If you’re looking to create the perfect ChatGPT cover letter then you likely already know just how important this key element of your application can be.
To secure your dream job, every opportunity to stand out is one you need to take, particularly with applicant pools being increasingly competitive and hiring processes being more thorough than ever.
A cover letter highlights skills and experiences and allows candidates to showcase their personality and passion for the role. How, then, can ChatGPT help?
Why Are Cover Letters Important?
Cover letters are an important part of the early application process and can be key for landing an interview and making a great first impression.
They provide an opportunity to showcase your personality, enthusiasm, and interest in the position and company and can be one of the only personalised parts of the early application process.
While resumes typically focus on hard skills and qualifications, cover letters instead allow you to highlight your soft skills, such as communication, teamwork, and problem-solving abilities.
Cover letters also provide an opportunity to address any career gaps or changes that may not be completely clear from your resume alone.
For a recruiter or hiring manager, a cover letter is the first real insight into who you are as a person and how you’ll fit into a team.
What Is ChatGPT?
ChatGPT is an AI-powered language model that has been trained to generate human-like text based on prompts provided by users.
While it does excel in generating and revising most text passages, there are some significant drawbacks to consider before you place your future career in the hands of AI.
The Pros of ChatGPT For Cover Letters
There are many benefits that make ChatGPT cover letters effective.
Time-Saving
Creating personalised resumes and cover letters can be time-consuming, but it’s a step that is incredibly important for showing interest in a role.
With the right prompts and information, ChatGPT can create both cover letter templates and personalised cover letter drafts for applicants to use. This can speed up the process of individually tailoring applications to suit role descriptions.
Showcasing Communication Skills and Professionalism
ChatGPT can be used to check that cover letters are well-written and grammatically correct. AI can recommend alternative wording and even provide content suggestions. Ensuring a cover letter is correct highlights an applicant’s attention to detail and professional communication skills.
The Tool’s Versatility
ChatGPT cover letters can be adapted to suit the role and the applicant. The AI learns from the information provided so the final text will be influenced by the user. This means it can be versatile in adapting letters to suit a variety of positions including more senior job roles.
The Cons of ChatGPT For Cover Letters
Whilst using ChatGPT for cover letters has its benefits, it also has many drawbacks.
The Repetitive Nature of AI
ChatGPT can write some excellent content, but both the format and wording will often be repetitive and recognisable. Most recruiters will be able to immediately notice when there has been no human input into an applicant’s cover letter.
Typically, AI-generated cover letters will lack personality and the tone and storytelling elements that can help applicants to stand out.
Data used by AI is drawn from other sources so skills and interests can be generic and predictable.
Difficulties With Industry-Specific Language
While ChatGPT excels at generating coherent text based on prompts, it may struggle to fully grasp the context and nuances of specific industry-relevant language.
Similarly, relying on generated text can lead to errors and inaccuracies. Whilst AI tries to draw from reliable data sources, it sometimes finds information that is irrelevant or even incorrect.
Cover letters generated by ChatGPT should always be reviewed and revised to ensure that they align with the hiring company’s requirements.
Emotionless Writing
ChatGPT creates formal text and its lack of humanity means it can struggle to portray emotions like enthusiasm and passion. An applicant should always display an enthusiasm for the role and this may be something that needs to be edited in.
Complex or Sensitive Situations
Occasionally cover letters need to cover things like career breaks or significant changes in career. These topics may need to be approached with sensitivity. ChatGPT may find it difficult to properly explain more complex situations and may instead provide generic or insincere responses.
How To Create An Effective Cover Letter Using ChatGPT
With the pros and cons in mind, how can you take advantage of ChatGPT when creating a cover letter?
- Provide clear instructions.
It’s important to provide clear instructions to ChatGPT when crafting text. The quality of the output is completely reliant on the information provided and the request from the user. You may need to include the job description, your own experiences and skills and general ideas and thoughts to get an output that is usable.
- Always edit content created by ChatGPT.
ChatGPT is essentially a drafting tool. The generated text will never be of a good enough quality to send straight to a potential employer, particularly if you want to stand out and make a good first impression.
Always edit and review the content to ensure it’s the very best it can be. You can also use resume and cover letter review services to act on your behalf and create excellent resumes that stand out.
- Add personality.
An employer is relying on a successful applicant to be a good member of their team. There must be a personality match.
Personal touches can help to develop relationships and start conversations with potential employers. They can also highlight past contributions and paint a picture of the immediate impact that will be made on the hiring business.
Perfecting Your Resume and Cover Letter
Ready to land your dream job? Let us help you perfect your resume and cover letter!
Our expert team specialises in crafting resumes that showcase your skills and experiences effectively.
With our personalised approach and attention to detail, you’ll stand out from the competition and impress hiring managers.
About the author
Mollie Buttery
Writer | SEO | Articles & Blog Posts | Social Media
Mollie supports ULTMECHE through website growth, social media, SEO, and other digital marketing tricks. Mollie has 10+ years experience of in house and freelance marketing experience in industries such as Finance, Law, SAAS, Automotive, Building Services, Commerce, and more. Some of her favorite writing topics consist of sports and finance. Mollie has been key to the growth of ULTMECHE’s SEO and digital marketing efforts.
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