# Authenticity and Natural-Writing Rules

> The primary defense against generic or suspicious application writing is verifiable specificity.
> There is no reliable punctuation checklist for determining whether text was written with AI.

## Mandatory Authenticity Checks

1. Trace every experience claim to `resume_builder/canonical/claims.json` and an experience file.
2. Preserve ownership scope and allowed verbs. Never intensify a verb merely to match the JD.
3. Use the JD's terminology only when it accurately names the demonstrated work.
4. Do not copy long phrases from the JD or mirror its requirement order mechanically.
5. Do not add a tool, scale, customer, metric or outcome because it is plausible.
6. Keep bridges explicit: say the demonstrated technology first, then explain transferability if useful.
7. Prefer a concrete fact over a generic adjective.
8. A claim must be answerable in an interview with a specific example.

## Natural Resume Writing

- Start bullets with the work or result, not a framing phrase.
- Mix short and longer bullets according to information content; identical lengths are not a goal.
- Use ordinary action verbs. Repetition is acceptable when the same verb is accurate.
- Avoid empty claims such as innovative, cutting-edge, proven track record, uniquely positioned or passionate about.
- Use metrics only when verified. Qualitative outcomes are acceptable when their source is clear.
- Keep the employer, formal title, dates and location more prominent than tailored narrative language.
- Do not use first person in the resume. First person is appropriate in a cover letter.

## Natural Cover-Letter Writing

- Write a letter only when it adds value or the employer requests it.
- Open with the candidate-role connection; company research should support that connection, not dominate it.
- Use one or two specific reasons for interest, not a paragraph of company-news paraphrase.
- Do not repeat resume bullets. Explain a decision, motivation, transition or working style the resume cannot show.
- Avoid defensive gap lists. A necessary bridge should be short and evidence-led.
- Contractions and normal punctuation are allowed. There is no em-dash quota and no ban on sentences ending in an -ing word.

## Post-Generation Checklist

- [ ] Every claim passes the canonical validator.
- [ ] Every listed skill has an interview-ready evidence example.
- [ ] No sentence converts company or industry scale into personal impact.
- [ ] No marketing headline is presented as a historical job title or customer-delivery fact.
- [ ] No unsupported metric or causal result appears.
- [ ] The resume sounds like one technically precise person, not a rearranged JD.
- [ ] The cover letter is optional by policy and adds information beyond the resume.
