Yahoo Finance Should you use AI to write your cover letter?
If you’re looking for a new job, chances are you’re going to have to write a cover letter.
This can be one of the more arduous steps in the hiring process — and involves summarising your skills, experience and suitability for the role in just a few paragraphs.
However, spending hours crafting the perfect cover letter may be a thing of the past, thanks to the rise of AI tools like ChatGPT.
ChatGPT is an online chatbot tool that allows you to enter prompts and receive text outputs in response. And despite doubts over the accuracy of its responses, half of us have already used or would consider using ChatGPT to write a job application, according to a survey by FlexJobs.
So should you use AI software to help you write a job application — and if you decide to give it a go, what should you consider?
AI can provide a starting point
Victoria McLean, CEO & founder of award-winning career consultancy City CV, says AI tools like ChatGPT can be a great starting point for writing a cover letter — but, crucially, they should only be used to get you started.
“You can use it to generate ideas for how your cover letter could be written, but ultimately, copying a ChatGPT response directly into your cover letter won’t work,” she says.
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“That's because the information might not be correct and it will make your letter sound generic and robotic. It won't be using your tone of voice or showing your personality, and it will probably be obvious to a recruiter that you've used AI.”
And you might not be able to dupe an employer into thinking you wrote your cover letter, as recruiters may have software to check whether applications have been written by a bot.
It can create a template
Bryony Stickells, co-founder of recruitment company Jelli, says ChatGPT can help you create a structure for your cover letter, which can be one of the most difficult parts to get right.
“It can help save time using AI to write your cover letter, and help you develop the structure and provide you with information that you may want to include, and give you a good starting point,” she says.
“Also, AI draws from experience and data, so if you use specific prompts, AI can help you develop a professional style cover letter that addresses all of your talking points.”
AI can helps with writer’s block
One of the problems with cover letters is that it can be hard to know what to put in and what to leave out, but this is something AI can help with.
"Many job seekers encounter writer’s block when it comes to cover letters because it can be challenging to determine the type of information you should include,” says Keith Spencer, career expert at FlexJobs.
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“AI can help you effectively analyse job descriptions to identify the employer’s top needs and priorities related to the role, which can give applicants better insight into the types of skills, experiences, and qualifications they should emphasise that will be highly relevant to their audience.”
Spencer adds that you can also ask AI tools to provide you with suggestions for the types of examples or success stories you can write about, which will help you give more detailed information about your specific accomplishments.
“AI can also be highly useful in giving you ideas for ways to phrase certain aspects of your experience and checking your grammar to avoid unnecessary mistakes,” he says.
You cover letter will be impersonal
AI doesn't know you, so your personality won't come through in an AI-written cover letter.
Often, employers are keen to see your personality within the hiring process, so it probably won’t work in your favour.
The aim of a cover letter is to show hiring managers how your skills and experience interrelate with the position you’re applying for. “That's very personal, and something that's difficult to get right with AI,” says McLean.
AI content isn’t perfect
One of the key problems with AI tools like ChatGPT is that the output depends entirely on the data the software uses. If you don’t provide the AI tool with enough context, like a job description for the role to which you want to apply or background information related to your skills and work experience, it will only be able to provide you with general or vague ideas for your cover letter.
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“AI can only draw from the data that it has available, so it may create duplicate content across users,” says Stickells. “And in many cases, AI produced content that isn't edited can look obvious so it may damage your chances of getting the applied for position.”
There are ethical concerns
Another problem is that using ChatGPT raises ethical questions, like whether you’re cheating the hiring process or misrepresenting yourself to a potential employer.
However, the process isn’t always fair and is often riddled with bias.
How to use AI to write a cover letter
“Whatever content the AI you use provides for your cover letter, you must edit it so that it sounds like you and check that all the information is correct,” says McLean.
“It'll probably be quite generic, so make sure you add tangible examples and point to your experience. You'll also want to make sure your cover letter demonstrates genuine interest in and knowledge of the company you're applying to.”
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Your personality needs to shine through when creating cover letters, as this is what will stand out to potential employers. “Your cover letter needs to be an insight to who you are, and AI is unable to humanise this in a way that appears natural. Tone of voice, style of writing and language is so important,” says Stickells.
Ultimately, it's important to use AI as a tool and not as a solution.
“Use it to identify a structure and for content inspiration, but never just copy and paste it and use it verbatim,” says Stickells. “Always tailor and edit it to make it personable and unique to you and your experience.”
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