Cover letter help

penners324

Jude57 said:

Nothanks said:

“Plagiarise” is a bit spicy.

For some works 100% agree but using ChatGPT for a cover letter is no different to using a spell/grammar check in my opinion 

I disagree because lifting verbatim from ANY other work is actually plagiarism. I've recruited numerous staff over decades at all levels below Director and when I've read a cover letter what I've been looking for were things that a CV or application form can't give me; an idea of the personality of the candidate, their ability to follow instructions (you'd be amazed at how many people, in their covering letter, just write "here's my CV/application") their attention to detail (recruitment adverts, job descriptions and person profiles all tell you what the employer is looking for so for goodness' sake, read them!) and ability to write a cogent sentence. Then there's their ability to expand on how some of the skills set out in their CV/application will apply to the specific role (especially important if you don't tick all the boxes; explain how your skills and experience could still be useful to the employer, perhaps in ways they haven't considered but be careful not to come across as a know-all) and certainly to get a feel for whether they'll be a good fit for the team, both immediate and wider and for clients, both internal and external. As you know, someone can tick every box but have a personality that wouldn't gel with others they'd be working with. Sometimes candidates forget that that's a factor, too.

There have always been sample covering letters and many employment agencies used to provide them to applicants. So you'd get, say, a dozen applications from people with different backgrounds and skills but identical covering letters. Needless to say, those candidates wouldn't be first pick to recruit. By all means, seek examples of covering letters but it's important to put yours (the general 'you') in your own words and tailor it to the role applied for. There's nothing wrong with a physics professor applying to stack shelves in a supermarket but a covering letter full of, say, a list of academic awards, isn't going to impress the manager who will, perhaps unfairly, think this applicant will think they're better than their colleagues and is unlikely to stay long in the job.

It's when applicants lift verbatim from ChatGPT or with AI that issues may arise as more employers run applications through software to check them of in much the same way as they'd check qualifications and references. It's becoming part of the diligence in recruitment so I don't recommend that people rely on it too much.

Candidates are applying for dozens of jobs every day. Expecting them to write a cover letter specifically tailored to your job, when they know they'll be 1 of dozens or hundreds of applicants, is utterly ridiculous 

penners324

Nothanks said:

“Plagiarise” is a bit spicy.

For some works 100% agree but using ChatGPT for a cover letter is no different to using a spell/grammar check in my opinion 

Absolutely. It's very likely the CV will only have 5 minutes maximum getting looked at.

Spending an hour writing a specifically tailored cover letter in this instance to then never get a reply can be soul destroying for the applicant. So a quick and easy way to write one for the very few jobs that require a cover letter is the best way.

penners324

Jude57 said:

penners324 said:

Jude57 said:

penners324 said:

Use ChatGPT, it'll write 90% of the letter for you

Employers are increasingly running covering letters and CVs through software to identify AI/Chat GPT content. Employers don't want to employ people who could, if they continue to plagiarise, cause all sorts of problems for the employer.

And 99% of employers aren't bothered with cover letters 

I can only speak for the employers I have contact with. The public sector, Civil Service, Local Government and the NHS all use such software as does every private legal practice and public legal entity I'm familiar with. It may well be that in unskilled and manual work such things are irrelevant because experience and qualifications in/skill at trades is more important to the employer.

Given that the public sector in the UK is by far the largest employer, I'd be interested to know how you arrive at 99% of employers. Do you have a source for that figure?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_United_Kingdom_employers

Having spent a few months looking for a job, 99% of the roles advertised didn't require a cover letter, especially the direct to employer positions. 

And that's at a senior level.