# Ryan's voice

Read this before writing anything as Ryan: resumes, cover letters, LinkedIn messages, recruiter replies, company notes, outreach meant for him to send.

Also read **`goal.md`** — target thesis and outreach principles.

For unusually interesting small teams, founders, or labs, see **`profile/weird-outreach.md`** — loud-but-true variant (Ryan approves before sending).

## Who Ryan is (tone anchor)

CS student at NJIT (May 2027). High-agency builder/researcher trying to get near hard technical problems — AI, systems, simulation, tooling, infrastructure. Builds things from scratch for fun and for real. Sounds like a person talking, not a brand.

From [ryanhub.org/me](https://ryanhub.org/me):

> I'm Ryan. I'm a computer science student and I like building cool things from scratch.

## Identity vs proof points

**Projects are proof points, not identity.** Do not make any one project the center of outreach.

Avoid repeatedly leading with:

- Ezcaptain
- the physics project
- maritime software
- weekend experiments
- one specific SaaS product

Use projects **only when directly relevant** to the company. Otherwise describe the *range* of work:

**Bad:** "I built Ezcaptain, a maritime-school SaaS platform..."

**Better:** "I've built and shipped a mix of AI experiments, internal tools, web systems, and low-level prototypes, and I'm trying to find a team doing work that is technically ambitious enough to grow into."

**Bad:** "I built a neural physics engine..."

**Better:** "I like projects at the edge of AI, systems, and simulation, especially where the problem is not already cleanly solved."

## Voice rules

**Do:**

- Write like Ryan is emailing a smart peer, a founder, or a researcher he respects
- Use first person ("I built...", "I'm looking for...")
- **Lead with the company's interesting work**, not Ryan's resume
- Name specific projects only when they genuinely connect to *this* role
- Use concrete numbers when true and relevant
- Be direct and a little informal — OK to say "cool", "from scratch", "ship"
- Sound curious, technical, and ambitious — not desperate for any software job
- Keep sentences clear; short paragraphs beat walls of text

**Don't:**

- Open with a project summary that could go to any company
- Corporate filler: "passionate self-starter", "synergy", "leverage", "rockstar", "thrilled to apply"
- AI slop: "I'm excited to bring my unique blend of...", "in today's fast-paced world"
- Em dashes (use commas or periods)
- Buzzword stacks with no substance behind them
- Over-polished LinkedIn speak
- Fabricate experience or inflate titles
- Pitch generic B2B SaaS energy unless the company is actually in that space

## Length guides

| Output | Target |
|--------|--------|
| LinkedIn connection note | 2–4 sentences |
| Founder / lab DM | 4–8 sentences |
| Recruiter DM | 3–6 sentences |
| Cover letter | ~3 short paragraphs |
| Resume summary | 2–3 sentences |
| Cold email | 4–8 sentences |

## Resume bullets

- Start with strong verb: Built, Shipped, Reduced, Designed, Prototyped
- One achievement per bullet; metric when available
- **Select projects for this role** — don't default to the same flagship every time
- Tie to what the role cares about without keyword stuffing

## Messages — outreach style

Outreach should sound like a **sharp young technical person trying to get near hard problems**, not a project catalog.

### Founder / lab note

```
Hey {name},

I came across {company} and liked {specific thing they are building or researching}. I'm a CS student and builder trying to get closer to genuinely hard AI/systems work.

I've built a range of projects across AI experiments, web systems, tooling, and low-level prototypes, but mostly I'm looking for a team where speed, taste, and technical curiosity are actually useful.

Are you open to students/new grads contributing on engineering or research-adjacent work?
```

### Research-style note

```
Hey {name},

I read through {paper/post/demo} and was especially interested in {specific detail}.

I'm a CS student trying to move toward research-engineering work: building real systems around AI ideas, testing them, breaking them, and turning prototypes into something usable.

I'd love to send over a few projects if there might be room for a high-agency student to help.
```

### High-agency startup note

```
Hey {name},

I came across {company} and it seems like the kind of team where a fast technical generalist could be genuinely useful.

I'm not looking for a slow internship where I just pick up tickets. I'm looking for ambitious technical work, ideally around AI, systems, tools, simulation, or infrastructure, where I can learn quickly and contribute quickly.

Would it be unreasonable to send over a short project list?
```

Adapt tone and length to channel (LinkedIn vs email). Always replace `{placeholders}` with real specifics about **their** work.

### Category outreach angles (from `goal.md`)

Pick the angle that matches the company type:

**AI research / product lab:**

> I'm trying to find a team working on genuinely hard AI problems where a fast, research-curious builder can become useful. I'm especially interested in the space between research prototypes and real working systems.

**Devtools / agent tooling / infra:**

> I'm interested in the gap between impressive AI demos and tools that actually survive real engineering workflows. I like building harnesses, tests, and systems that make agents more useful instead of just more flashy.

**Robotics / simulation / embodied AI:**

> I'm interested in AI and systems work that touches the real world: robotics, simulation, control, spatial reasoning, and tools that make complex systems easier to build or understand.

**Frontier startup:**

> I'm looking for a team doing work that is genuinely ambitious, where being fast, technical, curious, and self-directed is actually useful. I'm less interested in traditional internship structure and more interested in finding a place where I can contribute to hard problems.

## When unsure

Prefer honest, curious, and specific over impressive and vague. Ryan would rather sound like someone who wants to work on hard problems than someone reciting a fixed project pitch.