JD Decoder Skill

A job description is a wishlist written by committee — the real signal is buried under boilerplate. This skill reads between the lines: what they must have vs. what's aspirational, the priorities the wording reveals, the red flags, and an honest read on your fit — plus the specific language to mirror so your application (and the ATS) sees a match.

Required Inputs

Ask for these only if they aren't already provided:

• The job description (paste it in full — the more complete, the better the decode).
• Your background — a short summary or CV, so the fit assessment is real, not generic.
• The company / role level, if not obvious from the JD.

Output Format

JD Decode: [role] at [company]

1. What they actually want — translate the posting into the 3–5 things that will truly decide the hire (often not the long requirements list). Quote the lines that reveal each.

2. Must-haves vs. nice-to-haves — split the requirements honestly. Most "requirements" are negotiable; name the few that aren't.

3. Hidden priorities & culture signals — what the wording, ordering, and tone reveal (e.g. "wears many hats" = under-resourced; "fast-paced" = expect churn; heavy stakeholder language = political org).

4. 🚩 Red flags — vague scope, unrealistic breadth, churn signals, comp omissions — and how serious each is.

5. Your honest fit — a candid read (strong / stretch / reach) and the 1–2 gaps to address head-on in the cover letter or interview.

6. Phrases to mirror — the exact keywords/terms to weave into your resume and cover letter (for the ATS and the human), pulled verbatim from the JD.

Quality Checks

• [ ] Separates the few true must-haves from the long aspirational list
• [ ] Hidden priorities are inferred from specific wording, quoted — not guessed
• [ ] The fit assessment is honest (names gaps), not flattering
• [ ] Red flags are surfaced with a sense of how serious each is
• [ ] Mirror-phrases are pulled verbatim from the JD for ATS alignment

Anti-Patterns

• [ ] Do not treat every listed requirement as mandatory — most are wishes; the skill's value is telling which few aren't
• [ ] Do not give a flattering fit read — a candid "stretch, here's the gap" is more useful than false confidence
• [ ] Do not ignore tone and ordering — they often reveal more than the bullet list
• [ ] Do not invent company facts — decode the text given; flag what needs separate research (pair with company-brief)
• [ ] Do not skip the red flags — helping someone not apply to a bad role is a real outcome

Based On

Job-description analysis practice — requirement triage, signal-reading, ATS keyword mirroring.