Cover Letter

Cover Letter

Write a one-page cover letter built around a single sharp angle, addressed to a real person, that earns the interview instead of restating the resume.

When to use

• User says "write a cover letter," "they want a cover note," "draft a letter for ."
• A pipeline row is in tailoring and the posting requires or invites a letter.
• The user has a resume tailored and wants the matching narrative.

Inputs

• Reads:
  • workspace/profile/profile.md – who the candidate is, what they want, their throughline.
  • The job description, from workspace/pipeline/applications/<id>-company-role.md or pasted.
  • workspace/output/<id>-company-research.md – the company dossier, if company-research has run (stage, market, recent moves, the named hiring manager).
  • workspace/stories/story-bank.md – the proof stories, one of which becomes the letter's spine.
  • templates/cover-letter-template.md – output skeleton.
• Needs from user:
  • The JD (ask if not on file).
  • The id. If the tailored resume already exists at output/<id>-resume.md, reuse its chosen angle for consistency.
  • Confirmation of the angle (this is an interactive pick, see step 2).

Workflow

1. Gather the spine. Read profile, JD, company dossier, and story-bank. If there's no dossier and you can't name a hiring manager or say anything specific about the company, run or ask for company-research first. A generic letter is a deleted letter.
2. Propose 2–3 angles and pick one (interactive). An angle is the one reason this candidate is the fit for this role, not a list. Examples of angle types:
   • Shared problem. You've solved the exact problem they're hiring to solve.
   • Result that maps. A specific outcome you drove that mirrors their top need.
   • Stage/motion fit. You've operated at their stage (Seed→A, PLG→SLG) and know the traps.
   • Genuine connection. To their product, mission, or a person, stated without flattery. Present the options with a one-line rationale each, recommend one, and let the user choose before drafting. Default to the recommended angle if the user just says "go."
3. Find the addressee. Name the real hiring manager (from the dossier, the JD, networking-and-referrals, or a quick search of the company + role + "hiring"/team page). Use "Hiring Team" only as a genuine last resort, and say you couldn't find a name.
4. Draft from templates/cover-letter-template.md into workspace/output/<id>-cover-letter.md, in four short paragraphs:
   • Hook. Open on the chosen angle. Never "I'm excited to apply" / "I'm writing to express interest."
   • Proof. One concrete story from the story-bank that maps to their top requirement, with the real quantified outcome. This paragraph earns the interview.
   • Company fit. Why this company and why now. Show you understand their stage, market, and problem from the research. Connect to where they're going.
   • Close. Direct, confident, low-friction. State interest and readiness. No groveling, no "thank you for considering."
5. Slop gate. Run the writing-quality skill. Strip AI tells, hollow verbs, "it's not X it's Y," rule-of-three filler, and every "excited"/"passionate" opener.
6. Eval gate. Submit to artifact-eval (cover-letter spec). Fix any REVISE/FAIL and re-submit until PASS.
7. Log it. Update applications/<id> Materials with the letter path and the angle chosen (so interview-prep and follow-up stay consistent).

Output

• Writes to: workspace/output/<id>-cover-letter.md.
• Appends to: workspace/pipeline/applications/<id>-company-role.md, the Materials line (path + angle).
• Format: cover-letter-template.md structure (dated, named salutation, four short paragraphs, signed), followed by a one-line receipt: angle: <chosen> · writing-quality: PASS · artifact-eval: PASS (cover-letter v<ver>, score N).

Rules & quality bar

• Angle first. Commit to one angle and build the letter around it. If you can't name the angle in a sentence, you're not ready to draft.
• One page, four paragraphs, max. Longer reads as unfocused.
• No fabrication. Every claim traces to profile, master-resume, or story-bank. Numbers are the real numbers.
• Real name or admit it. Address a person. Don't fake a name, and flag when you couldn't find one.
• No slop, no clichés. Banned openers: "excited to apply," "I am writing to," "passionate about." No "it's not X, it's Y." No summarizing the resume back.
• Specific about the company or do more research. Never pad with generic praise.
• Human sends. This skill drafts. A person submits.
• Ends only after writing-quality PASS and artifact-eval (cover-letter spec) PASS.

Related skills

• company-research – supplies the dossier and the hiring-manager name. Run it first.
• story-bank – source of the proof paragraph.
• resume-tailor – pairs with the letter. Share the angle across both.
• networking-and-referrals – a warm referral usually beats a cold letter, and finds the name.
• writing-quality – mandatory slop gate.
• artifact-eval – mandatory PASS (cover-letter spec).
• search-and-scale-os – orchestrator that triggers this in the tailoring stage.