Cover Letter

[WalterHWhite]

Ok I give in. I'm not the brightest and want to use AI to start me off with a cover letter.

How do I do it without having to pay?!

Btw am really embarrassed but desperate! Thanks

(An example I'd picked up a few years ago now mind, I've never used it fully to know if works)

Dear <sir, madam, name etc>,

Re: Application for <position> at <somewhere>

Please find attached a copy of my CV/application form in application for <the job title> at <company name>.

I have worked in <an appropriate field> for <x> years and have gathered a large range of experience in <this field> which is put to good use as a <whatever you do now or most recently did>. This involved <whatever the job involved> and <some other skills that are listed in the person spec>

In my previous/current employment at <somewhere>, I was responsible for <this, that and the other>, ensuring <this that and the other> was completed to a high standard/in good time to ensure other work flow could be done. This is a skill I can easily transfer to this position as a <job title> with <company>

<insert another two or three skills or requirements from the advert and write something here about how you have those skills, how good you are at this stuff and back it up with actual examples. Use the job description and person spec and show that you've actually read them!>

Thank you for considering my application and I look forward to hearing from you soon. I can be contacted on 07xxx xxxxx if you would like to discuss my application further.

Yours faithfully/sincerely,

Xxxxx xxxxxx

We ask candidates to confirm that applications have not been assisted by AI.

The suggestion above is a good example. Make sure it is grammatically correct and references the actual job for which you are applying. When I have lots of applications to whittle down, I throw out all those with generic cover letters. Short is fine, as long as it’s tailored

Trust me, you're not the first, and definitely not the last, to seek some AI assistance for cover letter writing. We all have our strengths and weaknesses, and it's smart to use all the tools at your disposal to make things easier on yourself.
Now, for creating a cover letter without spending a dime, I've got a great resource for you. Check out excalibur.guide's section on AI resume writing prompts. They provide prompts to help you think through what you want to include in your cover letter, such as your skills, experience, and why you're a good fit for the job. These prompts can serve as a guideline to help you structure your thoughts and make the writing process less overwhelming.

I have been fascinated by people who say AI much improves their writing. I mean very senior published university professors, btw. Not pure math/lab-methods people, either. It makes me realise that writing was always a struggle for them, I suppose. A professor I know says openly they are using AI for grant writing. Another scientist waffled on about how the AI "improved" our joint article, until I pointed out a lot of issues the AI edits introduced. Then the junior (1st author) went thru by hand accepting or not the AI-suggested-revisions, which I think took her days. Is that still more efficient than writing from scratch, for many? On a 3800 word article.

How long do posters think OP would need to spend to get a good cover letter out of an AI engine? I just struggle to understand how it would really be faster path to producing a good-enough letter than just googling for good short examples to copy & paste (assuming OP only needs a short letter).

Remember that generative AI is literally a language emulator so it just makes stuff up, including connections between things that aren't connected at all, based on word proximity in its training dataset. That's why AI writes so many falsehoods. Any time AI tries to be specific, there is high risk that it wrote nonsense; when it's not specific, it's just banal & unmemorable.