Timeline Polishing

Convert raw, free-form descriptions of past experiences into rich, structured YAML files that live in the candidate's master timeline library under data/timeline/. These polished entries are the source of truth that the resume-generation skill later draws from.

When to trigger

Activate when the user provides raw notes (a paragraph, bullet list, journal entry, old job description, etc.) about either:

• A past job, role, internship, or employment period — polish as work experience.
• A specific project, deliverable, academic project, or hackathon — polish as a project.

If the type is ambiguous, ask the user one clarifying question before proceeding.

Inputs you will receive

• Raw text describing the experience.
• Optional: target language. If unspecified, detect it from the input; default to English.

Outputs you will produce

A single YAML file under data/timeline/:

• Path: data/timeline/{Type}_{TimeRange}_{Title}.yml
  • Type — Work or Project.
  • TimeRange — YYYYMMDD-YYYYMMDD for completed entries, or YYYYMMDD-Now for ongoing entries (e.g. 20221114-20240531, 20221114-Now).
  • Title — the job title or project name.

Workflow

1. Classify the input

Decide whether the description is a work experience or a project. If unclear, ask the user.

2. Polish using the matching methodology

• Work experience → follow references/work-experience.md. Methodology: Enhanced STAR (business-focused Situation, Task, Action, Result). Goal: reframe every achievement with business-first storytelling — lead with business challenges and outcomes, show problem-solving methodology, quantify in business terms, use transferable language that works across industries.
• Project → follow references/project.md. Methodology: Enhanced 3W (business-focused What, Why, How). Goal: reframe every achievement with business-first storytelling — define scope by business value, explain business drivers, show decision-making methodology and trade-off analysis, quantify outcomes in business terms.

3. Apply the bilingual name convention

If the source material includes both English and Chinese organization or school names, store them in the YAML field company/institution as English | 中文. The downstream resume generator will pick the correct side per target language. If only one official name is available, keep it as-is — do not invent the other side.

4. Save the file

Write the polished YAML to data/timeline/{Type}_{TimeRange}_{Title}.yml using the structures shown in:

• assets/timeline-work-experience.example.yml
• assets/timeline-project.example.yml

General rules

• Format: valid YAML.
• Business-Technology Integration: Each achievement must lead with business context (the problem or value), not the technology. Frame problems in universal, transferable terms rather than industry-specific jargon. Show problem-solving methodology and decision rationale, not just what was built. Quantify in business metrics first (cost, revenue, time, risk), then use technical metrics as supporting evidence.
• Authenticity: never invent skills or tech absent from the source text. You may infer specific services or tools that are standard within a platform the source already mentions (e.g. given "AWS", inferring "Step Functions"). Do not invent platforms. You may also infer standard business context for the role and industry.
• Date format: prefer MMM DD, YYYY inside the YAML (e.g. Nov 14, 2022); use the YYYYMMDD form only in the file name.

Quick reference