I'm noticing a pattern in cover letters this summer.
They're starting to read like unfunny Cards Against Humanity combinations. And honestly, it's becoming the 'AI tell' for me.
I’ve talked to many job seekers in the past few months who are using AI to merge the job description with their resume to create their cover letter. Even when they add “keep my voice” or “make the tone human” to the prompt, the end product is still word salad.
The goal of the cover letter is to round you out as an applicant, and it gives you important real estate to show, rather than tell, what unique skills and talents you will bring to the role.
Listing buzzwords is not a differentiator. If your letter reads “I am confident I can manage complex systems, communicate clearly with stakeholders, and demonstrate strong organizational skills”, I’m pretty sure at least 50% of the pool has the exact same sentence (regardless of industry.) If your first paragraph ends with “Your opportunity stood out to me because it brings together my interests in prioritizing priorities, continuous improvement, and operational efficiency”….what does that even mean 😅
So please get rid of "synergistic management solutions.” Tell us who you collaborated with, what the outcome was, and why it mattered. For example: “I led a cross-functional committee representing 6 divisions and increased family weekend attendance by 30%.” Now the hiring manager is interested, and wants to bring you in to talk about what strategies you used, and how you would apply what you learned to their campus.
That is what gets you the interview.
