Decide what the letter needs to explain
Follow the employer’s instructions first. When a letter is required, include it. When it is optional, it can be useful if you have something meaningful to explain: a career change, a relevant project, a connection to the organization’s work, or experience that is not obvious from your title.
The letter should add context. It does not need to repeat your entire resume. Identify the two responsibilities that matter most in the posting and choose evidence that addresses them.
Use a simple four-part structure
Open with the role and a specific reason it interests you. Explain one relevant achievement or project. Add a second example or a short explanation of your transition. Close with a clear expression of interest in discussing the work.
For many applications, roughly 200–350 words is a useful drafting target, not a rule. Respect any stated limit. If the application asks separate questions, answer those directly instead of pasting a generic cover letter into every field.
Give AI material worth working with
Provide the job description, your selected evidence, and a few sentences in your own voice. Ask for a first draft with plain language. Do not ask the model to make you sound like the ‘perfect candidate’; ask it to make the connection between your experience and the work easy to understand.
If you mention a company product, initiative, or mission, verify it on the company’s own website. Avoid fabricated praise, invented connections, and claims about company priorities that are only guesses.
Replace generic enthusiasm with a reason
‘I am excited to apply my exceptional skills’ tells a reader very little. A more useful opening, if accurate, might be: ‘Your team is hiring someone to improve customer onboarding. In my last role, I redesigned the onboarding checklist and coordinated its rollout with support and operations.’
Keep the voice professional and recognizable. Remove phrases you would never say in a conversation. Read the letter aloud, check the company and role names, and confirm every example matches your resume.
Final review before sending
Check that the letter explains why this work, why this organization, and why your experience is relevant. Remove unsupported claims and unnecessary personal information. Open the final attachment, check the requested format, and confirm you have selected the right file.
Try this AI prompt
Copy this into your chosen AI assistant, replace the brackets, and review the output yourself.
Draft a concise cover letter for this role using only my verified examples. Start with a specific connection to the work, use two relevant examples, and close naturally. Avoid generic praise, inflated adjectives, and invented company facts. If a key fact is missing, ask me instead of filling it in. Match the tone of my writing sample. After drafting, list every factual claim for me to review. Role: [text]. Examples: [facts]. Reason for interest: [reason]. Writing sample: [text].