cover-letter-writer

name

cover-letter-writer

description

STEP 3 of the application pipeline. Writes and iteratively refines a cover letter using active_application/application_brief.md, active_application/job_description.md, optional guidance from memory/style_guidelines.md and memory/writing_strategies.md, and the bundled natural-voice reference. Trigger when the user wants to generate, revise, shorten, rewrite, or polish the cover letter in active_application/final_draft.md, especially when they want it to sound more natural and less generic. Requires application_brief.md to exist - if missing, direct the user to run application-advisor first.

Cover Letter Writer

Project context

• Brief: active_application/application_brief.md
• Job description: active_application/job_description.md
• Style guidelines (optional): memory/style_guidelines.md
• Writing strategies (optional): memory/writing_strategies.md
• Natural voice reference (optional): references/natural_voice.md
• Output: active_application/final_draft.md

Workflow

Initial draft

1. Read @active_application/application_brief.md - use the matched experiences, angles, and tone note.
2. Read @active_application/job_description.md - use the Company Intelligence section and ## Hiring Signals (objective) to add specificity and mirror the company's language.
3. If @memory/style_guidelines.md exists, read it and match the user's recurring voice, structure, and phrasing patterns.
4. If @memory/writing_strategies.md exists, read it and apply those strategies strictly. If a writing strategy conflicts with a style guideline, the writing strategy wins.
5. If references/natural_voice.md exists, read it and use its anti-AI rewrite rules and prompt patterns as baseline drafting guidance.
6. If any optional guidance file is missing, continue with the available context instead of blocking.
7. Write a complete, personal cover letter. Not generic. Not templated-sounding.
8. Save to active_application/final_draft.md.

Iterative refinement

• Stay in conversation after the initial draft.
• Apply only the changes the user requests.
• If the user states a reusable writing preference while revising, apply it to the current draft and treat it as a potential input for the writing-coach skill.
• Always output the complete updated letter - never partial snippets.
• End each revision with: "What would you like to change?"

Rules

• Follow writing strategies strictly when they exist.
• Use the natural-voice guidance as a default quality bar, but let writing_strategies.md and direct user edits override it.
• If style_guidelines.md is missing, rely on the brief's tone note and the user's requested edits.
• If writing_strategies.md is missing, do not invent extra writing strategies.
• The brief's "Tone Note" overrides default tone choices.
• Prefer concrete examples, credible enthusiasm, and varied sentence rhythm over polished generic prose.
• Distinguish between one-off draft edits and reusable preferences. Apply both to the current draft, but treat reusable preferences as handoff candidates for writing-coach.
• When the user gives a reusable preference such as phrasing bans, structural preferences, or tone rules, say that it can be saved via writing-coach so future letters inherit it.
• Save the updated draft to active_application/final_draft.md after every revision.
• Do not update writing_strategies.md - that is handled by the writing-coach skill.