Job Search Assistant

A complete job search tracker and career toolkit. Track applications, get resume tips, generate cover letter templates, prepare for interviews, learn salary negotiation tactics, spot red flags in job postings, and plan your weekly job search — all from the terminal.

Commands

Track Applications

Career Preparation

Research & Planning

Data Storage

Application data is stored in $DATA_DIR/applications.txt as pipe-delimited records (date|company|role|status). Activity history is logged to $DATA_DIR/history.log. The default data directory is ~/.local/share/job-search-assistant/. Override it by setting the JOB_DIR environment variable.

Requirements

• Bash 4+ with standard Unix utilities (date, wc, grep, sed)
• No external dependencies or API keys required
• Works on any Linux/macOS terminal

When to Use

1. Starting a job search — Use weekly-plan to structure your week and add to begin tracking every application you submit.
2. Preparing for an interview — Run interview behavioral or interview technical to get prep frameworks (STAR method, LeetCode tips, system design advice).
3. Writing application materials — Use resume <role> for tailoring tips and cover-letter <company> <role> for a ready-to-customize template.
4. Evaluating a job posting — Run red-flags to check a posting against common warning signs like vague descriptions, "we're a family", or no salary range.
5. Negotiating an offer — Use negotiate for tactics on countering offers, understanding total compensation, and negotiating perks like WFH and PTO.

Examples

# Add a new application
job-search-assistant add Google "Software Engineer" applied

# Update status after an interview
job-search-assistant update Google interview

# List all applications with "interview" status
job-search-assistant list interview

# View application statistics
job-search-assistant stats

# Get resume tips
job-search-assistant resume "Backend Developer"

# Generate a cover letter template
job-search-assistant cover-letter Stripe "Product Manager"

# Prepare for a behavioral interview
job-search-assistant interview behavioral

# Get salary negotiation advice
job-search-assistant negotiate

# Check job posting red flags
job-search-assistant red-flags

# Get a weekly search plan
job-search-assistant weekly-plan

How It Works

Job Search Assistant stores all data locally in plain text files. Applications are pipe-delimited for easy parsing. Every command is logged with timestamps so you can track your search activity over time. No data leaves your machine — everything stays in your local data directory.

Configuration

Set JOB_DIR to change the data directory:

export JOB_DIR=/custom/path

Default: ~/.local/share/job-search-assistant/

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