“Mirror the JD” is good advice. Most candidates do it badly. They copy phrases verbatim and end up with bullets that read like they were written by a bot.
The right move is mirroring shape, not words.
What to mirror
1. Verb density
Count execution verbs in the JD’s “you will” section. If they hit “ship/write/triage” 14 times, your most recent role’s bullets should hit similar verbs at similar density (roughly 1 execution verb per 1.5 bullets).
2. Scope language
If the JD says “you’ll work with a 4-engineer pod” — your bullets should say “pod,” not “team of 12.” Match the unit of scope.
3. Tooling
If the JD lists “SQL, Python, Mixpanel” as nice-to-have — mention those in 2 bullets, with specific usage. Not as a skills list dump, as evidence inside a bullet.
What NOT to mirror
- Don’t copy headline phrases. “Looking for a hands-on PM” → don’t write “I am a hands-on PM.” Show, don’t tell.
- Don’t keyword-stuff the skills section. ATS scanners are bypassed if your bullets are naturally rich.
- Don’t change company / dates. Ever.
The diagnostic does the JD parse for you
Run a diagnostic. The diagnostic reads the JD’s verb density, scope language, and tooling, then tells you which of your bullets are misaligned — without making you do the parsing yourself.