cover-letters

name	cover-letters
description	Complete guide to writing effective cover letters that differentiate you from other candidates
version	1.0.0
author	Job Hunt System
tags	["cover-letter","application","job-search","writing"]

Cover Letters Skill

Purpose: Teach how to write effective cover letters that complement your CV and demonstrate genuine interest in the role.

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🎯 Why Cover Letters Matter

The Goal: Stand out from other candidates.

When a hiring manager receives 100 applications:

1. They filter out irrelevant ones
2. They review CVs and cover letters of potentially relevant candidates
3. First invitations go to candidates with relevant CV + good cover letter
4. Second invitations go to candidates with just a relevant CV

A cover letter is your first test assignment for the company.

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👀 What Employers Evaluate

1. Is this personal or spam?

• Did you read the job posting, or are you mass-applying?
• Employers ALWAYS prefer motivated candidates

2. Motivation to work at THIS company

• Did you research beyond the job posting?
• Why did you choose to apply here specifically?

3. Communication effectiveness

• Can you put yourself in another person's shoes?
• Do you make it convenient and clear for them?
• ❌ Focus on yourself and your problems/goals
• ✅ Focus on the employer and the role

4. Social evaluation

• CV is structured and formal
• Cover letter shows your human side
• People prefer working with pleasant people — hard skills are secondary

5. Attention test

• Some employers explicitly state what they want in the cover letter
• Ignoring this = automatic rejection
• Follow instructions: email vs. LinkedIn vs. application form

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✅ What Employers Want to See

1. You know the company and read the job posting
2. You have relevant experience (at least 70% match)
3. You have individuality (people hire people)

📌 Exception: If a recruiter at a specific company gives different advice, follow theirs — but only for that company. They know their company better.

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📝 Cover Letter Structure

📌 Cover letter COMPLEMENTS your CV, it does NOT duplicate it

1. Introduction

Who you are and what role you're applying for

2. Why You're a Great Fit (2-3 brief bullets)

Carefully read the job requirements, select the most relevant ones, and be specific:

❌ "3 years of writing experience" ✅ "Wrote 47 articles for TechCorp that generated 50K+ monthly views"

3. Motivation

Why this role and/or company interests you. If you don't have genuine motivation, create it based on what you know about the company.

4. Individual Hook — Optional!

A brief personal fact that connects you to the company.

5. Call to Action

Closing with next steps and contact information.

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🚫 Anti-Patterns: What NOT to Do

❌ Same cover letter for all employers ❌ Repeating your CV ❌ Writing only about motivation without mentioning fit ❌ Focusing on your problems and challenges ❌ Not proofreading for grammar errors (use Grammarly for English) ❌ Not explaining nonlinear career paths (e.g., dev → product) ❌ Not explaining domain switches (e.g., applying to FinTech without FinTech experience)

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✅ Best Practices

✅ Use ChatGPT for brainstorming, but rewrite in your own words ✅ Use keywords from the job description for motivation and results ✅ No fluff whatsoever — only essential content ✅ Remove all empty adjectives and polite phrases ✅ Use bullets for structure ✅ Less fluff = more substance = saves your time ✅ State relocation readiness ("I'm ready to relocate anywhere for this role")

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🔍 Research for Personalization

Before writing your cover letter:

1. Company website — mission, values, products
2. Recent news — funding, product launches, expansions
3. Team — founders, hiring manager, team members on LinkedIn
4. Your connection — are you a user? Did you attend an event?

Goal: Find 1-2 specific references that prove you did your homework.

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📏 Quality Checklist

Before sending:

• No generic phrases ("always wanted to work here")
• Each bullet has a specific metric/result
• At least one specific company reference
• Tone matches job description (formal vs. casual)
• Doesn't duplicate CV — complements it
• No self-focus — all about value to company
• Proofread for grammar (Grammarly for English)
• Length: 150-250 words
• Explains nonlinear career path (if applicable)
• Explains domain/industry switch (if not obvious)

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📧 Email Subject Line

Format: [Role Title] application - [Your Name]

Example: Senior Product Manager application - Jane Doe

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🎨 Tone Matching

Adjust your tone based on the company and role:

Corporate/Traditional:

• More formal language
• Focus on stability, process, results
• "Dear [Name]" vs "Hi [Name]"

Startup/Casual:

• More conversational tone
• Focus on impact, growth, startup experience
• "Hey [Name]" vs "Hi [Name]"

Clue: Read the job description language carefully — mirror their tone.

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🔗 Integration with System Workflow

Prerequisites

• CV exists in target_roles/[role]/cv.md (via /generate-cv)
• JD exists in target_roles/[role]/jd_[company]_[date].md

When to Write Cover Letter

After CV generation, before or during application:

1. /analyze-role → creates role folder with JD
2. /map-skills → assesses readiness
3. /generate-cv → creates tailored CV
4. /write-cl → writes cover letter for specific company
5. Review both CV and CL
6. Apply → track conversion in applications_index.md

Cover Letter is NOT Auto-Generated

CV and CL are separate because:

• CL is highly specific to exact company and timing
• CL may require company research not done for CV
• You might use same CV for multiple companies but different CLs
• CL might need iteration based on networking/conversations

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🎯 When to Skip Cover Letter

Some companies explicitly say "no cover letters needed."

Respect this — skip the cover letter and proceed directly to application tracking.

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📚 Further Reading

See references/ for:

• cl_template.md — structured template with placeholders
• cl_examples.md — good vs. bad examples with analysis

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📎 External References

Дополнительные материалы из открытых/закрытых источников (гайды, статьи, скриншоты, конспекты курсов) лежат в /references/cover-letters/ на уровне проекта.

• Source of truth для скилла — шаблоны в references/ внутри самого скилла
• Внешка — для вдохновения, дополнительных приёмов и примеров
• Индекс источников: /references/cover-letters/sources.md
• Как добавить новый материал: см. /references/README.md

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🤖 Related Skills

• starr-achievements — source of achievement stories for CL bullets
• job-analysis — JD analysis for understanding requirements
• applications — tracking CLs sent and conversion rates