🤖
Make a Cover Letter with Generative AI
🤖 Step 2: What to do
Overview
Cover letters are short documents sent alongside your CV. They introduce you and tell the person reviewing your application why you’re perfect for the job. Not all job applications need a cover letter, but when needed, an excellent cover letter is critical.
Generative AI tools like ChatGPT can help with drafting these documents as long as you’re careful. Copying text from ChatGPT without reviewing it is a bad idea, as it tells lies. It’s especially important to be mindful of how you use it in an educational context. ChatGPT can make you think you’re progressing when you’re not. Copying straight from it won’t help you learn.
In this step, your goal is to use ChatGPT to help you prepare a cover letter for a fictional person named Jane Doe using the data we provide. You don’t need to understand the technical terms in the following pieces of text to complete the task.
📝Data on Jane and the Job
Jane’s summary:
Jane is applying for a Junior Software Developer role with Software for Lawyers Ltd.
Jane has recently completed the part-time Super Coders Software Development programme. During this time, she was also working full-time and caring for her two children. The course teaches full-stack web development and general programming concepts. It teaches HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Node.js, Express, React, and PostgreSQL. Jane is very passionate about programming. She taught herself the Python programming language before starting the course.
Her portfolio includes many full-stack applications. This includes projects she has built with other students, as well as some solo projects. She’s especially proud of a project called Pin the Mood. This project stores book recommendations until the user has time to read the books. The project used React, Express, Node.js and PostgreSQL. The project team was an agile team made up of two trainees, a Scrum Master and a Tech Lead.
After leaving school seven years ago, she joined Lawyers 4U as a call handler. She has developed excellent interpersonal skills and has gained experience working under pressure.
The Job Description:
Software for Lawyers Ltd makes case management software. Their software helps lawyers manage caseloads and track time spent. The development team is small and close-knit. They are looking to add a Junior Software Developer to their team.
Requirements
- A university degree in a relevant subject or software development course
- Experience with Node.js, Express and React
- A strong portfolio with solo and group projects
- Excellent interpersonal skills
- Experience developing software in an agile team
- Passionate about programming
Nice to Haves
- Experience in the legal sector
- Some knowledge of Python
- Experience working in an office-based environment
What Should You Do?
1. Sign up for a ChatGPT account
Go to https://chatgpt.com and sign up for an account.
2. Ask the AI to help you write a cover letter
Give it the description of Jane and the job description. Chat with the AI interactively as if it is a person. It may take some experimentation to get the right prompt. That’s OK - getting AI to do what you want is all about trial and error.
📝Note
Think about the goals of a cover letter. Read and reflect on the cover letter. Has the AI provided good links between Jane’s experience and the job’s requirements (e.g. does it note that she has experience in the legal sector)? How has the AI demonstrated that Jane has the right skills for the job? Has the AI added anything that wasn’t in the description of Jane? Could you do better?
Think about your own future job hunt. What have you learned that will help you apply for jobs in the future? Will you use ChatGPT to help you generate a cover letter? If so, how will you make sure it’s a good cover letter? If not, why not?
3. Prepare the cover letter in a Google Doc
- Create a Google Doc.
- Copy the cover letter text from ChatGPT into the Google Doc.
- Format the cover letter in the Google Doc.
📝Note
If you are new to Google Docs, you may find this guide on what Google Docs is and how to use it useful.
4. Put your name in the document name
Include your given name or your family name in the title of the Google Doc.
💡Search the Web
How to change document name in Google Docs5. Make your Google Doc public
Change the sharing settings of your Google Doc to “Anyone with the link can view”.
💡Search the Web
How to share Google Docs to public6 Submit the Google Doc link
Submit the link to the Google Doc in Step 2 on the CYF Course Platform.
✅ Step 2: How to check your work
A volunteer will review your submission and check that it meets the acceptance criteria. They will give you feedback on your submission and help you make any changes needed to meet the criteria.
Here are the criteria you need to meet:
📩 Step 2: How to show us
How to get help
When you have a question, ask it.
Remember, Code Your Future is a community of adults sharing skills. We are all here to help each other, and learn. You are meant to ask questions at Code Your Future. When you see someone else has a question, help them if you can.💡Code Your Future is a Community
When you have questions about coursework, ask in a
You do not need to wait for a workshop to ask a question. You can ask questions in Slack at any time. We are here to help you understand and complete this course. Our goal is to help you learn.
💪🏾 Step 2: Extend Your Skills
Use your new skill in real life:
You do not have to complete this part of the task, but you might find it interesting or useful. Please don’t submit the result - it will lead to your submission being rejected.
You can ask ChatGPT to generate a CV for Jane using her summary. There isn’t quite enough information there for the AI to do a perfect job, so it might guess.
You could also ask it to generate a CV for you. This course by CodeAcademy might be helpful in getting AI to make a CV. But, please do note that the sample prompts in the course do not always work.
💡Be careful with Generative AI
Remember, your real CV must only say true things. (Lying on your CV is a crime in the UK!) Make sure you only use the AI to help you write your CV, not to write it for you.
Do not give ChatGPT personal information (e.g. your phone number, email address, full name).