santifer--career-ops/modes/email.md

Mode: email — Application Email Drafts

Generate a formal application email body that the candidate can paste into an email client. This mode is for direct application emails, recruiter follow-up emails with a CV attached, referral request emails, cold application emails, and process-stuck recovery emails when the application machinery itself breaks (a form that will not submit, a scheduling page that fails, a dead assessment link) and email becomes the fallback channel.

It is NOT:

• contacto: short LinkedIn / BOSS Zhipin / chat-style outreach.
• cover: a full cover letter PDF.
• apply: live application form filling.

Never submit. Never send email. Never click send. Draft only. The candidate must review and send manually.

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Invocation

Supported inputs:

1. /career-ops email {report-number-or-slug}

   • Load the matching reports/{NNN}-*.md.
   • Use the report header, score, archetype, PDF status, and evaluation content.
   • If data/pdf-index.tsv contains a PDF for that report, mention it as the CV attachment candidate. If no PDF is indexed, say that the CV should be generated first via /career-ops pdf {slug} or attached manually.

2. /career-ops email {pasted JD}

   • Use the pasted JD directly.
   • Do not create a report, tracker row, PDF, or cover letter.
   • Ask for company name if the JD lacks it and the email would otherwise read generic.

3. /career-ops email

   • If there is a most recent evaluated tracker row, offer to draft from that row.
   • If no usable context exists, ask for a report number, slug, or JD.

4. /career-ops email stuck {report-number-or-slug}

   • Load the matching reports/{NNN}-*.md for company and role context.
   • Draft a process-stuck recovery email (see the dedicated section below).
   • Also trigger this variant conversationally when the user describes a broken application step, e.g. "the ATS scheduling page is broken", "I can't submit the form", "the assessment link is dead", "the login loop won't let me back in". Confirm the variant before drafting if ambiguous.

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Step 1 — Load Context

Read:

• config/profile.yml
• cv.md
• article-digest.md if it exists
• modes/_profile.md if it exists
• modes/_custom.md if it exists
• voice-dna.md if it exists, for writing style only
• The selected report if invoked by report number or slug
• data/pdf-index.tsv if present, to find generated PDF attachments

Use modes/_custom.md only for procedural output preferences such as whether to include a contact block, whether to show an attachment checklist, or how concise the email should be. It must never introduce contact details, work experience, or other factual claims.

Use voice-dna.md only as a writing guardrail. It must never introduce factual claims.

Profile fields

Use these optional fields when present:

• candidate.full_name
• candidate.chinese_name
• candidate.email
• candidate.phone
• candidate.wechat
• candidate.location
• candidate.linkedin
• candidate.github
• candidate.portfolio_url
• application_email.default_sender_note
• application_email.include_contact_block
• application_email.include_attachment_checklist
• application_email.signature_name
• contact_preferences.preferred_channel
• contact_preferences.note

If candidate.wechat is absent, omit WeChat. Do not invent one.

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Step 2 — Classify Email Type

Choose one of four variants from user wording or context:

Variant	When	Tone
hr_application	Default. Sending CV to HR/recruiter for a posted role.	Formal, concise, screening-friendly
referral_request	User asks for referral, internal contact, friend, alumni, or former colleague.	Warm, low-pressure, easy to forward
cold_application	No posted role, speculative reach-out, "cold email".	Direct, value-first, no desperation
process_stuck	The ATS or application flow broke mid-process and email is the fallback channel.	Factual, forwardable, one precise ask

If unclear, default to hr_application.

Precedence: any process-failure signal (a broken step, an error message, a dead link, failed scheduling) selects process_stuck over the other variants. If a failure is hinted at but the intent is ambiguous, ask for confirmation — do not fall through to hr_application. The hr_application default applies only when there is no failure indication at all.

For process_stuck, skip Step 3 (fit points) and Step 4 (attachment checklist) — the reader already has the application; this email exists to unblock a process, not to sell — and follow the dedicated section below instead of the Step 5 structures.

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Step 3 — Extract Fit Points

From the report/JD and source-of-truth files, select 2-3 fit points:

• One role-to-profile match: stack, domain, workflow, product type, or delivery style.
• One proof point: project, metric, open-source contribution, or shipped system.
• One differentiator: business ownership, domain knowledge, communication, open-source ecosystem, or production handover.

Use only facts from source-of-truth files. Reformulate keywords from the JD; never fabricate.

If a report has a score:

• >= 4.5: confident, priority application.
• 4.0-4.4: good match, worth applying.
• < 4.0: restrained; do not oversell. If below 4.0, warn the user before drafting that career-ops normally recommends against applying.

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Step 4 — Attachment Checklist

Before the draft, output:

Attachments to include:
- CV: {pdf path or "attach your tailored CV"}
- Cover letter: {path if known, otherwise "optional / not generated"}

Rules:

• If application_email.include_attachment_checklist is false, omit this checklist.
• Mention only files that exist or are indexed. Do not claim a cover letter exists unless it does.
• Do not attach files or send anything.

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Step 5 — Draft Structure

Always output:

Subject: {subject}

{email body}

HR application structure

1. Greeting
2. Role intent and attachment sentence
3. 2-3 fit points in one short paragraph or compact bullets
4. Why this role is relevant, using JD language
5. Contact block and signature

Referral request structure

1. Greeting
2. One-line context: role and company
3. 2 concise proof points that are easy to forward
4. Low-pressure ask: "If this looks aligned, would you be comfortable referring me or pointing me to the right person?"
5. Contact block and signature

Cold application structure

1. Greeting
2. Value proposition first, not "I am looking for a job"
3. 2 proof points tied to the company/domain
4. Specific ask: short call, right contact, or permission to send CV
5. Contact block and signature

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Process-Stuck Recovery Email (process_stuck)

The ATS is the normal channel; this email exists because the channel broke. The reader is often the same recruiter who will later evaluate the candidate, so the draft must read as a competent incident report, not a complaint.

Intake

Before drafting, ask for whatever is missing:

1. Which step broke: form submit, interview/prescreen scheduling, assessment link, account login, or other.
2. What the failure looks like: error text verbatim if any, or "no error, the page just reloads / spins / shows no slots".
3. What was already retried: other browser, other device, other time slots, cleared session, waited and retried.
4. Deadline pressure: assessment window, scheduling cutoff, posting close date.
5. Which contact addresses are visible to the candidate: prior email threads, ATS notification sender, addresses on the posting or careers page.

Draft structure

1. Greeting
2. One-line identification: role, application/req ID if known, candidate name
3. Reproducible, timestamped failure description a recruiter can forward to their ATS admin verbatim: step, exact behavior, timestamp + timezone, what was already retried
4. One precise ask — exactly one: schedule manually, confirm receipt, extend the assessment window, or resend a working link
5. One-line reaffirmation of interest in the role
6. Signature

Keep it short: 100-180 words. No blame, no apology spiral, no speculation about what is wrong on their side, no more detail than the admin needs.

Evidence checklist

Include in the failure description:

• Timestamp + timezone of the attempt(s)
• The step and the exact failure behavior (error text verbatim if any)
• What was already retried
• "Screenshot available on request" — mention it, never attach unprompted

Contact triage — picking the least-wrong address

Broken ATS flows rarely expose a human contact. Rank the visible options:

1. A recruiter or coordinator from any prior email thread for this application. Best option by far: existing context, a human, an incentive to fix it.
2. The reply-to of ATS notification emails (confirmation, invite, assessment emails) — only if it is a human or team mailbox. Skip anything clearly unmonitored (no-reply@, notifications@, donotreply@).
3. A general recruiting mailbox on the posting or careers page: careers@, recruiting@, talent@, jobs@, hr@.
4. LinkedIn message to the recruiter or hiring manager as last resort — hand off to contacto mode for the short-form version of the same content.

Never send a process-support request to a special-purpose mailbox. These exist for a protected or unrelated purpose, and misusing them at best gets the email silently dropped and at worst reads as a candidate who does not read instructions:

• Accessibility / accommodations mailboxes
• Benefits mailboxes
• Ethics / whistleblower / compliance hotlines
• Alumni mailboxes
• Press / media mailboxes

If the only visible address is a special-purpose mailbox, say so explicitly, do not draft for that address, and recommend the LinkedIn route (option 4) instead.

Guardrails

All standing email-mode guardrails apply unchanged: draft only, never send, never click, never submit. Additionally, the stuck-email draft must:

• Never threaten or escalate, and never use legal or complaint language.
• Never speculate about the cause of the failure or criticize the company's tooling — describe only what the candidate observed. Factual and forwardable, nothing else.
• Never fabricate error messages, timestamps, or retry steps. If the user cannot recall a detail, omit it.

Example (generic)

All values below are placeholders — fill them only with details the user actually provides. Never invent error text, timestamps, or retry steps.

Subject: Application to {Role} ({REQ-ID}) — {broken step} issue

Hi {Company} Recruiting team,

I'm partway through the application process for {Role} ({REQ-ID}) and hit a
technical issue I can't get past: {broken step} fails on every attempt.
{Exact observed behavior — quote error text verbatim only if one exists;
otherwise describe what happens: the page reloads, keeps spinning, shows no
slots} (tried {date + time + timezone}, {what was retried}). A screenshot is
available if useful.

Could someone schedule the interview manually? Happy to take any slot that
works for the team.

I remain very interested in the role and don't want a technical glitch to
stall the process.

Best regards,
{Candidate Name}
{email}

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Language

• Match the JD/report language.
• If the JD is Chinese, use Simplified Chinese.
• If the company/recruiter language is unknown, default to the user's language.
• Keep the subject line in the same language as the body unless the user asks otherwise.

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Contact Block

Default behavior:

• Include contact block for direct application emails.
• Omit phone in short social outreach; this mode is not short social outreach.

Use:

联系方式：
{if candidate.wechat}微信：{candidate.wechat}{/if}
{if candidate.phone}手机号：{candidate.phone}{/if}
{if candidate.email or application_email.default_sender_note}邮箱：{candidate.email or application_email.default_sender_note}{/if}

For English:

Contact:
{if candidate.wechat}WeChat: {candidate.wechat}{/if}
{if candidate.phone}Phone: {candidate.phone}{/if}
{if candidate.email or application_email.default_sender_note}Email: {candidate.email or application_email.default_sender_note}{/if}

If application_email.default_sender_note is set in config/profile.yml to a phrase such as "the email used to send this message", use that phrase instead of a concrete email address.

If application_email.include_contact_block is false, use a normal signature only.

Contact channel preference: If application_email.include_contact_block is true (or absent/default), check contact_preferences.preferred_channel in config/profile.yml. If it is absent or set to "either", the contact block stays exactly as above — no change. If it is set to "email" or "phone", add one short line directly under the contact block naming that preference, e.g.:

Contact:
Email: jane@example.com
Phone: +1-555-0123
(Prefers email first.)

If contact_preferences.note is set, use its wording (or a close paraphrase) for that line instead of a generic phrase. Keep it to one line, no bold, no extra emphasis -- it should read as a practical note, not a demand.

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Style Rules

• No corporate-speak.
• No "passionate about", "perfect fit", "unique opportunity", or vague praise.
• No exaggerated authorship claims.
• Short paragraphs. Prefer 150-250 words for HR applications.
• Keep the proof easy to scan.
• Do not include salary unless the user asks.
• Do not include private references, ID numbers, or unsupported claims.

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Output

Return in this order:

1. Context line:
   • Source: report {NNN} or Source: pasted JD
   • Variant
   • Language
2. Attachment checklist, unless disabled
3. Subject and email body
4. One-line note with any missing inputs or assumptions

Do not write files unless the user explicitly asks to save the draft.