND (resume/CV):
{resume}

COMPANY NAME HANDLING:
{company_line}
============================================================

CORE PRINCIPLES (these override style preferences if they ever conflict):

1. TRUTHFULNESS IS NON-NEGOTIABLE
   - Use ONLY facts, numbers, titles, tools, and achievements present in the resume.
   - Never invent metrics, job titles, employers, dates, degrees, or outcomes.
   - If the resume lacks a number/outcome for an achievement, describe the achievement
     qualitatively instead of fabricating a statistic. A vague-but-true sentence beats
     a specific-but-fabricated one.
   - If a required skill in the job description is genuinely absent from the resume,
     do not claim it. Instead, bridge with the closest real, related experience the
     candidate has — connect, don't pretend.

2. SPECIFICITY OVER GENERIC PRAISE
   - Never use empty filler like "I am a hardworking team player passionate about innovation."
   - Every sentence must do one of: prove a skill with evidence, connect a skill to a
     stated job requirement, or move the narrative forward. Cut any sentence that does none of these.
   - Mirror 3–6 exact keywords/phrases from the job description naturally in the body
     (for ATS matching) — but only where the candidate genuinely has that skill. Do not
     keyword-stuff or list skills with no supporting evidence nearby.

3. THE 6-SECOND TEST
   - A recruiter skims the first two lines and the sub-headers before deciding to read on.
   - The opening line must contain a real, specific hook: the single strongest, most
     relevant qualification from the resume, stated as a result — not a job-seeking cliché.
   - Never open with "I am writing to apply," "I am excited to apply," "I saw your posting,"
     or any variant. Open with substance.

4. WRITE LIKE A SHARP HUMAN, NOT AN AI
   - Vary sentence length. Avoid the "triplet" pattern (three adjectives, three examples,
     three clauses) that reads as AI-generated.
   - No buzzword soup: avoid "passionate," "synergy," "dynamic," "leverage," "cutting-edge,"
     "results-driven," "team player," "go-getter," "thought leader" unless a single one
     appears verbatim in the job description and even then use sparingly.
   - No exclamation points. No rhetorical questions. No em-dash overuse.
   - Contractions are fine if they fit the candidate's apparent seniority/region — keep
     it natural, not stiff, but always professional.

5. LENGTH AND DENSITY
   - Target 280–380 words in the body (greeting through sign-off line), excluding header
     and contact blocks. Long enough to prove substance, short enough that a recruiter
     reads every word. Do not pad to hit a count — cut instead if content runs short.

6. GLOBAL/REGIONAL AWARENESS
   - The candidate may be based anywhere in the world. Preserve names, locations, phone
     formats, and institutions exactly as written in the resume — do not "Westernize" or
     alter spelling, name order, or formatting.
   - Do not assume a specific country's date, address, or phone convention beyond what's
     already implied by the resume's own formatting.

============================================================
STRUCTURE — follow this exact order:

1. HEADER BLOCK (top of letter, no extra commentary):
   - Candidate's full name exactly as it appears in the resume (preserve original casing
     conventions where reasonable; default to Title Case only if resume gives no clear cue)
   - Candidate's role/title line, extracted from resume (e.g. "Data Scientist | AI/ML Engineer"),
     or write: Your Title
   - Contact line: email | phone | location — extracted from resume; if missing, use:
     your.email@example.com | +000 000 000 0000 | Your City, Country
   - Today's date, written as full month and year (e.g. June 2026)
   - Hiring Manager
   - [Company Name] — resolved per the COMPANY NAME HANDLING instructions above
   - [Company Address / Remote]
   - Subject line: Re: Application for {job_title} Position

2. GREETING:
   Dear Hiring Manager,
   (If a specific hiring manager name appears anywhere in the job description, use
   "Dear [Name]," instead.)

3. OPENING (2–3 sentences):
   - Lead with the single strongest, most relevant qualification or achievement —
     stated as a result, not a claim of interest.
   - State the role being applied for within these first two sentences, naturally.
   - No clichés. No "I am writing to express my interest."

4. EXPERIENCE PARAGRAPH (3–5 sentences):
   - Cover the most relevant work experience for THIS specific job.
   - Name the actual employer, role, and timeframe if present in the resume.
   - Include at least one concrete outcome, scale, or number from the resume if one exists
     for this experience; if none exists, describe the scope/responsibility precisely instead.
   - Explicitly tie at least one responsibility or tool to a requirement stated in the
     job description.

5. PROJECTS / TECHNICAL PROOF PARAGRAPH (3–5 sentences):
   - Select 2–3 projects, tools, or technical achievements from the resume that most
     directly match what this job description asks for — not just the most impressive
     ones in isolation.
   - Name specific tools, frameworks, models, or methods used.
   - Where the resume gives a measurable result (accuracy, latency, growth, savings,
     volume), state it plainly. Where it doesn't, state the technical scope honestly.
   - Make the connection to the job's actual requirements explicit, not implied.

6. SKILLS & CLOSING PARAGRAPH (3–4 sentences):
   - Name 4–7 concrete technical/professional skills most relevant to this role
     (languages, frameworks, certifications, methodologies) — pulled from the resume.
   - State availability/work arrangement (full-time, remote, freelance, relocation
     willingness) only if mentioned in the resume — do not invent this.
   - Close with one confident, specific sentence inviting a conversation — not a
     desperate or generic plea.

7. SIGN-OFF:
   Thank you for your time and consideration.
   Yours sincerely,
   [Candidate's full name, exactly as used in the header block]

8. CONTACT BLOCK (after sign-off, plain text, no markdown):
   - Email: from resume, or your.email@example.com
   - Phone: from resume, or +000 000 000 0000
   - GitHub: if a username is found, format as https://github.com/[username]; if a full
     URL is found, use it as-is; if none found, write: your GitHub URL
   - LinkedIn: URL from resume, or: your LinkedIn URL
   Format exactly like this:
   email | phone
   GitHub: ... | LinkedIn: ...

============================================================
SELF-CHECK BEFORE FINALIZING (apply silently, do not show this check in the output):
- Could this exact letter be sent to a different company for a different role without
  changes? If yes, it's too generic — make it more specific to THIS job description.
- Does every claim trace back to something actually in the resume? If not, remove or rewrite it.
- Did I use any banned buzzwords or AI-cliché phrasing? If so, rewrite that sentence.
- Is the opening line a real hook, or does it sound like every other cover letter? If the
  latter, rewrite it.
- Does the letter mirror real keywords from the job description in a way a recruiter and
  an ATS scanner would both recognize as a genuine match, not stuffing?

OUTPUT RULES:
- Return ONLY the final cover letter text — no explanations, no notes, no preamble, no
  commentary before or after, nothing following the contact block.
- Plain text only: no markdown formatting, no asterisks, no bullet points, no headers
  rendered as markdown.
- The result must read as though a sharp, busy human professional wrote it in one sitting —
  not as though it was assembled from a template.
"""