A practical guide to writing cover letters with ChatGPT that actually get answered. Concrete prompts, before/after examples, and the five mistakes most people make.
ChatGPT can write a perfectly fine cover letter in 15 seconds. The problem is that "perfectly fine" doesn't get you through an application pile where half the others also used ChatGPT.
The difference between a cover letter that ends up in the bin and one that ends up triggering an interview invite is almost always about how much you put into the prompt, and how much you edit afterwards. This guide shows you how. (For a broader look at what actually gets AI-written applications through, see )
The classic prompt looks like this:
"Write a cover letter for a head of marketing role at Telenor"
The result is predictable: a perfectly structured text with three sentences about why you're structured and collaborative, a mention that Telenor is an "innovative and leading company", and a closing inviting them to be in touch. Generic, smooth, forgettable.
The model has nothing to write about, so it fills in with the average of everything it's seen before. You have to give it material.
Three ingredients, always in the same order:
1. The full job posting (copy the entire text)
2. Your own CV or career summary (with numbers, projects, responsibilities)
3. Two to three concrete examples of things you've done that are relevant to this specific role
Ingredient #2 is where most people fall down: if your CV isn't tightened and up to date, the AI has little to work with. See our CV guide to get it in shape first.
A concrete example:
"I'm applying for the head of marketing role at Telenor. Here's the job posting: [paste].
Here's my CV: [paste].
Three things I want the application to bring out:
- At my previous employer I grew organic traffic from 40,000 to 180,000 monthly visits in 14 months, primarily through content strategy.
- I have experience leading cross-functional teams (marketing + product + design), most recently a team of 7 at Schibsted.
- I'm particularly interested in Telenor's B2B push because I have a background in the telecoms industry.
Write a cover letter of max 350 words, in a direct and personal tone. Avoid clichés like 'structured and solution-oriented' and 'it would be a pleasure to contribute'. Start with a concrete observation, not 'I am hereby applying'."
"It should be clear that this is written for Telenor, not a template."
The difference in output is dramatic. You go from a letter that could have been sent anywhere to a letter that's actually about you and them.
With an empty prompt ("write an application for a head of marketing role"):
I am hereby applying for the position of head of marketing. With my background in marketing and my structured approach to work, I believe I would be a valuable addition to your team. I am an outgoing and results-oriented person who thrives on challenges...
With a structured prompt + the material above:
Telenor's decision to elevate the B2B segment into its own vertical in 2025 is what made me look at this role. As head of marketing at Schibsted I spent the last year building out a similar setup, and learned along the way that the hardest part isn't defining the segment, but getting sales and marketing to speak the same language about customers.
In my previous role we grew organic traffic from 40,000 to 180,000 monthly visits in 14 months, primarily by moving from campaign-driven to always-on content strategy...
It's still AI-written. But it's about you and them, not abstract qualities.
If you've written fewer than five sentences in the prompt, that's why the output is flat. It's not the model's fault. It has nothing to write about.
Ask for something concrete: a letter under 350 words, with an opening that doesn't start with "I am applying", that avoids clichés you've listed as banned. The model follows instructions. The more precise, the better.
The first draft is a starter pack, not a finished product. Go through each sentence and ask: "Could this sit in an application to a completely different role?" If yes, delete or rephrase. This is about matching against the posting, and there's more on why that's the most important exercise here.
These two parts shape the impression and are best when they're your own words. Write the opening yourself, ideally with a concrete observation about the company, a reason, or an image, and let the model help with the middle.
ChatGPT has certain tics: short three-item lists, polite phrasing ("it would be my pleasure"), words like "endeavour" and "initiate" where people would say "effort" and "start". Read the draft out loud. If you stumble over a sentence, rephrase it.
These give the recruiter free information that you haven't edited:
If ChatGPT writes any of these, ask for a rewrite without that sentence. Or just delete.
Before you hit send, run through this:
If five out of six are checked, send it. If not, run one more iteration.
ChatGPT is a great empty tool. But you have to remember to give it the posting yourself, pick out the relevant bullet points from your CV, formulate the prompt, and clean up the output every single time you apply for a new job.
jobbjobb does those steps for you. You upload your CV once. When you paste in a posting, we do the matching against your experience automatically, suggest which projects are most relevant, and write a draft in a tone you calibrate. You edit; we take away the repetitive grunt work.
Can I just paste the job posting and ask ChatGPT to write the application? You can, but the result is rarely good. ChatGPT also needs your CV or career history, otherwise it fills in with generic phrases instead of your actual experience.
Which model should I use? Modern models from OpenAI (GPT-5 series) and Anthropic (Claude 4 series) all deliver very strong application drafts in English. The difference between them is small. What matters most is what you give the model to work with, not which model you pick.
Should I have ChatGPT write in English or another language first and then translate? Write directly in the target language. Translated applications often have stiff sentence structure or words that are correct but uncommon. If you're applying to a Norwegian-language role, write in Norwegian from the start.
How many times should I ask ChatGPT to rewrite? Expect 2–4 iterations. The first draft is almost always too long and too generic. Ask for a shorter version, then specific edits, then edit yourself at the end.
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