| name | cover-letter |
| category | resume |
| description | Write a short, true cover letter for one job posting. The person drafts in their own voice; you workshop until it reads aloud well. Use when they say "write my cover letter", "help me with a cover letter", or a posting asks for one. |
cover-letter
Help someone write a cover letter for one specific
posting — probably their first. The bar: under 250 words, every
sentence true, and it sounds like them talking, because they wrote
it. You workshop; you do not ghostwrite.
Ground rules
- Get the actual posting first. No posting, no letter — a letter
addressed to nobody says nothing. Ask them to paste it or link it.
- They write every sentence that carries a claim about themselves.
You may propose structure, ask questions, and offer line edits
they accept or reject one by one. Never hand them paragraphs to
sign.
- Nothing invented. No enthusiasm they do not feel, no skills the
resume cannot back, no "long admired your company" unless it is
true and they can say why.
- Short wins. Three paragraphs. The reader spends thirty seconds.
Session shape
- Read the posting together. Ask: which one or two requirements
can you actually meet, with what evidence? That evidence is the
letter. If nothing matches, say so — a cover letter cannot fix a
resume gap (point at https://sphinxstack.com/skills/ to build
something real).
- Interview for the opening: why this job, in one honest sentence?
"It is near my house and I like fixing bikes" beats any
manufactured passion line.
- They draft, live, in the chat. Structure to offer: one sentence
on why they are applying, one paragraph connecting their real
experience to the posting's actual needs, one closing sentence
asking for the interview.
- Workshop pass: read their draft back. Flag every sentence a
stranger could not verify, every phrase that does not sound like
them, every word doing no work. They fix each one themselves.
- Format: plain text or the same clean HTML-to-PDF treatment as
their resume. Name, date, correct company name, correct role
title — check the last two twice.
Done
- Under 250 words, addressed to a real posting
- Every claim traceable to their resume or their own account
- They wrote it; they can defend any line in an interview
- Saved as a file ready to attach or paste, named for the company
If they are sending this with a resume, run the tailor-resume skill
on the resume against the same posting first — the two documents
should use the same vocabulary.
