[Agent Series Volume 1, Part 2 of 3] Agent Aspirations to App Actuality

In my previous post in this series, I shared some context behind how I ventured out to start building an AI job search agent and journeyed into the land of crystallizing the difference between an app and an agent. This post provides another window into that journey.

The Presentation Layer

I introduced the concept of an ARD (Agent Requirements Document/Documentation) - essentially a PRD but for AI agents. As I was writing the ARD for the job search agent, I started thinking about the details of the presentation layer. Given the need for user inputs (e.g. resume details and role preferences) and the need for a human-readable output (e.g. for suggested roles and companies), the design started shaping up much like an app fairly quickly.

From my understanding of what AI Agents are, there are versions of AI agents that “can just do things” for the user. Given the right tools, access, and permissions, the agent can act on a user’s behalf and sometimes the output is a completed process. In the case of job searching, the output might be navigating all the way to the point of submitting an application - already filling in pertinent information and attaching the user’s resume. That sounds interesting - and has its benefits and challenges.

However, I realized that what I set out to build was more of a discovery tool. Imagine: “Help me discover something” vs. “Help me do something”. In other words: “Show me something” [the app use case] vs. “Do something” [the agentic use case]. Sure, an AI agent could still “help me discover something” but the UI layer is still pertinent - for presentation purposes and also for interactivity.

Manual Pieces of An Otherwise Automated Flow

A job search is not necessarily a “set it and forget it” type of process in the way making an appointment or booking travel might be. Users will likely want to adjust preferences over time and will likely have updated resumes as time progresses (at least until their next great opportunity is secured!). The general analysis, search, and presentation process can run in an agentic fashion but making updates to the criteria used by that process still remains manual.

Additionally, I wanted the user input interface and output surface to be presented side by side and I added details around this in the ARD. I think a typical agentic approach could work by presenting the results in a list or even by generating a new UI with each output (infra considerations aside). However, given the desired user experience and presentation modality, it became more and more apparent that an app was the better option for the time being.

In summary, when considering what my job search tool would look like, it being an app rather than an agent became the brighter option.

The Series Continues

The story isn’t finished for now - I plan on delving into what an AI agent is in another post.

Posting soon,
Jewel

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Extra Tidbits:

In case you’re wondering about the status of the job search tool discussed above, I stopped work on it, for now, to focus on other things. 

If you’re currently job searching, feel free to leverage the process below.

1. Gather resume details that you want analyzed

• Be mindful of sensitive information. You don’t have to upload or copy/paste all of your resume details into an AI tool for this to be beneficial to your search.

2. Use an LLM to analyze the details

• Try a prompt like this one - “Please analyze the following resume details and list suggested roles including currently open roles and links to job descriptions” followed by the resume details.

3. Iterate on the prompt if needed until you get a list of open roles with links. You might learn about a company you haven’t heard about before!

• You can also iterate on the prompt by mentioning specific job titles to help steer the results in a direction helpful to you.

4. [Recommended] Keep track of companies that you’ve checked and the last date you checked their careers site for opportunities that might be a fit for your background and what you’re looking to do.

• This can help you approach your job search in a methodical, organized fashion.

If you too are a Believer in Jesus Christ, remember that we can reverently pray about everything - including a job search - and ask Our Father for what we need in Jesus' Holy Name. I recommend that you pray over your job search. That will be better than any and all other processes I can recommend to you. Pray first (wisdom). Pray in the midst of the search (encouragement). Pray once you have your new great opportunity (thanksgiving). Keep praying.

Scripture for Encouragement: 1 John 5:14; Luke 11:9-10