Hey,
Cover letters suck. Let's just get that out of the way.
You're probably here because you've been applying to jobs for weeks (maybe months), sending the same cover letter with minor tweaks, and getting nowhere.
I get it. I was there too. Spending 45 minutes researching each company, crafting the "perfect" personalized letter, hitting submit... crickets.
The problem isn't that cover letters don't work. It's that the way we've been taught to write them doesn't work anymore.
Here's what changed
Most jobs now get 100+ applicants. Hiring managers spend a couple of seconds skimming your cover letter before deciding whether to keep reading or move on. And since everyone's using ChatGPT now, generic AI-written letters get spotted (and deleted) immediately.
So what actually works in 2025?
What hiring managers told us they look for
Harvard Business Review surveyed hiring managers about cover letters. Here's what they said actually matters:
1️⃣ Keep it short - one page, no exceptions
They don't have time to read your life story. One page. No shrinking fonts. No tiny margins. Get to the point.
2️⃣ Show you actually researched them
Not "I admire your company's mission." Everyone says that.
Find something specific: a recent product launch, their expansion into a new market, a press release from last week. Show you spent more than 2 minutes on their website.
3️⃣ Use a real person's name
"To Whom It May Concern" = instant delete. Check LinkedIn - you can usually find who posted the job.
4️⃣ Skip the generic opening
Don't start with "I am writing to express my interest in the Marketing Manager position..."
They know why you're writing. Try something like: "I saw your posting for a Marketing Manager and honestly got excited - it's exactly what I've been looking for."
5️⃣ Make it about them, not you
Your cover letter should answer one question: "How will hiring you make my life easier?"
Connect your experience directly to what they need. Be specific.
The part that takes forever: research
Here's where most people give up. Doing real research for each application takes 30-45 minutes:
🔍 Company research:
- Check their LinkedIn and Twitter for recent updates
- Read their latest blog posts or press releases
- Look at other jobs they've posted to see what they value
- Find the hiring manager's name
📝 Then you write it:
- Start strong (skip the "My name is..." intro)
- Show you understand what they actually need
- Give specific examples of how you've done similar work
👀 Then you edit it:
- Send it to a friend and ask "Does this sound like me?"
- If it sounds robotic, rewrite it
When you're applying to 10+ jobs, this adds up fast. Which is why most people skip it and send generic letters instead.
The ChatGPT shortcut (and why it doesn't really save time)
A lot of people are using ChatGPT now. The problem? You still do all the work.
Here's what using ChatGPT actually looks like:
- Research the company yourself (still takes 20 minutes)
- Copy-paste the job description
- Write a detailed prompt explaining what you want
- Upload your resume
- Get generic output that needs heavy editing
- Iterate 3-5 times until it sounds human
- Remove the made-up details ChatGPT added
You're still doing 90% of the work. ChatGPT just helps you write cleaner sentences.
Tools that claim to help (and what they actually do)
The job search tool market is crowded. Most of them still make you do the hard part - the research.
📊 Teal gives you kanban boards, job tracking, and AI cover letter generation. You upload your resume, save jobs via their Chrome extension, pick a template, and the AI generates content. Great for staying organized. You're still researching companies yourself. Free for 2 AI generations, then $9/week or $29/month.
📋 Huntr is similar - job boards plus AI letters. You save jobs, upload your resume, paste descriptions, generate and edit. Free tier is limited. $40/month for unlimited AI.
📝 Kickresume uses GPT-4 to write cover letters from your resume and job descriptions. Popular (2M users). Still requires you to provide all the job info. $19/month or $7/month annually.
⚡ LockedIn works differently. Instead of making you research, it does it automatically. You paste a job URL, and it uses browser automation to research the company and role like a human would. Then generates a personalized cover letter you can edit. No extensions. No copying job descriptions. Just paste the URL and review what it generates.$9.99/month for unlimited.
💡 Quick tip: Avoid auto-apply tools that spam hundreds of applications. Hiring managers can tell, and some companies flag profiles that use them.
After you send it
Don't just apply and ghost them. Find the recruiter or hiring manager on LinkedIn. Send a brief message: introduce yourself, mention why you're interested, say you're looking forward to hearing from them.
Most people don't do this. Which means you should.
The reality
Generic cover letters don't work anymore. The job market is brutal - you're competing against 100+ people for every decent role.
Personalized, well-researched cover letters still get you noticed. The question is whether you want to spend 30-45 minutes per application doing that research manually, or find a way to automate it.
For job seekers: If you're tired of the manual research grind, try LockedIn free. Paste a job URL and get a personalized cover letter based on automatic company research. No complicated setup, just paste and review.
For students: Starting your job search can feel overwhelming. LockedIn helps you create professional cover letters even if you're applying to your first jobs. Get started free.
For career switchers: Tailoring your experience to new roles takes time. LockedIn researches each company automatically so you can focus on customizing your story. Try it free.