🚀 AI Career Coach

Transform your career with AI-powered guidance, personalized coaching, and intelligent tools for professional success.

📋 Table of Contents

• Overview
• Features
• Tech Stack
• Architecture
• Getting Started
• Installation
• Environment Setup
• Database Setup
• Usage
• API Routes
• Project Structure
• Contributing
• Deployment
• License

🎯 Overview

AI Career Coach is a comprehensive full-stack web application that empowers job seekers and professionals to advance their careers through AI-powered tools and personalized guidance. The platform combines cutting-edge artificial intelligence with intuitive user experience to provide:

• Smart Resume Building with ATS optimization and AI feedback
• Intelligent Cover Letter Generation tailored to specific job applications
• Interactive Interview Preparation with mock interviews and performance analytics
• Industry Insights with real-time salary data and market trends
• Career Progress Tracking with personalized dashboards and goal setting

✨ Features

🤖 AI-Powered Tools

• Resume Builder: Create ATS-optimized resumes with AI suggestions and real-time feedback
• Cover Letter Generator: Generate personalized cover letters using Google Gemini AI
• Interview Simulator: Practice with AI-generated questions and receive performance insights
• Skill Assessment: Evaluate your technical and behavioral skills with detailed analytics

📊 Industry Intelligence

• Real-time Salary Data: Access current market rates across 50+ industries
• Market Trends: Stay updated with industry growth rates and demand levels
• Skill Recommendations: Discover trending skills and learning paths
• Career Insights: Get personalized recommendations based on your profile

🎨 User Experience

• Modern UI: Beautiful, responsive interface built with Tailwind CSS and Shadcn UI
• Dark/Light Mode: Seamless theme switching for optimal user comfort
• Mobile-First: Fully responsive design that works on all devices
• Real-time Updates: Live data synchronization and instant feedback

🔐 Security & Authentication

• Secure Authentication: Powered by Clerk with social login options
• Data Protection: Enterprise-grade security for user information
• Role-based Access: Granular permissions and user management
• Session Management: Secure token-based authentication

🛠 Tech Stack

Frontend

• Next.js 15.1.4 - React framework with App Router
• React 19.0.0 - UI library with latest features
• Tailwind CSS 3.4.1 - Utility-first CSS framework
• Shadcn UI - Modern component library
• Lucide React - Beautiful icons
• React Hook Form - Performance forms with validation
• Recharts - Composable charting library

Backend

• Next.js API Routes - Serverless functions
• Prisma 6.16.1 - Next-generation ORM
• Neon PostgreSQL - Serverless PostgreSQL database
• Inngest - Background job processing

AI & External Services

• Google Gemini AI - Advanced language model for content generation
• Clerk - User authentication and management

Development Tools

• TypeScript - Type-safe JavaScript
• ESLint - Code linting and formatting
• Zod - Schema validation
• Date-fns - Modern date utility library

🏗 Architecture

graph TB
    A[Client Browser] --> B[Next.js App Router]
    B --> C[React Components]
    C --> D[Shadcn UI]
    B --> E[API Routes]
    E --> F[Prisma ORM]
    F --> G[Neon PostgreSQL]
    E --> H[Gemini AI]
    E --> I[Inngest Jobs]
    B --> J[Clerk Auth]
    
    K[Vercel Deployment] --> B
    L[External APIs] --> E

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Key Design Patterns

• Server Components: Leveraging Next.js 15 server components for optimal performance
• Client Components: Strategic use of client-side rendering for interactive features
• Atomic Design: Modular component architecture for maintainability
• Repository Pattern: Clean data access layer with Prisma
• Event-Driven: Background processing with Inngest for heavy operations

🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following installed:

• Node.js (v18.0.0 or higher)
• npm or pnpm (recommended)
• Git
• PostgreSQL (or use Neon for cloud database)

📦 Installation

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/x0lg0n/AI-Career-Coach.git
   cd AI-Career-Coach

2. Install dependencies

   # Using npm
   npm install
   
   # Using pnpm (recommended)
   pnpm install

⚙️ Environment Setup

Create a .env.local file in the root directory with the following variables:

# Database Configuration
DATABASE_URL="postgresql://username:password@localhost:5432/ai_career_coach"

# Clerk Authentication
NEXT_PUBLIC_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY="pk_test_your_clerk_publishable_key"
CLERK_SECRET_KEY="sk_test_your_clerk_secret_key"

# Clerk URLs
NEXT_PUBLIC_CLERK_SIGN_IN_URL="/sign-in"
NEXT_PUBLIC_CLERK_SIGN_UP_URL="/sign-up"
NEXT_PUBLIC_CLERK_AFTER_SIGN_IN_URL="/onboarding"
NEXT_PUBLIC_CLERK_AFTER_SIGN_UP_URL="/onboarding"

# Google Gemini AI
GEMINI_API_KEY="your_gemini_api_key"

# Inngest (optional for development)
INNGEST_EVENT_KEY="your_inngest_event_key"
INNGEST_SIGNING_KEY="your_inngest_signing_key"

🔑 Getting API Keys

Clerk Authentication

1. Sign up at Clerk.dev
2. Create a new application
3. Copy the publishable and secret keys from the dashboard

Google Gemini AI

1. Go to Google AI Studio
2. Create a new API key
3. Enable the Generative AI API

Neon PostgreSQL

1. Sign up at Neon.tech
2. Create a new database
3. Copy the connection string

🗄️ Database Setup

1. Generate Prisma Client

   npx prisma generate

2. Run database migrations

   npx prisma migrate dev

3. Seed the database (optional)

   npx prisma db seed

4. View your data with Prisma Studio

   npx prisma studio

🎮 Usage

Development Mode

# Start the development server
npm run dev
# or
pnpm dev

# With Turbopack (faster)
npm run dev --turbo

Open http://localhost:3000 to view the application.

Production Build

# Build the application
npm run build

# Start the production server
npm start

Key Features Walkthrough

1. Authentication: Sign up/in using Clerk
2. Onboarding: Complete your profile setup
3. Dashboard: View your career progress and insights
4. Resume Builder: Create and optimize your resume
5. Cover Letter Generator: Generate tailored cover letters
6. Interview Prep: Practice with AI-powered mock interviews
7. Industry Insights: Explore salary data and market trends

🛣 API Routes

Authentication

• GET /api/auth/user - Get current user profile
• POST /api/auth/onboard - Complete user onboarding

Resume Management

• GET /api/resume - Fetch user resume
• POST /api/resume - Create/update resume
• POST /api/resume/analyze - Get ATS score and feedback

Cover Letters

• GET /api/cover-letters - List user cover letters
• POST /api/cover-letters - Generate new cover letter
• PUT /api/cover-letters/[id] - Update cover letter
• DELETE /api/cover-letters/[id] - Delete cover letter

Interview Preparation

• GET /api/interviews/questions - Get interview questions
• POST /api/interviews/assess - Submit interview responses
• GET /api/interviews/analytics - Get performance analytics

Industry Insights

• GET /api/industries - List all industries
• GET /api/industries/[slug] - Get industry details
• GET /api/salary-data - Get salary information

📁 Project Structure

ai-career-coach/
├── app/                    # Next.js App Router
│   ├── (auth)/            # Authentication routes
│   │   ├── sign-in/
│   │   └── sign-up/
│   ├── (main)/            # Main application routes
│   │   ├── dashboard/
│   │   ├── resume/
│   │   ├── ai-cover-letter/
│   │   ├── interview/
│   │   └── onboarding/
│   ├── api/               # API routes
│   │   └── inngest/
│   ├── globals.css        # Global styles
│   ├── layout.js          # Root layout
│   └── page.js            # Landing page
├── components/            # Reusable components
│   ├── ui/               # Shadcn UI components
│   ├── header.jsx
│   ├── hero.jsx
│   └── theme-provider.jsx
├── actions/              # Server actions
│   ├── cover-letter.js
│   ├── dashboard.js
│   ├── interview.js
│   ├── resume.js
│   └── user.js
├── data/                 # Static data
│   ├── faqs.js
│   ├── features.js
│   ├── industries.js
│   └── testimonial.js
├── hooks/                # Custom React hooks
│   └── use-fetch.js
├── lib/                  # Utility libraries
│   ├── inngest/
│   ├── checkUser.js
│   ├── prisma.js
│   └── utils.js
├── prisma/               # Database schema and migrations
│   ├── migrations/
│   └── schema.prisma
├── public/               # Static assets
└── package.json

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions to the AI Career Coach project! Here's how you can help:

Development Workflow

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch

   git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature

3. Make your changes
4. Test your changes

   npm run test
   npm run lint

5. Commit your changes

   git commit -m "Add amazing feature"

6. Push to the branch

   git push origin feature/amazing-feature

7. Open a Pull Request

Code Style Guidelines

• Use TypeScript for type safety
• Follow ESLint configuration
• Use Prettier for code formatting
• Write meaningful commit messages
• Add tests for new features
• Update documentation as needed

Reporting Issues

If you find a bug or have a feature request:

1. Check existing issues first
2. Create a detailed issue with reproduction steps
3. Include screenshots or error messages
4. Specify your environment (OS, browser, Node.js version)

🚀 Deployment

Vercel (Recommended)

1. Connect your repository to Vercel
2. Add environment variables in Vercel dashboard
3. Deploy with zero configuration

Manual Deployment

1. Build the application

   npm run build

2. Set up production database

3. Configure environment variables

4. Deploy to your hosting platform

Environment Variables for Production

Ensure all environment variables are set in your production environment:

• Database URL (production)
• Clerk keys (production)
• Gemini API key
• Inngest keys (if using background jobs)

📊 Performance & Monitoring

• Core Web Vitals: Optimized for perfect Lighthouse scores
• Image Optimization: Next.js Image component for optimal loading
• Bundle Analysis: Use @next/bundle-analyzer for optimization
• Error Tracking: Integration ready for Sentry or similar tools
• Analytics: Built-in support for analytics platforms

🔧 Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Database Connection Issues

# Reset the database
npx prisma migrate reset
npx prisma generate

Authentication Problems

• Verify Clerk configuration
• Check environment variables
• Ensure redirect URLs are correct

AI API Issues

• Verify Gemini API key
• Check API quotas and limits
• Review error logs

Getting Help

• 📖 Documentation
• 💬 Discussions
• 🐛 Issues
• 📧 Email Support

📝 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

👨‍💻 Author

Siddhartha - Full Stack Developer

• GitHub: @x0lg0n
• LinkedIn: Siddhartha Kunwar
• Twitter: @Siddhar08958424

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Next.js Team for the amazing framework
• Vercel for seamless deployment
• Clerk for authentication solutions
• Google for Gemini AI capabilities
• Neon for serverless PostgreSQL
• Shadcn for beautiful UI components
• Open Source Community for inspiration and support

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Made with ❤️ by Siddhartha

⭐ Star this repo if you find it helpful!