Five copy-paste prompts to write a cover letter that matches the job post, uses your real experience and still sounds like you.
Most AI-written cover letters fail for the same reason: the prompt was “write me a cover letter for this job.” The result is generic, full of words like “passionate” and “dynamic”, and easy to spot for anyone who reads applications for a living.
The fix is to give the AI the raw material it cannot invent: the job post, your real experience and one or two specific stories. Then ask it to match them up and write plainly. The prompts below do that in steps, so you end up with a short letter that fits the role and still sounds like a person wrote it.
One firm rule: never let the AI add skills, job titles or results you do not have. Read every line and make sure you could talk about it comfortably in an interview.
Replace every [bracket] with your real details, then paste into ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Grok.
Here is a job posting: [paste]. List the 5 things this employer seems to care about most, in order, quoting the wording that shows it. For each one, suggest what kind of example from my experience would prove I can do it. Then list the keywords I should use naturally in my letter.
Read this before writing anything. It tells you what the letter needs to prove.
Here is a summary of my experience: [paste resume or notes, with phone number and address removed]. Here are the employer’s top needs: [paste the list from Prompt 1]. Match my experience to each need. Where I have a strong example, say which one. Where I have a gap, say so honestly and suggest a related strength. Do not invent anything.
The “do not invent anything” line matters. Keep it in every time.
Write a cover letter for the [job title] role at [company]. Use only these facts: [paste the matches from Prompt 2]. Open with one specific sentence about why this role or company, not a generic line. Include one short story: [situation, what I did, result]. Under 250 words, plain language, no clichés like "passionate", "dynamic" or "I am writing to apply". End with a simple line asking for a conversation. Tone: [friendly and confident].
Short letters get read. If yours runs long, ask the AI to cut it by a third.
Here is a cover letter draft: [paste]. Here are two things I wrote myself, such as an email or a post: [paste samples]. Rewrite the letter so it sounds like my natural writing. Keep every fact. Then point out any sentence that still sounds generic or machine-written.
This is the step most people skip, and it is the one readers notice.
Act as a busy hiring manager for a [job title] role reading a stack of applications. Read this cover letter: [paste]. Tell me honestly whether you would keep reading after the first two lines, which sentence is strongest, which is weakest, and give me 3 specific edits.
Ask for blunt feedback. Polite feedback is far less useful here.
Situation: a retail shift lead applies for an entry-level operations coordinator job.
What you paste: the job post into Prompt 1. The AI notices the post keeps coming back to scheduling, inventory and talking with suppliers. Prompt 2 matches those to real work: building the weekly staff schedule, running stock counts and calling suppliers about late deliveries. It also flags that the post names inventory software you have never used, and suggests mentioning how quickly you learned the store’s point-of-sale system instead.
Next: Prompt 3 writes a short letter built around one story about fixing a recurring late-delivery problem. Prompt 4 makes it sound like your own emails, and Prompt 5 points out that the opening line is still generic, so you rewrite that sentence yourself.
Generic AI writing is often easy to spot: vague praise, buzzwords and no specifics. Using your own stories, your own writing samples and your own final edit makes the letter genuinely yours. Also check whether the employer has rules about using AI in applications.
Remove your phone number, home address and any references’ details first. The AI only needs your roles, skills and examples to help.
At least the opening and the main example should change for each job. Save your experience summary, then rerun Prompts 1 to 3 for each new posting.
Real-life prompts for money, paperwork, planning and work, free in your inbox. Want the bigger collection? The $9 Prompts for Real Life pack goes further.