For the past few years, I've been a senior engineer involved in hiring. I've reviewed hundreds of CVs in that time.
Here's what kept bothering me: less than 10% looked professionally typeset. The rest were thrown together in Word with goofy fonts, jarring colors, poor spacing. Most were clearly generic templates sent to dozens of companies with zero personalization.
The uncomfortable part? The best candidate might have been in that pile I filtered out in 15 seconds. Someone with exactly the skills we needed, but their CV looked sloppy so it never got a real look.
If you've been qualified for a role and never heard back, this might be why.
Select any text and tell the AI how to improve it
The 15-Second Problem
Think I'm exaggerating about 15 seconds? A study tracking 114 recruiters found they spent just 17 to 46 seconds per CV on average. The shortest? 12 seconds.
When I was screening, that first glance determined everything:
- Does this look professional?
- Is this person detail-oriented?
- Did they even try?
A well-typeset CV answers all three immediately. A sloppy one... doesn't get a second look.
Why I Built This
I ran into this problem myself. I was tailoring my CV for different applications, managing multiple versions, tweaking bullets for each role and spending way too long on each one. And don't get me started on cover letters. You know that feeling: you find a role you're excited about, start the application, and then they want a cover letter. Half the time I'd just close the tab.
I tried the existing CV builders. Most are obsessed with flashy colors and "creative" templates. They're building party invitations, not professional documents.
LaTeX and Typst exist for a reason. Decades of scientific publishing have proven they produce beautiful, precise typography. Every time someone applied with a LaTeX CV, I noticed; not because it was flashy, but because it was elegant.
But LaTeX has a learning curve most people won't climb. So they use Word, and their CVs look... not great.
Professional Typst templates - elegant typography without the learning curve
The AI Problem
Then there's the "AI" features every builder claims to have.
They're frustratingly blunt instruments. Kickresume only lets you rewrite entire sections. Rezi only rewrites whole bullets. You want to improve one phrase that feels off? Too bad: it rewrites everything or nothing.
That's not AI helping. That's AI taking control away from you.
And they don't give you any control over how to rewrite. You can't provide specific feedback such as length and tone. You get what the model spits out.
What I Built Instead
JobSprout uses Typst for professional typesetting with zero learning curve. Your CV gets perfect spacing, professional typography, and ATS-friendly layouts.
The AI understands context: your role, your industry, what you're applying for. But here's the difference:
Select a word, a phrase, or a whole section; you choose what needs help. Tell it exactly how you want it rewritten: shorter, more confident, more technical. It executes. You stay in control.
The AI Assistant
Sometimes you don't want to select text and pick from a menu. You want to have a conversation.
JobSprout includes an AI Assistant that lives alongside your document. It knows your CV, your work history, and the role you're applying for. Ask it anything: "What could be stronger here?" or "How do I make this more relevant for a startup?"
Want something done? Just tell it. "Check my grammar." "Rewrite my summary to be more confident." "Make this cover letter shorter." It executes exactly what you ask, with full context about you and the application.
No more copying your CV into ChatGPT and explaining your situation every time. The assistant already knows.
Chat with AI that has full context about your CV and application
How It Works
- Real-time preview - See exactly what your CV will look like as you type
- Drag and drop - Reorder sections, toggle them on/off for different applications
- Import to start - Upload your existing CV and improve from there
- Unlimited downloads - Export as PDF whenever you need it
- CVs and cover letters - Create both from the same platform, with your data shared between them
- Multiple templates - Switch between professional layouts to find the right fit
Manage all your CVs and cover letters in one place
Pricing: Free to create and download. Want more AI credits and unlimited documents? $7/month (billed yearly) or $12/month. A fraction of what others charge. No export restrictions, no holding your CV hostage.
What's Coming
The roadmap is driven by user feedback, but some things I'm exploring:
- CV review - Get a scorecard of your CV and apply suggestions with a single click
- Job application tracking - Keep track of where you've applied and follow up at the right time
- AI interview prep - Practice with an AI interviewer tailored to your target role
But right now the focus is on what's already built: helping you create professional CVs and cover letters that survive those brutal first 15 seconds.
Have a feature request? I'd love to hear it.
Try it: jobsprout.ai
Questions? Found a bug? Email me at david@jobsprout.ai or reach out on LinkedIn.