us-career-agent
A US-tuned version of career-ops (MIT, by Santiago Fernández de Valderrama), changed for job seekers in the United States, new grads and international students in particular. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by career-ops. Everything below the line is career-ops' own README.
美国求职适配版：基于 career-ops（MIT）开源改编，对 new grad 和国际学生更友好。→ 简体中文说明 · 繁體中文說明
What is different
| career-ops | us-career-agent |
|---|
| Title filter | Excludes "Junior", "Intern", "Internship" and "Java " by default, even for a new grad | For an entry-level candidate (under 2 years, or an Entry/Junior/Graduate target), keeps them and adds New Grad, Entry Level, Early Career, Software Engineer I |
| CV length | Up to 2 pages unless you ask for 1 | One page, enforced, for an entry-level candidate (you can still choose 2) |
| US visa | H-1B lookup is an opt-in plugin; no US sponsorship phrases | Onboarding asks your work authorization (citizen, green card, F-1 OPT, STEM OPT, H-1B). If you need sponsorship in the US, the visa filter and the H-1B sponsor lookup are on, and US phrases ("must be a U.S. citizen", "will not sponsor", clearance) are filtered |
| OPT / STEM OPT | Nothing specific | For an F-1 student on OPT or STEM OPT, the visa filter also drops postings that turn away F-1, OPT or CPT, or say the employer is not in E-Verify (STEM OPT requires an E-Verify employer). Evaluations remind STEM OPT candidates to look the employer up at e-verify.gov, since there is no downloadable list |
| Score | Holistic, no caps | Capped at 2.5/5, with the reason, when the posting asks for clearly more years than you have, refuses sponsorship you need, turns away F-1/OPT when you are on OPT, or has a graduation window that excludes you |
| Updates | From career-ops | From this repo, so an update keeps these changes |
The scores are still a model's judgment and can vary between runs and models; the cap only keeps a posting you cannot take from looking like a good bet.
Requirements
- Node.js 22.13 or newer, and git.
- An AI coding CLI to run it in, signed in. This version has no model of its own:
- Claude Code: a Claude Pro or Max subscription, or an
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY.
- Codex: a ChatGPT sign-in, or an
OPENAI_API_KEY.
- With an API key in your environment, the CLI bills per token instead of using your subscription.
- On a budget: OpenCode with OpenRouter's free models (rate-limited), or a local model through Ollama (no API cost, needs a capable machine). See docs/RUNNING_ON_A_BUDGET.md.
Install
git clone https://github.com/job2-ai/us-career-agent.git
cd us-career-agent
npm install
claude # or codex / opencode / gemini: the first run walks you through setup in chat
Do not use npx @santifer/career-ops init from the README below: it installs the original career-ops, not this version.
If onboarding turns on the H-1B sponsor lookup, install its index once (about 8 MB, from the US Department of Labor's disclosure data):
node plugins/h1b-sponsor/install-h1b-index.mjs
Made by Job2, which scores your resume against a job for free. Hands-on reviews of job-search tools: @job2.ai on Instagram.
Your turn
Paste one job you were about to apply to tonight. If it comes back do not apply, you just got the night back. If it comes back with a plan, you know what to do next.
npx @santifer/career-ops init
You don't have to search alone
The silence after you hit send is not about you. Enough people saw the same thing to write the practice down, in six lines:
Apply better to fewer. Signal over volume. Evidence over keywords. A human decides. Local-first. Dignity on both sides of the table.
Hiring will not fix itself. The people going through it can, and they are already in the room, comparing notes and fixing each other's setups.
This is where the fix gets written. A room, not a club. Let's build together.
Sponsors
career-ops is free for candidates, forever. These companies sponsor the project:
Sponsorship buys clearly labeled visibility, never influence: no amount of money changes the roadmap or places anything in the product. Sponsors never appear in evaluations, rankings or recommendations.
What career-ops does for you
Paste a job. It tells you whether that night is worth it.
- Still open? It checks that the posting is still live before you write a word.
- Not you? It scores the role against your real CV and tells you to skip a weak fit. You can override it.
- Worth it? It drafts the CV, the cover letter and the answers. You read them. You send them.
- Who do I talk to? It finds the person and drafts the note. It never sends it.
- Where does it all go? Every application stays on your machine. Nothing is uploaded to us.
- What should I learn? After a run of noes, it names the gap.
The first runs are rough. It does not know you yet. Talk to it: your CV, what you want, what you refuse. Think of it as a recruiter's first week.
On first launch it asks for all that in chat. Nothing to configure by hand.
What career-ops will not do
- Auto-submit an application. It drafts the answer to every field; you review and click Submit. The script never POSTs (
prepare-application.mjs).
- Send an email. Drafts only. There is no mail transport anywhere in this codebase.
- Phone home. No telemetry, no backend of ours. Your CV goes from your machine to the AI provider you chose, and nowhere else. The only public ledger is this repo:
HIRED.md and its issues.
- Push you to apply below 4.0/5. It will tell you not to. You can override it, and it will say so.
This is the beginning of the README. Read the rest at the original. Read the full README ↗
