skills/resplendent-resume-builder/references/career-advancement.md

# Career advancement

Use this reference for LinkedIn, interview preparation, salary and offer work, reference lists, and portfolio case studies. It consolidates `linkedin-profile-optimizer`, `interview-prep-generator`, `salary-negotiation-prep`, `offer-comparison-analyzer`, `reference-list-builder`, and `portfolio-case-study-writer`.

## LinkedIn alignment

Use the resume as an evidence source, not a script to paste verbatim. Align headline, About section, experience, skills, featured material, and profile links with the candidate's target direction. Favor a readable keyword-aware headline and a short About section that states the work, differentiating evidence, direction, and invitation to connect—only with supplied facts.

Keep dates, titles, employers, qualifications, and material achievements consistent with the resume. Suggest skills only when supportable. If a recruiter-search claim would require current platform or market data, label it as a general discoverability recommendation rather than a measured result.

## Interview preparation

Build a preparation pack from the resume, target role, and job description. Predict question themes from the role's visible responsibilities rather than promising knowledge of an employer's interview process. Create a story bank using STAR:

- **Situation:** relevant context and stakes.
- **Task:** the candidate's responsibility.
- **Action:** what the candidate specifically did and why.
- **Result:** supplied or verified outcome; identify the result as incomplete when unknown.

Prepare concise talking points for key bullets, likely follow-ups, honest gap explanations, role-specific questions to ask, and a 30/60-second introduction calibrated to the user. Do not invent results to complete a story. Practice prompts should ask the user to supply missing evidence.

## Salary preparation and offer comparison

Treat compensation as sensitive and variable. Do not state a market rate or tax/legal conclusion without a dated source and location context. When research is not available, help the user form questions, identify priorities, define a target/range from their own inputs, and draft a respectful negotiation script that does not claim outside offers or leverage they do not have.

For multiple offers, use a side-by-side comparison. Separate known compensation components—base, bonus, equity, benefits, time off, location/remote costs, start date, title, scope, growth, manager, and risks—from unknowns. Ask what the candidate values, explain any weighting they choose, and calculate only from stated numbers and assumptions. Keep subjective fit visibly separate from numeric totals.

## References

Create a polished, user-controlled reference list only from supplied people and permission status. Include name, relationship/context, current title/organization, and contact details only when the user instructs it and the reference has consented. Never fabricate a reference, endorsement, phone number, email, or relationship. Offer a request-for-permission message when helpful.

## Portfolio case studies

Transform a real project into a case study with context, problem, role, constraints, process, decisions, collaboration, deliverables, results, and reflection. Show the candidate's contribution clearly; preserve confidentiality and remove protected customer data. Use supplied artifacts and links when available. For creative or product work, distinguish the portfolio narrative from the ATS-safe resume.

## Deliverable shapes

- **LinkedIn pass:** rewritten headline/About/experience fragments, consistency changes, and evidence gaps.
- **Interview pack:** story bank, question themes, talking points, and questions to ask.
- **Negotiation pack:** known facts, priorities, missing research, scripts, and questions.
- **Offer comparison:** visible assumptions, comparison table, subjective factors, and next questions.
- **Reference or portfolio kit:** a privacy-safe template or case-study draft plus facts to verify.