Your cover letter is a great chance to make a stellar impression on potential employers.
However, writing the perfect cover letter for each job application can be time-consuming.
The more jobs you apply to, the more cover letters you need to write. It's an endless cycle of customizing your pitch for every new opportunity.
Thanks to artificial intelligence, though, writing a cover letter doesn't have to be so daunting.
ChatGPT is an excellent tool to help you create a compelling cover letter for every job you're interested in, in just a matter of minutes!
In this article, we'll show you exactly how to do that.
We're going to cover:
- 11 Pros & Cons of Writing a Cover Letter with ChatGPT
- 7 Steps to Writing a Cover Letter with ChatGPT
- A Free ChatGPT Cover Letter Template
...and more!
Get ready to make ChatGPT your personal cover letter writer.
Can You Use ChatGPT to Write a Cover Letter?
Yes, you can use ChatGPT to write a cover letter.
ChatGPT is a powerful AI tool that can help streamline your job application process, saving you time and potentially improving the quality of your cover letters.
However, like any tool, it comes with its own set of advantages and disadvantages.
So, let's explore the pros and cons of using ChatGPT to write your cover letter:
Pros of using ChatGPT to Write Your Cover Letter
- Saves time. ChatGPT can generate a draft cover letter in seconds, significantly reducing the amount of time you have to spend on each job application.
- Ensures consistency. The AI can ensure a consistent tone and structure across multiple cover letters.
- Generates ideas. ChatGPT can provide fresh perspectives and ideas you might not have considered.
- Enhances writing. It can help improve your writing by suggesting more professional language or different phrasing.
- Tailors to the job. With the right prompts, ChatGPT can help tailor your cover letter to specific job ads for maximum impact.
- Solves writer's block. ChatGPT can help you overcome writer's block immediately by providing a starting point for your cover letter.
- Available 24/7. You can use ChatGPT to work on your cover letter at any time, day or night.
Cons of using ChatGPT
- Lacks a personal touch. AI-generated content can be generic and lack the unique personal experiences and voice you need to make your application stand out.
- Adds inaccurate information. Sometimes, ChatGPT can make up details or include wrong information if it misunderstands your prompt.
- Has limited context. Some of the nuances of your career or the specific job requirements might be lost on ChatGPT, so you’ll have to provide extra information.
- Can’t format your cover letter. While it can generate content, ChatGPT can't handle the visual formatting of your cover letter, so you have to do this part yourself.
What Is the Structure of a Cover Letter?
Writing a cover letter is crucial to your job application since it complements your resume or CV.
Your cover letter is your first opportunity to introduce yourself to the hiring manager in your own words and make a case for yourself as the best candidate for the role. However, if you want your cover letter to be impactful, you need to follow a specific structure.
Here are some of the key components it includes:
- Contact details. This section should include your contact information, such as your full name, job title, professional email, phone number, location, and any relevant links, such as a portfolio or LinkedIn profile. Make sure to add as much contact information about the hiring manager as possible.
- The greeting and introduction. You must address the letter to the right person, ideally the hiring manager or your potential direct supervisor. Then, you have to grab the reader's attention. Mention your top achievements, use numbers and facts to support your experience, and convey enthusiasm for the specific role you're applying for.
- Body paragraphs. This is the bulk of your cover letter, where you should show why you're the ideal candidate for the job. Use this space to identify the core requirements for the role, demonstrate how your experiences align with them, and highlight your passion for the company by mentioning specific things that made you interested in the position.
- Conclusion and closing. Wrap up your cover letter by recapping your key selling points, including a call to action, and adding an appropriate closing line.
Now, here’s what a great cover letter looks like in practice:
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Quick Tip
Want to learn more about what makes a stellar cover letter? Head over to our detailed guide and learn how to write a job-winning cover letter from scratch!
7 Steps to Writing a Cover Letter with ChatGPT
Now that you know what makes a great cover letter, it’s time to write your own!
We’ve split the process into easy-to-follow steps, so feel free to open ChatGPT and start working on your cover letter right away.
#1. Prepare Your Resume
Before you can start writing your cover letter with ChatGPT, you need to have your resume polished and ready to go.
Your cover letter is meant to complement your resume, which means it’ll be based on it. Done right, your resume must reference your work history, skills, achievements, and other qualifications.
If you’re looking for a job, you’re going to need an updated resume anyway, so we encourage you to do this first. It’s going to save you time down the line.
Take the time to write a professional resume that reflects your current skills, experiences, and achievements. This way, you will also refresh your memory about your professional journey, and you’ll be ready to provide ChatGPT with the necessary context to create a compelling cover letter for you.
If you’re not sure how to start, don’t worry - ChatGPT can help you write your resume, too.
#2. Use the Same Chat for Your Cover Letter
Once your resume is ready, it’s time to get started with your cover letter.
If you used ChatGPT to write your resume, you should just use the same chat to write your cover letter.
Ultimately, ChatGPT is a tool that works with the information you give it. This means that the more comprehensive and relevant your input is, the better the output you’re going to get.
Your resume already includes the details about your professional background. This means ‘feeding’ it to ChatGPT is going to need to create an impressive cover letter.
So, by using the same chat that already has that information, you’re helping ChatGPT write the best cover letter possible while keeping things consistent between both documents.
If you haven’t used ChatGPT to write your resume, you can still copy and paste its contents into a new chat. This way, ChatGPT still gets a comprehensive overview of your professional background, including your work experience, education, skills, and achievements.
But things don’t have to end there. After all, your cover letter is an opportunity to shed light on aspects of your professional life that might not fit neatly into a resume format.
You can ask ChatGPT to emphasize certain qualities or experiences that align closely with the job description. For example, you could prompt it with something like:
ChatGPT Prompt Example
Write a paragraph for my cover letter that highlights my experience in project management, particularly the successful delivery of multiple projects under tight deadlines. Also, emphasize my strong communication skills and ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams. Be informative and use simple, human language.
And here’s what output that might give you:
Think about any impressive achievements, personal projects, or standout experiences that are particularly relevant to this job but aren't described in detail in your resume.
#3. Analyze the Job Ad
If you want your cover letter to grab the hiring manager’s attention, you need to reference the job ad when writing it carefully.
The job advertisement is where you can find exactly what the employer is looking for, so it’s crucial to tailor your cover letter accordingly.
This means you must carefully read the job advertisement, identify any keywords, find the most notable requirements and necessary skills, and sprinkle the ones that apply to you throughout your cover letter.
Thankfully, this is something ChatGPT can do in seconds.
Simply copy the entire text from the job ad and paste it into your chat with ChatGPT. This way, you’re giving the chatbot the full context of what you’re applying for and it can use that information to help perfect your cover letter.
Here’s how you could introduce the job ad to your chat so ChatGPT understands you:
#4. Write a Detailed Cover Letter Prompt
The prompt you give ChatGPT will make or break the content it generates for you.
Your commands are going to determine everything about the text - its length, tone, structure, and the information it includes.
There are a few different ways you can go about this:
- Write a hyper-detailed prompt. By creating a very lengthy and personalized prompt, you’re going to tell ChatGPT exactly what you want, with very little room for speculation. This way, your first draft might be as close to perfect as possible.
- Go with the flow. If you aren’t sure that your hyper-detailed prompt can do the trick, you can adopt a conversational approach with ChatGPT and iron out the details together. This is likely to take a few drafts but the process might be smoother.
We recommend you stick to the second method since trying to create a perfect prompt for a cover letter can be frustrating.
On one hand, if you give the chatbot too little information, it’s going to ask you for clarification and backup information:
But, on the other hand, if you give ChatGPT too much information at once, it might slip up and take your cover letter in a direction you weren’t intending.
That’s why we recommend having a conversation with ChatGPT. This method allows you to give all the details the chatbot needs without overwhelming it and, by gently correcting as you move forward, your cover letter can come out perfect in the end.
Here’s an example of a follow-up prompt after ChatGPT gives you its first draft for your cover letter:
Chances are, ChatGPT will keep perfecting your draft the more you instruct it on what your perfect cover letter should look like.
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Quick Tip
Want ChatGPT to write a perfect cover letter? Copy and paste parts of our article to help explain exactly what you need your cover letter to include and how to structure it.
#5. Proofread and Edit the Text
Once ChatGPT has generated a cover letter draft that you’re happy with, it's time to add your personal touch.
For starters, it’s crucial that you thoroughly proofread and edit the cover letter. While AI can produce impressive results, it's not infallible, and you need to make sure that the letter truly represents you.
Start by reading the text carefully and keeping an eye out for any cover letter mistakes, typos, or awkward phrasing.
You can also run the text through a grammar-checking tool like Grammarly or QuillBot. ChatGPT is usually quite accurate in terms of grammar, but occasionally the tone or specific language it uses can be awkward and robotic.
Additionally, pay special attention to names, dates, and specific details about you or the company you’re applying to. Make sure that all the points you want to convey are included in the cover letter and add anything that might be missing, whether it’s an important skill or an interesting fact about you.
Next, consider the overall flow of the cover letter. Does it tell a compelling story about why you're the ideal candidate? If not, you can try rearranging some paragraphs or adding transitions between them to improve the narrative.
Lastly, read the cover letter out loud and make sure it sounds like something you would write. While ChatGPT can use different writing styles, you want the cover letter to authentically represent your voice. So, add any personal anecdotes or change the language to match how you would express yourself.
#6. Use a Cover Letter Template
Writing a cover letter with ChatGPT is a great start, but there’s one last step before you can actually submit your cover letter - making sure it's visually appealing.
ChatGPT is excellent for crafting the text for your cover letter, but it can't handle the formatting. Creating a well-formatted, visually appealing cover letter takes a bit more time and effort.
You'd need to set the margins, adjust the line spacing, and choose an appropriate font, all while making sure your cover letter complements your resume.
But if you're looking for a shortcut, this is where our cover letter builder comes in handy.
Novorésumé offers a range of professionally designed templates that let you quickly personalize your resume and cover letter!
Each template is carefully made with input from HR experts, so your job application looks stylish while meeting all industry standards. Simply paste the content you've written with ChatGPT's help into our user-friendly interface, and you'll be done in no time!
Plus, our cover letter templates are made to match our resume templates, so you can create a cohesive set of documents that's sure to impress any hiring manager.
Just pick a template to get started!
ChatGPT Plug & Play Cover Letter Template
Sometimes, your first attempt at creating a cover letter with ChatGPT might not be what you need.
The easiest way to help the AI chatbot understand what you need is to give it an example. So, you need to show it a good cover letter and ask it to improve that.
You can do that by copying our plug-and-play cover letter template and giving it to ChatGPT as a reference.
Free Cover Letter Template Text:
Dear [Recipient's Name],As a seasoned [Your Profession] with [Number of Years of Experience] years of industry experience, I am eager to express my interest in the [Job Title] position at [Company Name]. With my experience in [Your Industry/Sector] and the successes I've achieved throughout my education and career, I believe I can bring unique value and creativity to your team.In my current role as [Your Current Job Title], I've taken the lead on more than [Number of Projects/Assignments] projects, some valued up to $[Highest Project Value]. I pride myself on consistently exceeding client expectations and have successfully [Mention a Key Achievement] in just a [Amount of Time] through [Skill] and [Skill].I've collaborated with various professionals, such as [List Roles], ensuring that all [projects/tasks] meet [relevant standards or objectives]. This hands-on experience, coupled with my dedication to understanding each [client's/customer's] vision, has equipped me to navigate and deliver on complex projects.My key strengths include:- Improving [Achievement] by [%] over [Amount of Time] which resulted in [Quantified Result].
- Optimizing [Work Process/Responsibility] which saved [Previous Employer] [Amount of Time/Budget/Other Metric] over [Weeks/Months/Years]
FAQs on Writing a Cover Letter with ChatGPT
Are you still wondering something about writing a cover letter with ChatGPT? Check out the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions below.
Key Takeaways
That’s the end of our article!
By now, we’re sure you’re an expert at writing cover letters with ChatGPT.
But before we wrap up, let's recap the main points we've covered about using ChatGPT to write your cover letter:
- ChatGPT can be a great tool for crafting your cover letter since it saves you time and potentially improves the quality of your writing.
- Make sure you have your resume ready and analyze the job ad before you start using ChatGPT for your first draft. This way, the chatbot can ensure that your cover letter is tailored to the role you’re applying for.
- While ChatGPT can write great content, you still need to proofread and edit the text to make sure it accurately represents you and your unique experiences.
- A great cover letter complements your resume instead of just repeating it. Use ChatGPT to elaborate on your achievements and show enthusiasm for the role.
- Don’t expect your prompt to result in a perfect cover letter. Try having a conversation with ChatGPT so you can gently correct it until it gets your cover letter just right.
- ChatGPT can’t handle every part of your cover letter. It’s a great tool to help you write the text, not design it. We recommend you use a professional cover letter template so your application looks as good as it reads.
