ChatGPT Prompts For Writing A Cover Letter That Gets Read

The short version: The fastest way to write a cover letter that gets read is to feed ChatGPT specific facts about you and the exact job description, then ask it for short, plain drafts you edit yourself rather than one polished letter you paste in wholesale. The prompts below are built to stop it writing generic filler.

Starting from a blank page

Use this when you have nothing written yet and the blank page is the problem. Swap in the main job title, company name, and one number or result from your own history.

Write three different opening paragraphs for a cover letter for a [job title] role at [company name]. Do not use "I am writing to apply for" or "I am excited to apply". Base each opening on this fact about me: [one specific achievement, e.g. cut customer response time from 48 hours to 6 hours]. Keep each opening under 40 words and make it sound like a person talking, not a template.

Use this once you like one opening and need the rest of the letter to carry the same tone. Paste in your actual CV bullets, not a summary of them.

Here is my opening paragraph: [paste your chosen opening]. Write the next two paragraphs of the cover letter using these three points from my CV: [bullet one], [bullet two], [bullet three]. Connect each point to something specific in this job description: [paste the full job description]. Explain what the result meant for the business, do not just restate the CV line.

Matching the letter to the job description

Use this when you already have a draft letter but suspect it could be for any job, not this one. It checks the draft against the actual posting.

Here is the job description: [paste job description]. Here is my draft cover letter: [paste your draft]. List every requirement in the job description that my draft does not currently address, then rewrite only the paragraphs needed to cover the three most important missing requirements, keeping my existing tone and length.

Use this to pull out the exact language the employer used, so your letter echoes their wording instead of your own industry jargon.

Read this job description: [paste job description]. Pull out the ten words or phrases that appear most often or seem most important to the employer, such as specific skills, tools, or values. Then tell me which three of those I should work into my cover letter naturally, without sounding like I copied the posting.

Use this when the job posting is vague and you are not sure what the company wants from the role.

Here is a vague job description with very few specifics: [paste job description]. Based on the company name [company name] and the job title [job title], what are the three most likely priorities for whoever is hiring this role? Then suggest one sentence I could add to my cover letter that speaks directly to each priority.

Proving your impact with real numbers

Use this when your draft sounds like a list of duties rather than results. Give it your actual raw numbers, not rounded guesses.

Here are three things I did in my last role, written plainly: [task one with rough numbers], [task two with rough numbers], [task three with rough numbers]. Rewrite each one as a single sentence for a cover letter that leads with the result, not the activity, in the style of "Grew X by Y in Z months" rather than "Responsible for growing X".

Use this if you work in a role where results are harder to measure in numbers, such as care, teaching, or support work.

My role does not produce easy numbers to quote. I am a [job title] and here is what I did day to day: [describe your work in plain terms]. Write two sentences for a cover letter that show the scale or impact of this work without inventing statistics, using comparisons like team size, caseload, or time saved instead.

Career changers, gaps, and awkward histories

Use this if you are moving into a new field and your CV does not obviously match the job.

I am applying for a [job title] role but my background is in [current or previous field]. Write one paragraph for a cover letter that explains this change as a deliberate move, not a compromise, using this reason: [your real reason for changing, e.g. I want to work more directly with customers rather than behind a screen]. Do not apologise for the change or call it a "leap".

Use this if you have a gap in your work history you need to address briefly, without making it the focus of the letter.

I have a gap in my CV between [start date] and [end date] because [your real reason, e.g. caring for a family member, redundancy, further study]. Write one short, matter of fact sentence I can include in my cover letter that mentions this without over explaining or sounding defensive.

Use this if you are applying with less formal experience than the job asks for and need to reframe what you do have.

The job asks for [number] years of experience in [skill or field], and I have [your actual experience, e.g. two years plus a lot of freelance work]. Write one paragraph that presents what I do have as sufficient for this role, focused on what I can already do rather than what I am missing.

Tightening and cutting the draft

Use this once you have a full draft and it reads too long or too formal. Paste the whole thing in.

Here is my full cover letter draft: [paste full draft]. Cut it to under 250 words without losing the strongest example or the clearest connection to the job. Remove any sentence that a hiring manager could delete without losing meaning, and flag which sentences you removed and why.

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Use this to strip out stiff, over formal phrasing that sounds written by a template rather than a person.

Here is my cover letter: [paste draft]. Rewrite it in a more natural, conversational tone, as if I were explaining my interest in the role to a colleague rather than a stranger. Keep every fact and example the same, change only the phrasing and sentence rhythm.

Handling multiple applications without starting from zero each time

Use this once you have a strong base letter and are applying to several similar roles in a short space of time, so you are not rewriting everything from scratch every day.

Here is my base cover letter, written for roles similar to [job title]: [paste base letter]. I am now applying to this specific job: [paste new job description]. Tell me exactly which two or three sentences need to change to fit this specific role, and leave everything else as it is.

Use this if you are applying to a recruiter or agency rather than the hiring company directly, since the letter needs a slightly different focus.

I am sending this cover letter to a recruiter, [recruiter or agency name], rather than the hiring company directly, for a [job title] role. Rewrite my letter so it speaks to the recruiter as well as the eventual employer, making clear why I am a strong fit to put forward, without losing the direct examples I have already included: [paste your letter].

The final read through

Use this as your last check before sending, once you are happy with the content and only want a quality check.

Here is my final cover letter: [paste final draft]. Check it for three things only: any sentence that could apply to literally any job, any line that repeats my CV word for word instead of adding new information, and any phrase that sounds generic or AI generated. List each issue found with the line it appears in, do not rewrite the whole letter.

Use this if you want a second version aimed at a different, similarly worded job, without starting from scratch.

Here is a cover letter I wrote for a [original job title] role at [original company]: [paste letter]. Adapt it for a similar role, [new job title] at [new company], keeping the structure and my examples but changing any detail that is specific to the first company or role.

I have written more around this on the site: Funny ChatGPT Prompts to Send to Your Friends (The Ones That Get a Laugh), How Much AI Writing Is Acceptable in a Research Paper?, Does AI Writing Really Use a Lot of Dashes? I Counted Them So You Don’t Have To.

Every ChatGPT prompt guide I have written is indexed on the ChatGPT prompts hub.

See also Funny ChatGPT Prompts That Made My Team Laugh Out Loud (Try These).

Try my free ChatGPT prompt generator before you post.

Frequently asked questions

Should I ever send a cover letter written entirely by ChatGPT without editing it?

No. Hiring managers read hundreds of these and generic AI phrasing is easy to spot. Use the drafts as a starting point, then rewrite anything that does not sound like you would say it.

How long should a cover letter be?

Around 200 to 300 words for most roles. Longer letters get skimmed, not read, and the prompts above are built to keep drafts inside that range.

What if I do not have the exact job description, only a job title?

Use the vague job description prompt above and swap in the job title and company name, then ask ChatGPT to guess likely priorities based on the role and industry.

Can these prompts help with a cover letter for a completely different industry each time?

Yes. Because each prompt asks you to paste in the specific job description and your specific facts, you can reuse the same prompt structure for every application, you just change what goes in the brackets.

Will using the same prompts for multiple applications make my letters sound identical?

Not if you change the bracketed details honestly each time. The structure stays the same but the content, the job description matching, and your examples will differ per application, which is what keeps each letter specific.

Useful references

• OpenAI's own platform documentation