Career setup: assistant reference

This is the operator contract for the career wizard. The person uses Build my career pack and answers in conversation.

Assistant operation

Use the wizard for an uncertain first start, help gathering sources, or an explicit wizard request. Inspect supplied material, the current pack, prior answers and saved reviews first. A specific import request already defines scope: reuse those choices and proceed without a questionnaire. Quick capture, maintenance and continuing an evidence review keep their existing routes.

Present at most five concise prompts at a time, generally fewer. Follow the conditional question list and omit answers already supplied in the conversation, pack, preferences or relevant prior session. Do not force empty batches or an additional confirmation when the user has instructed you to proceed.

The shared session engine belongs to Core. The Resume Application adds its own questions and typed brief handoff. Private records live in reviews/startup/<career|resume>/<session-id>/ and are excluded from releases. They contain workflow context, not accepted facts or editorial approvals.

The assistant runs the commands; the person should not need to edit JSON:

python3 scripts/career_core.py start list
python3 scripts/career_core.py start create --id first-start
python3 scripts/career_core.py start show --session reviews/startup/career/first-start/000001.json

create --answers data/private/start-answers.json preloads actual supplied answers. answer --input <file> --session <latest-json> applies a patch:

{
  "route": {"state": "answered", "origin": "user", "value": "existing"},
  "sources": {
    "state": "answered", "origin": "user",
    "value": [
      {"path": "data/sources/my-resume.pdf", "purpose": "career_evidence"},
      {"path": "data/sources/job-description.pdf", "purpose": "job_context"}
    ]
  },
  "missing_work": {"state": "later", "origin": "user", "value": null}
}

For a direct source request, run career_core.py intake <authorized-path> without creating an unnecessary wizard session. Use data/sources only when the whole directory was authorized. Read its inventory and extracted text; unchanged material needs no new candidate. Before extracting facts, inspect and classify files within the requested scope: career_evidence, job_context, writing_reference, or defer. A filename alone does not establish purpose. “Everything in Sources” authorizes inspection of that directory, not treating advice or employer requirements as career history. resume_information/ remains writing guidance. New files never silently enter the selected scope.

Every answer has state, origin, and value. States are answered, none, not_applicable, later, and skipped; non-answers have null value. Origins are user (actually supplied), saved (reused), and inferred (assistant assumption, never person acceptance). A question update replaces its whole value; preserve other categories when editing one. Prior revisions retain previous wording.

Material categories: resumes, linkedin, reviews, public_work, projects, feedback, qualifications. None/not-applicable/later can apply to one category without closing the others. Do not invent checklist responses.

Continue and hand off

pause, resume, refresh, back --question <id> and handoff take --session <latest-json>. Omit the session only with one unfinished start; ask which one if multiple are plausible. refresh reopens a handed-off start and inventories new material while retaining answers. back reopens one question. Saved none/later/skip answers stay closed until the person returns to them; they are not permanent claims that work does not exist.

Writes use immutable revisions and a workspace lock. Stale edits fail instead of overwriting newer answers. Selected files are pinned by hash. Refreshing the inventory does not approve changed bytes: inspect and save source choices again.

Run career_core.py start handoff --session <latest-json> and link its summary:

• gather_sources: show the saved checklist and a clear stopping point.
• ingest_candidates: use only career_sources and user_accounts as career evidence; keep context_sources and deferred_sources separate.

Save exact user accounts with their origin in a new private source note before normal extraction. An inferred account is never user testimony. Preserve handling restrictions. Continue ingestion into data/candidates/ and the existing readable review; setup has accepted no wording and granted no external-use permission.

Reuse saved category answers in later evidence/strength interviews. Do not re-ask a settled absence merely because no publication record was generated. New career claims still go through source and human review. A handoff completes setup, not the career pack.

At a pause or handoff, show the report's saved, next and continue_prompt alongside the summary link. When the person names a saved setup, resolve that name through start list and read its latest revision. For active/paused setup, continue with the existing answers. For handed-off setup, use its recorded handoff to continue downstream work; do not call resume on a completed setup or create a duplicate brief. Refresh only when the inputs or choices need to change.

Read this guide on GitHub ↗