🔧 How to Use the Resume Automation Tool

If you saw my post about finally launching my Python-based resume automation tool — this post is your guide on exactly how to use it.

👉 View the full source code on GitHub

This tool automates:

✅ A tailored resume and cover letter
✅ A cold contact message for LinkedIn
✅ A connection request message

All with just a few fields and file picks.

📂 What You’ll Need

A resume template (.docx)
A cover letter template (.docx)
A few seconds to enter the job details

The tool loads your templates and keeps them active until you exit the program. From there, it replaces specific placeholder tags with your input to generate personalized application files and outreach messages.

🧩 Placeholder Guide

Your resume and cover letter templates must use these exact placeholders:

[[JOB_TITLE]] — The position you’re applying for
[[COMPANY_NAME]] — The name of the company
[[CONTACT_TITLE]] — Their title (e.g., Mr, Ms, Dr)
[[LAST_NAME]] — Their last name

The program will replace those tags dynamically after you enter the info in the app.

🖥 How to Run the Tool in PyCharm

To use this project, you’ll need PyCharm — a free Python IDE. Here’s how to set it up:

Go to https://www.jetbrains.com/pycharm/download/ and download the **Community Edition**.
Install PyCharm and open it.
Clone or download the project folder, then open that folder as a new project in PyCharm.
Make sure Python is installed (you can download it from python.org)
In PyCharm, go to File → Settings → Project → Python Interpreter and add your local python.exe as the interpreter if it’s not already detected.
Install required libraries:
- Go to Terminal (bottom panel in PyCharm)
- Run: pip install python-docx tkinter
Run the main script — the GUI will appear and walk you through the rest.

This only needs to be done once — after that, PyCharm will remember your setup.

⚠️ Replace with Your Own Info

The included cold contact and connection messages are clean — my personal info has already been removed.

However, you’ll need to:

Paste your own details into the appropriate text fields
Customize the messaging to fit your voice and your audience
Be sure your resume/cover letter templates don’t accidentally still contain placeholder values when submitting

📁 Coming Soon: Sanitized Templates

I’ll be uploading sanitized examples for:

Cold contact and connection messages
Resume and cover letter templates

These will help anyone struggling to write or structure their own templates, especially if you’re newer to job hunting in cybersecurity or tech.

🔗 Get the Code

You can download or contribute to this project on GitHub.

🛡 License

The tool is free to use and modify — just not for commercial use.

It’s licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Ramblings of a CyberSecurity Nerd