Job hunting is tough. You polish your CV, send it to dozens of companies, and hear nothing back. The problem? Your CV might be holding you back, and nobody’s telling you the truth about it. Friends are too polite, automated tools are too generic, and professional reviewers charge hundreds of dollars.

That’s why I built Roast My CV – a micro-SaaS that delivers brutally honest, AI-powered CV reviews for just $8.99.

The Problem with Traditional CV Reviews

Most CV review services fall into two camps:

  1. Free automated tools: Generic suggestions like “add more keywords” that don’t address real issues
  2. Professional reviewers: Expensive ($200+) and take days to deliver feedback

What job seekers actually need is:

  • Honest feedback that points out real problems
  • Actionable solutions to fix those problems
  • Fast turnaround so they can iterate quickly
  • Affordable pricing that doesn’t break the bank

The Solution: Brutally Honest AI Reviews

Roast My CV combines cutting-edge AI with a streamlined workflow to deliver comprehensive CV reviews in minutes, not days. Here’s what makes it different:

  • No sugar-coating: The AI identifies actual problems without corporate politeness
  • Actionable solutions: Every pain point comes with specific improvement suggestions
  • Lightning fast: Reviews delivered within minutes of payment
  • Affordable: Just $8.99 per review

The Tech Stack

Building a micro-SaaS doesn’t require complex infrastructure. I kept it simple and focused:

Frontend: ReactJS

A clean, minimalist React application handles the user experience:

  • Upload CV as PDF
  • Enter email address
  • Redirect to Stripe Checkout
  • Display a cool “PDF-Scanner” animation while processing
  • Deliver results via email

Workflow Automation: N8N

N8N orchestrates the entire backend process:

  • Receives payment confirmation from Stripe
  • Fetches the uploaded PDF
  • Converts PDF to Markdown using Llama-Index
  • Sends to Claude Opus 4.5 for analysis
  • Formats and emails the review

Payment Processing: Stripe

Stripe Checkout handles all payment complexity:

  • Secure payment processing
  • Automatic webhooks on successful payment
  • No PCI compliance headaches
  • Global payment support

AI Engine: Claude Opus 4.5

The latest Claude Opus 4.5 model powers the analysis:

  • Deep understanding of CV best practices
  • Identifies formatting issues, content gaps, and red flags
  • Generates specific, actionable improvement suggestions
  • Maintains consistency across different CV formats

Document Processing: Llama-Index

Llama-Index converts PDFs to structured Markdown:

  • Preserves document structure
  • Handles various CV formats
  • Extracts text reliably
  • Provides clean input for AI analysis

How It Works: The User Journey

Step 1: Upload and Email

The user lands on a simple interface:

  • Drag-and-drop or click to upload their CV (PDF only)
  • Enter their email address for delivery
  • Click “Get My Roast” button

Step 2: Stripe Checkout

Redirect to Stripe’s secure checkout page:

  • Pay $8.99 via credit card or other methods
  • Stripe handles all payment processing
  • Webhook fires on successful payment

Step 3: PDF Scanner Animation

After payment, show an engaging loading state:

  • Animated PDF scanner visualization
  • Progress indicators
  • Sets expectation that analysis is happening

Step 4: Backend Processing

N8N workflow activates automatically:

  1. Receive Stripe webhook
  2. Retrieve uploaded PDF from storage
  3. Pass PDF through Llama-Index for Markdown conversion
  4. Send structured CV data to Claude Opus 4.5 with prompt:
    • “Analyze this CV brutally and honestly”
    • “Identify all pain points and weaknesses”
    • “Provide specific solutions for each issue”
  5. Format the AI response into a readable email
  6. Send comprehensive review to user’s email

Step 5: Email Delivery

User receives their review within minutes:

  • Pain points clearly listed
  • Specific examples from their CV
  • Actionable solutions for each issue
  • Overall improvement recommendations

The AI Prompt: Getting Brutally Honest Feedback

The magic is in the prompt engineering. Instead of asking for “constructive feedback,” I instruct Claude Opus 4.5 to:

You are a brutally honest CV reviewer. Analyze this CV and:

1. Identify ALL pain points and weaknesses
2. Point out formatting issues, unclear sections, and red flags
3. Highlight missing critical information
4. For EACH issue, provide a specific solution
5. Don't be polite - be honest and direct
6. Focus on what will actually improve their chances of getting hired

The goal is to help the candidate improve, not make them feel good.

This approach generates reviews that actually help people improve rather than generic feel-good feedback.

Why N8N for Workflow Automation?

N8N is a powerful workflow automation tool that perfectly fits micro-SaaS projects. Similar to how I’ve used automation in other projects like Asana to Gitea migration and Trilium MCP Server, the key is choosing the right tools for the job.

I chose N8N over alternatives like Zapier or Make for several reasons:

1. Self-Hostable

  • Complete control over data
  • No per-execution costs beyond infrastructure
  • Privacy-friendly for handling CVs

2. Flexible Integrations

  • Native Stripe webhook support
  • Easy API calls to Claude API
  • Custom code nodes for complex logic

3. Visual Workflow Builder

  • Easy to debug and iterate
  • Clear visibility of the entire process
  • Modular design for future features

4. Cost-Effective

  • No monthly subscription tiers based on tasks
  • Flat infrastructure cost regardless of volume
  • Scales efficiently

The Economics: A Profitable Micro-SaaS

At $8.99 per review, the unit economics work beautifully:

Costs per review:

  • Claude Opus 4.5 API: ~$0.50-$1.50 (depending on CV length)
  • Infrastructure (N8N, storage, hosting): ~$0.10
  • Stripe fees: ~$0.56 (2.9% + $0.30)
  • Total cost: ~$1.16-$2.16

Profit per review: ~$6.83-$7.83

With minimal marketing, even 100 reviews per month generates $683-$783 in profit. Scale to 1,000 reviews, and you’re looking at $6,830-$7,830 monthly profit.

Lessons Learned Building a Micro-SaaS

1. Keep It Simple

The entire service does one thing: review CVs. No feature creep, no complexity.

2. Use Existing Tools

Instead of building payment processing, document conversion, and AI from scratch, I integrated:

  • Stripe for payments
  • Llama-Index for PDF processing
  • Claude API for intelligence
  • N8N for orchestration

3. Price for Value, Not Cost

$8.99 is cheap compared to professional reviews ($200+) but expensive enough to filter serious users and cover costs with healthy profit.

4. Solve a Real Problem

Job seekers genuinely struggle with CV quality. Honest feedback is valuable and worth paying for.

5. Automate Everything

From payment to delivery, zero manual intervention. The service runs 24/7 without my involvement.

Future Enhancements

While the current version works great, potential improvements include:

Multi-Language Support

Analyze CVs in different languages using Claude’s multilingual capabilities.

Industry-Specific Reviews

Customize analysis based on target industry (tech, finance, creative, etc.).

Before/After Comparison

Allow users to submit revised CVs for comparison with original review.

LinkedIn Profile Reviews

Expand to review LinkedIn profiles using similar brutal honesty approach.

Subscription Model

Monthly subscription for unlimited reviews (for career coaches or agencies).

Technical Challenges and Solutions

Challenge 1: PDF Quality Variance

Problem: CVs come in wildly different formats, designs, and quality levels.

Solution: Llama-Index handles most formats well. For problematic PDFs, I added error handling that requests users resubmit with clearer formatting.

Challenge 2: AI Consistency

Problem: AI might be too harsh or too lenient depending on random variation.

Solution: Carefully crafted system prompts with examples ensure consistent tone and depth across reviews.

Challenge 3: Payment-to-Processing Gap

Problem: Stripe webhooks can sometimes delay, leaving users wondering if their payment worked.

Solution: Immediate confirmation page after payment with clear messaging: “Your review will arrive within 5 minutes.”

Challenge 4: Email Deliverability

Problem: Long AI-generated emails might trigger spam filters.

Solution: Proper SPF/DKIM setup, clear from address, and formatting that looks professional rather than automated.

Marketing Strategy

To attract users without a big budget:

1. Content Marketing

  • Blog posts about CV tips and job hunting
  • Examples of common CV mistakes
  • Before/after case studies (anonymized)

2. Social Proof

  • Share anonymized reviews on Twitter/LinkedIn
  • Testimonials from satisfied users
  • Success stories of improved response rates

3. Reddit and Forums

  • Participate in r/resumes, r/jobs, r/careerguidance
  • Provide free value, mention service when relevant
  • Share insights from analyzing hundreds of CVs

4. Partnerships

  • Affiliate deals with career coaches
  • Partnerships with bootcamps and universities
  • Integration with job boards

Code Highlight: The N8N Workflow

While I can’t share the entire workflow, here’s the high-level structure:

  1. Stripe Webhook Trigger: Listens for checkout.session.completed events
  2. Extract Data Node: Pulls customer email and metadata from webhook
  3. Fetch PDF Node: Retrieves uploaded CV from temporary storage
  4. Llama-Index Conversion: HTTP request to Llama-Index service for PDF→Markdown
  5. Claude API Call: Sends Markdown + prompt to Claude Opus 4.5
  6. Format Response: Structures AI output into readable email format
  7. Send Email Node: Delivers review via SMTP or email service
  8. Cleanup Node: Deletes uploaded PDF for privacy

The entire workflow runs in under 3 minutes on average.

Why Claude Opus 4.5?

Just like with AI-powered development workflows and MCP integrations, choosing the right AI model is crucial for quality results.

I tested multiple AI models before settling on Claude Opus 4.5:

  • GPT-4: Good but sometimes too polite
  • Claude 3.5 Sonnet: Fast but less detailed
  • Claude Opus 4.5: Perfect balance of honesty, detail, and actionable feedback

Opus 4.5’s longer context window handles lengthy CVs effortlessly, and its reasoning capabilities identify subtle issues that other models miss.

Privacy and Security

Handling people’s CVs requires serious privacy consideration. Just as I discussed in the CrowdStrike npm supply chain attack post, security should be a primary concern when building any software service.

Key privacy measures:

  • Temporary Storage: CVs are deleted after processing
  • No Training Data: User CVs are never used to train models
  • Encrypted Transit: All data transfer uses HTTPS/TLS
  • Minimal Data: Only email and CV are collected
  • GDPR Compliant: Clear privacy policy and data handling

Results and Traction

Since launching (soft launch, no major marketing):

  • 150+ reviews delivered
  • 4.8/5 average satisfaction (based on follow-up surveys)
  • 32% of users reported improved callback rates
  • Zero refund requests (people find value even if feedback stings)

The most rewarding part? Messages from users who landed jobs after implementing the suggestions.

Conclusion: The Power of Micro-SaaS

Building Roast My CV taught me that successful micro-SaaS doesn’t require:

  • Complex infrastructure
  • Large teams
  • Huge budgets
  • Months of development

What it does require:

  • Solving a real problem
  • Using the right tools (N8N, Stripe, Claude)
  • Keeping it simple
  • Delivering real value

The combination of N8N workflow automation, React for a clean frontend, Stripe for payments, and Claude Opus 4.5 for intelligence creates a powerful service that runs itself while helping people improve their career prospects.

If you’re considering building a micro-SaaS, my advice: pick a specific problem, validate demand, and ship fast. The tools available today (no-code automation, AI APIs, payment processors) make it easier than ever to build profitable services as a solo developer.

Want to try it? Check out Roast My CV and get brutally honest feedback on your CV today.

Building your own micro-SaaS? I’d love to hear about it! The future of software is small, focused tools built by individuals solving real problems.

Have you tried AI-powered CV reviews? What features would make this service more valuable? Let me know!

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