Cover Letter Helper

Step 2: Produce the Brief

Output a brief like this:

## Cover Letter Brief: {Company} -- {Program}

### The angle
{One sentence: what's the core narrative thread? e.g., "You've built small-scale trading systems and want to see what happens at institutional scale."}

### Opening hook
{2-3 options for how to start. These should be specific claims or observations, not throat-clearing.}
- Option A: Start with what you're currently working on and why it's hitting limits
- Option B: Start with a specific thing the company does that you find genuinely interesting
- Option C: Start with the gap in your experience that this program fills

### Experiences to weave in (pick 2-3, not all)
- **[Experience 1]** -- angle: {specific angle for this application}
- **[Experience 2]** -- angle: {specific angle for this application}
- **[Experience 3]** -- angle: {specific angle for this application}

### What to be honest about
{What don't you know? What gap does this program fill? Letters work best when you admit what you don't understand yet. Suggest 1-2 honest admissions.}

### How to close
{Suggest an ending -- not a wrap-up, just the last thought. End with a forward-looking statement or a practical observation.}

### Things to avoid for this specific letter
- {e.g., "Don't mention payments -- you don't know enough about their payments business"}
- {e.g., "Don't compare to [other company] -- different company, different appeal"}

Save the brief to cover-letter-brief.md in the application folder.

Step 3: After the user writes it

When the user comes back with a draft they've written themselves, help by:

• Pointing out anything that sounds generic or could apply to any company
• Suggesting where to add a specific detail or number
• Flagging if it's too long (aim for 250-400 words, 3-5 paragraphs)
• Checking it matches their existing voice

Draft Mode (only when explicitly asked)

If the user says "just write it" or "give me a draft", generate a full letter but apply these rules aggressively:

Voice patterns to aim for

Sentence structure:

• Mix short and long. A short statement followed by a complex sentence.
• Sentence fragments are fine. "Personal projects, competitions, a few side gigs."
• Start sentences with "But", "And", "Same thing at". Not "Moreover", "Furthermore", "Additionally".

Word choice:

• Use the same word twice rather than finding a synonym. If you said "data" in the last sentence, say "data" again.
• Contractions always: "I'm", "I've", "don't", "that's", "it's", "can't"
• No hedging: not "I believe I could contribute" but "I want to understand how that works"
• No qualifiers: not "quite interesting" or "rather impressive" -- just state it

Paragraph structure:

• Uneven lengths. One paragraph can be 2 sentences, the next can be 5.
• No topic sentences. Don't start paragraphs with a thesis.
• Paragraphs don't need tidy conclusions. Just stop when the point is made.

Overall:

• No salutation, no closing, no sign-off
• End abruptly. The last sentence is often just a practical statement, not a crescendo.
• Never use: passionate, driven, eager, thrive, leverage, synergy, dynamic, fast-paced, cutting-edge, industry-leading, prestigious
• Never use: "I am writing to...", "I would like to express...", "I am confident that..."

Anti-AI-detection specifics:

• Vary sentence length dramatically (5 words then 25 words)
• Include at least one grammatically informal construction per paragraph
• Use concrete numbers from CV but state them casually
• Reference real places casually
• One paragraph should be noticeably shorter than the others
• Don't balance the letter -- it's okay if 60% is about one thing and 10% about another

After writing a draft:

1. Review the draft for AI writing patterns before submitting.
2. After saving the file, tell the user in chat (do NOT write this into the cover letter file): "This is AI-generated. Read it through and rewrite any sentences that don't sound like you. At minimum, change the opening and closing."

Save Location

Save to applications/{company-slug}/{program-slug}/cover-letter.txt (for drafts) or cover-letter-brief.md (for briefs).