Draft Reply

draft-reply

One reply, one intent, no auto-send. Hard rules: [../_shared/RULES.md](../_shared/RULES.md). Use Communication / Leadership verbs from [../tailor-resume/reference/action-verbs.md](../tailor-resume/reference/action-verbs.md). All reply-intent labels come from [../../knowledge/status/taxonomy.md](../../knowledge/status/taxonomy.md).

Inputs

1. Thread — the inbound email plus any prior thread (paste or --in inbox/.json).
2. Intent — one of reply-schedule | reply-accept | reply-decline | reply-ask | reply-info | follow-up.

• For reply-accept, also pass accept_kind ∈ {schedule, assessment, offer} (templates diverge).

1. Triage extraction (optional) — { dates[], links[], asks[], deadline, ... } from inbox/triage-.json. If absent, the skill runs a thin in-line classify to recover the minimum (don't write a triage record back — that's triage-inbox's job).
2. Profile — profile/master-profile.md for signature, timezone, voice, and (if intent is reply-info) the preferences.* data the recruiter is asking for.
3. Specifics:

• reply-schedule → 2–3 candidate windows the user offers (in the user's tz, with the recruiter's tz noted).
• reply-accept (offer) → do not write an acceptance email here. Output a deliberately conservative acknowledgement that buys time and points the user to /coach-negotiation. Emit a warning in the rationale.
• reply-decline → reason category (accepted-elsewhere | not-aligned | timing | other); the skill phrases gracefully.
• reply-ask → exactly one question to ask.
• reply-info → which preferences.* fields the recruiter asked for.
• follow-up → days since last contact (drives tone — gentle at 7d, firm at 21d).

Method

1. Region note. Read the target region pack — tone defaults (US: direct, IN: warmer with explicit thanks); spelling variant; date format used in the body.

1. Mirror the inbound. Match salutation style (Hi vs Dear ), formality, length expectations. Don't out-formal the recruiter; don't be sloppier either.

1. Interpolate from extraction. Dates → write in the format used by the inbound (or the region default if conflicting). Links → use the verbatim URL; if a calendar link is in links[].kind == schedule, prefer that to your own time proposals unless the recruiter explicitly asked for times.

1. Apply the intent template. Each intent has a clean shape:

• reply-schedule — 3 short lines: thanks + acknowledgement / 2–3 candidate windows (timezone explicit) / sign-off.
• reply-accept (schedule) — 2–3 lines: confirms a specific time / confirms the link or platform / sign-off.
• reply-accept (assessment) — 2–3 lines: confirms commitment + a realistic submission ETA / one question if there's ambiguity (else cut) / sign-off.
• reply-accept (offer) — buys time, does not accept. 3 lines: gratitude + that you're reviewing + a soft expected-response date (I'll come back to you by ). Suggest /coach-negotiation in the console rationale.
• reply-decline — 3 short lines: gratitude / brief reason from the category (no detail beyond what the category gives) / door-open close ("would love to keep in touch").
• reply-ask — 2 lines: one specific question / sign-off. Don't list multiple questions — pick the most consequential.
• reply-info — 2–4 lines: provide the asked-for preferences.* data, exactly. CTC (IN) / work-auth (US) formatted per region conventions. No padding.
• follow-up — 2–3 lines: polite reference to the last touch (date) / brief restating-of-interest / sign-off. Tone scales with elapsed days.

1. Signature. Use the profile's signature block (the user's name + one credibility line — current title only). Don't add address or social links beyond what the user's signature already has.

1. Self-check. Run the anti-patterns + rubric before output.

Output

• Console: the reply (subject if email; otherwise Re: ).
• Write inbox/replies/.md — body + subject as H1.
• Two-line rationale: what I assumed (the inbound facts the draft depends on) · what to verify before sending (times, link, name spelling).
• Never auto-send. "Human sends" is explicit in the output footer.
• If intent was reply-accept (offer): add a single line "Suggested next: /coach-negotiation — do not send this draft as an acceptance."

Anti-patterns

• Auto-CCing anyone (the agent doesn't know who).
• Multi-question replies for reply-ask.
• Inventing availability slots not provided by the user.
• Promising salary numbers in any reply-accept template.
• Echoing context.career_goal / context.additional_info.
• Long thank-you preambles for reply-decline.
• Mismatched salutation formality.
• Emoji.

Rubric

• [ ] Subject line is Re: (or the same explicit subject the inbound uses).
• [ ] Intent template matches the rules above; length ≤ template ceiling.
• [ ] Dates interpolated correctly; tz mentioned where it matters.
• [ ] Profile signature used; no extra contact info.
• [ ] No context: echo.
• [ ] For reply-accept (offer): draft is an acknowledgement, not an acceptance; coach-negotiation recommended.
• [ ] "Human sends" footer present.

Next steps

Draft ready — you send it. After sending, /infer-status to advance the status.

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: jain777
• Source: jain777/jobclaw-skills
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.