cover-letter

name	cover-letter
description	Write a tailored one-page cover letter from a job description and the user's resume, humanized for natural tone.
argument-hint	<job_description>

Cover Letter Generator

Write a tailored, one-page cover letter connecting the candidate's resume to a specific role.

Setup

Follow ../../shared/setup.md to load profile and resume. Then Read the resume file at primaryResumeSourceAbsolutePath for full context (identity, education, experience, skills, projects, research, awards).

Step 1: Analyze the JD

From the argument, identify: company + what they do, role title and level, key responsibilities, required/preferred qualifications, tech stack and domain, culture cues.

Step 2: Select Relevant Experience

From the resume, pick the most relevant: 2–3 work experiences, 2–3 projects, research (if AI/ML/CV), education (if relevant to level).

Step 3: Write

Header (values from profile.*):

[Full Name]
[City, State] | [Phone] | [Email]
[LinkedIn] | [GitHub] | [Website]

Opening (2–3 sentences): state the role, lead with strongest specific qualifier, show you understand what the team needs. No "I'm excited to apply" / "I'm writing to express my interest".

Body 1 - relevant experience (3–5 sentences): connect your closest work to their needs, include specific metrics and outcomes, name projects and results (not just technologies).

Body 2 - technical depth (3–5 sentences): deeper alignment with their stack/domain, reference specific projects or research. For AI/ML roles: reference publications.

Body 3 - why this company (2–3 sentences): what specifically draws you here (genuine, not generic), how your background uniquely fits, what you'd bring beyond the requirements.

Closing (2–3 sentences): interest in discussing further, portfolio/GitHub link if relevant, brief thanks.

Sign-off:

Best regards,
[Full Name]

Step 4: Apply Humanizer

Invoke the humanizer skill on the full text. The final output must read as written by a real person.

Step 5: Save to History

Persist the final letter so it's reviewable in the web app. Best-effort - if the call fails, continue:

curl -fsS -H "authorization: Bearer $JOBPILOT_API_TOKEN" -X POST "$JOBPILOT_API/api/cover-letters" -H 'content-type: application/json' \
  -d "$(jq -n --arg c "<final letter text>" --arg u "<job url>" --arg t "<role title>" --arg co "<company>" --arg s "<source>" \
        '{content:$c, jobUrl:($u|select(.!="")), jobTitle:($t|select(.!="")), company:($co|select(.!="")), source:$s}')"

jobUrl/jobTitle/company come from the JD argument ($DIGEST fields when present). source is the invoking context - apply, auto-apply, or manual (default manual when the caller didn't specify).

Rules

1. One page. 350–450 words for the body.
2. No fluff - drop "passionate", "dedicated", "committed", "excited", "thrilled", "leverage", "utilize", "innovative", "cutting-edge", "eager", "dynamic".
3. No generic openings.
4. Be specific. Real project names, metrics, technologies from the resume.
5. Tailor aggressively. Every sentence should connect to something in the JD.
6. Show, don't tell. No "I'm a strong communicator" - demonstrate it through the writing.
7. Match tone. Startup → conversational; enterprise/gov → formal.
8. No fabrication. Only reference projects/skills from the resume.
9. First person as the candidate.
10. AI/ML/research roles: lead with publications and academic background.
11. Senior/lead roles: lead with years, team collaboration, architectural decisions.
12. Startup roles: lead with breadth of shipped products and autonomy.

Output

Plain text with header and sign-off, ready to paste or convert to PDF.