reference-list-builder
Format professional references properly and prepare reference materials
35
30%
Does it follow best practices?
Impact
—
No eval scenarios have been run
Passed
No known issues
Optimize this skill with Tessl
npx tessl skill review --optimize ./.agents/skills/reference-list-builder/SKILL.mdQuality
Discovery
32%Based on the skill's description, can an agent find and select it at the right time? Clear, specific descriptions lead to better discovery.
The description identifies a specific domain (professional references) but is too brief and lacks concrete actions, explicit trigger guidance, and natural keyword variations. It would benefit significantly from a 'Use when...' clause and more detailed enumeration of capabilities to help Claude distinguish this skill from other document or career-related skills.
Suggestions
Add an explicit 'Use when...' clause with trigger terms like 'reference list', 'job references', 'reference sheet', 'recommendation contacts', or 'reference page'.
List specific concrete actions such as 'create formatted reference lists, organize contact details, generate reference sheets for job applications'.
Include common file or context variations users might mention, such as 'resume references', 'employment references', or 'reference check preparation'.
| Dimension | Reasoning | Score |
|---|---|---|
Specificity | Names the domain ('professional references') and two actions ('format' and 'prepare reference materials'), but lacks specific concrete actions like what formatting entails or what reference materials include. | 2 / 3 |
Completeness | Describes what the skill does at a high level but completely lacks any 'Use when...' clause or explicit trigger guidance, which per the rubric caps completeness at 2, and the 'what' itself is also quite weak, warranting a 1. | 1 / 3 |
Trigger Term Quality | Includes 'professional references' and 'reference materials' which are relevant keywords, but misses common variations users might say like 'reference list', 'reference sheet', 'job references', 'reference page', or 'recommendation contacts'. | 2 / 3 |
Distinctiveness Conflict Risk | Somewhat specific to professional references, which narrows the domain, but 'prepare reference materials' is vague enough to potentially overlap with resume/CV skills or general document formatting skills. | 2 / 3 |
Total | 7 / 12 Passed |
Implementation
27%Reviews the quality of instructions and guidance provided to agents. Good implementation is clear, handles edge cases, and produces reliable results.
This skill is excessively verbose, spending most of its token budget on general career advice that Claude already knows rather than providing concise, actionable formatting instructions. The templates and output format are useful but are buried in extensive advisory content. The skill would benefit enormously from aggressive trimming to focus on the formatting templates, output structure, and a brief workflow.
Suggestions
Cut the content by 70%+ by removing general career advice (reference hierarchy, who to avoid, common questions asked by reference checkers) and focus on formatting templates and the output format Claude should produce.
Move 'Handling Special Situations' and 'What Reference Checkers Ask' into separate bundle files referenced from the main skill, or remove them entirely as Claude can reason about these independently.
Add a clear, concise workflow at the top: 1) Gather user's reference info → 2) Select appropriate template → 3) Format output → 4) Generate briefing materials if requested.
Consolidate the multiple template sections (Standard Format, Reference List Template, Output Format) into a single canonical output format to avoid ambiguity.
| Dimension | Reasoning | Score |
|---|---|---|
Conciseness | Extremely verbose at ~300+ lines. Much of the content is general career advice Claude already knows (what makes a good reference, common interview questions, reference hierarchy). The skill explains obvious concepts like 'don't use friends as references' and 'thank your references.' This could be condensed to under 50 lines focusing on formatting templates and output structure. | 1 / 3 |
Actionability | Provides concrete templates for reference list formatting, briefing emails, and permission scripts, which are useful. However, much of the content is advisory rather than executable—it describes strategy and tips rather than giving Claude specific instructions on what to produce. The output format section at the end is helpful but buried under extensive general guidance. | 2 / 3 |
Workflow Clarity | There is a clear 3-step preparation process (Ask Permission → Brief References → Follow Up) and a timeline section. However, the overall workflow for Claude to follow when a user asks for help is not clearly sequenced—it's unclear which sections to apply in what order. No validation checkpoints exist for verifying reference information accuracy or completeness. | 2 / 3 |
Progressive Disclosure | Monolithic wall of text with no references to external files. Content that could be split out (e.g., special situations, common reference checker questions, templates) is all inline. The skill is far too long for a single file with no bundle support, and sections like 'What Reference Checkers Ask' and 'Handling Special Situations' should be separate reference documents. | 1 / 3 |
Total | 6 / 12 Passed |
Validation
100%Checks the skill against the spec for correct structure and formatting. All validation checks must pass before discovery and implementation can be scored.
Validation — 11 / 11 Passed
Validation for skill structure
No warnings or errors.
- Repository
- paramchoudhary/resumeskills
- Commit
24c6edc
- Reviewed
Table of Contents
Is this your skill?
If you maintain this skill, you can claim it as your own. Once claimed, you can manage eval scenarios, bundle related skills, attach documentation or rules, and ensure cross-agent compatibility.