CatchCase

A cover letter that doesn't sound like AI

Ask any recruiter about cover letters this year and you'll hear the same thing: they've started to sound identical. Five paragraphs. "I am writing to express my interest in…". A "proven track record". A "passion for innovation". The candidate is "excited to leverage" their skills.

Recruiters don't usually reject a letter because AI helped write it. They reject it because it could have been written by anyone, for any job. The good news is that the fix isn't to stop using AI — it's to give it the things only you know, and to keep out the things that give it away.

Why AI cover letters all sound the same

A language model writes the most likely next words. Ask it for "a cover letter for a marketing coordinator role" with nothing else, and you get the most likely cover letter for that role — the average of thousands. That average is exactly what a recruiter has read a hundred times this week.

The tells are predictable:

  • Openers: "I am writing to express my interest", "I was thrilled to come across".
  • Filler claims: "proven track record", "results-driven", "detail-oriented", "dynamic team player".
  • Vague enthusiasm: "passionate about", "excited to leverage", "align with your values".
  • Perfect symmetry: every paragraph the same length, every sentence the same rhythm, a neat three-item list in each.
  • No facts a reader could check. No names, no numbers, no specific project.

A letter with none of these, and with two or three concrete details, reads as written by a person — whoever typed the first draft.

What a recruiter is actually looking for

In the 30 seconds a cover letter usually gets, a recruiter wants answers to three questions:

  1. Why this job? Not "why a job" — why this employer and this role.
  2. Can you do the two or three things that matter most in the ad? With evidence.
  3. Is there anything I should know? A career change, a move, a gap, a missing requirement you can address.

Everything in the letter should serve one of those. That's why the best letters are often short: 250–350 words, three or four paragraphs.

The method: you supply the facts, AI supplies the structure

Here's a process that keeps the speed and loses the sameness.

1. Write your reason in one honest sentence

Before using any tool, write one sentence about why you want this particular role. It doesn't need to be polished:

"I commute on the F4 every day and I have opinions about the Manly timetable announcements."

That sentence, kept almost as you wrote it, will do more for your letter than anything a model can add. It's specific, it's yours, and no other applicant will have it.

2. Pick the two or three requirements that matter

Read the ad and underline what is repeated or listed first. For a customer experience role it might be: handling feedback across channels, reporting on complaint themes, strong writing. Ignore the rest for the letter — your resume covers it.

3. Find one piece of evidence for each

For each requirement, write one line of evidence from your actual experience, with a number if you have one:

  • Feedback across channels → ~60 enquiries a day in Zendesk across email, phone and chat.
  • Complaint themes → tagged billing complaints by cause; one confusing bill line fixed; complaints down 22%.
  • Writing → rewrote 40 email templates; satisfaction on email replies from 81% to 88%.

4. Generate a draft from those facts — with rules

Now give the tool your resume, the ad, your reason and your evidence, along with rules that rule out the generic version: no stock openers, no listed clichés, one page, never invent anything not in the resume. Our cover letter case does this: you attach your resume, paste the ad and your reason, and it returns a one-page letter plus a list of the ad's requirements your resume doesn't clearly show.

5. Edit for your voice

Read the draft aloud. Anywhere you stumble, or wouldn't say it that way, change it. Specifically:

  • Put back your own phrasing from step 1 if it was smoothed out.
  • Break up any sentence over 30 words.
  • Delete any adjective describing yourself ("motivated", "dedicated") and let the evidence do the work.
  • Check every number against your resume. You'll be asked about them.

Before and after

A typical generic opening:

I am writing to express my keen interest in the Customer Experience Coordinator position at Harbourline Ferries. With a proven track record in customer service and a passion for delivering exceptional experiences, I am confident I would be a valuable addition to your dynamic team.

The same candidate, using the method above:

I'd like to apply for the Customer Experience Coordinator role at Harbourline Ferries. I ride the F4 to Circular Quay most mornings, so I've seen first-hand how much a clear timetable announcement changes a commuter's day — and I'd like to be the person who makes those moments better.

Then the evidence paragraph:

For the past three years I've worked on the support team at Brightside Energy, handling around 60 enquiries a day across email, phone and live chat in Zendesk. In 2025 I noticed billing complaints spiked every quarter, so I started tagging them by cause. A third came from one confusing line on the bill; operations reworded it, and billing complaints dropped by 22% the next quarter.

Neither paragraph has a single cliché, and both contain facts nobody else could have written.

Deal with gaps honestly

If you don't meet a requirement, don't pretend. A single sentence that addresses it directly is stronger than silence:

I haven't worked in transport or tourism, but I've spent two years explaining outages and delays to frustrated customers — a lot of the same conversation, just about electricity rather than ferries.

That's also why a good AI workflow should list your gaps rather than paper over them. The cover letter case ends with exactly that list, so you can decide which to mention.

Keep it consistent with your resume and LinkedIn

Recruiters compare your letter with your resume and LinkedIn profile, and later with how you talk in the interview. If the letter sounds nothing like the person they meet, that's the real tell.

A quick checklist

  • First line names the role and gives a specific reason — not "I am writing to express".
  • Two or three requirements from the ad, each with one concrete example.
  • At least one number, and you can explain every number.
  • No "proven track record", "passionate", "results-driven", "leverage", "dynamic".
  • 250–350 words, one page.
  • Any important gap addressed in one honest sentence.
  • You've read it aloud and it sounds like you.

AI is good at structure, grammar and speed. It's bad at being you. Give it your facts and your reasons, and keep the final edit for yourself.