Tailored Cover Letter
Cover Letter:
Chantal De Los Santos
Manhattan, NY | 646-961-2054
[email protected]
3/11/25
Dear Hiring Manager,
This internship opportunity was brought to my attention by the Director at the Publishing Certificate Program at the City College of New York. I’ve been looking for an opportunity to break into the publishing world and to continue to learn more in depth about its innerworkings and Hachette seems like the perfect company that aligns with my personal values. Hachette has been my preferred company to work with ever since I attended a talk that they hosted at City College in 2022. Their commitment to diverse titles and attention to employee satisfaction has shown that they’re the right company to work for. The Little Brown imprint is one that can be found littered through my own personal library and made up a good portion of the books I used to read when I was much younger. Authors like Lemony Snicket and JK Rowling paved my childhood while my adulthood gave way to new authors like Donna Tart. I’ve been able to grow with this publisher and refine my tastes as time went on.
My tenure at City College prepared me for the workload an Editorial Intern I might undertake. Courses like Intro to Publishing in the program built a strong foundation that prepared me for the basic tasks I would undertake in the industry and equipped me with insider knowledge. The succeeding courses I took honed my editing skills thoroughly, which I was able to employ at the University Paper as an Editor. I learned indispensable lessons about communication especially when working one on one on an array of differing pieces at the newspaper one must adopt a level of dedication and care when editing another person’s work. Additionally, the practical skills I’ve gained from the work I did as a Receptionist and Manager are easily transferred in a space as detail oriented as this one.
I am excited about the opportunity to intern at Little Brown and LB for Young Readers, it would be the opportunity of a lifetime. I am looking forward to discussing more about my qualifications in an interview. Thank you for your time and consideration.
AI Generated Cover Letter and Prompt:
Can you create a cover letter with an emphasis on my interest in the company. Structure it like how professionals would appreciate a cover letter be formatted:
Chantal De Los Santos
Manhattan, NY | 646-961-2054
[email protected]
[Today’s Date]
Hiring Manager
Hachette Book Group
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
New York, NY
Subject: Application for Editorial Intern Position
Dear Hiring Manager,
I am writing to express my strong interest in the Editorial Intern position at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. As an aspiring publishing professional with a deep passion for children’s literature, I am eager for the opportunity to contribute to and learn from one of the most esteemed publishing houses in the industry.
Currently pursuing a degree in English Literature at City College of New York and enrolled in the Publishing Certificate Program, I have developed a strong foundation in editorial work. My experience as a writer and editor for The Paper, my university’s newspaper, has allowed me to sharpen my skills in writing, proofreading, and content development. Additionally, my professional background as a receptionist has strengthened my ability to multitask, communicate effectively, and remain highly organized in fast-paced environments.
What draws me most to Hachette and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers is the company’s commitment to publishing stories that resonate with young audiences. The opportunity to support the editorial team—whether through logging and reviewing manuscript submissions, researching comparative titles, or assisting with administrative tasks—aligns perfectly with my skills and career aspirations. I am confident that my attention to detail, enthusiasm for literature, and ability to adapt quickly would make me a valuable addition to your team.
I would welcome the opportunity to further discuss how my background and passion align with this role. Thank you for your time and consideration—I look forward to the possibility of joining Hachette and contributing to its legacy of impactful storytelling.
Best regards,
Chantal De Los Santos
AI Comparison:
The AI generated cover letter integrates the job requirements more particularly but lacks the integration of company values. I believe my cover letter can tap into company value and provide more of a connection to the company. The AI generated one is a bit dull and is missing a personal touch that my own provides. The tone of the AI Letter is a bit more robotic and feels like a cookie cutter version of my own while mine has a human voice and speaks more to personal experiences. I believe that the AI letter’s format could improve my own version. It’s concise mentions of my qualifications would purport a more corporate tone. It reminded me to include more emphasis on my skills, something that I completely forgot to incorporate in my original draft. The personal touch completely enhances my application compared to the AI letter especially when the company I’m applying for prides themselves in not utilizing AI. I do believe AI can be used as a supplemental reference when creating a cover letter and is incredibly useful as a guideline. I would incorporate the format of the sentences and the details they decided to incorporate from my resume. On the other hand, I believe the personal touch my own cover letter adds cannot be trumped by the “professionalism” the AI generated letter holds.
Reflective Analysis:
The process of tailoring my cover letter to the job ad wasn’t all that cumbersome. In most of the talks and resume workshops I’ve attended there’s always been an emphasis in creating cover letter that are personalized to the company you’re applying for. Since the internship I’m applying for is centered in the publishing word, I thought it apt to highlight the classes I’ve taken that are centered around Publishing in the certificate program. I’ve been informed that Publishers take into account certification since It’s difficult to hone the specific skills needed in publishing unless you are in a specific concentration or have publishing experience like internships. Publishers also have an emphasis on organization and communication skills since the majority of the job is composed of keeping track of mistakes and errors in books and having an active editor/writer relationship. It was important for me to highlight that in my cover letter.
The keywords, on the other hand, were a bit more challenging than simply spotlighting my skills. It was difficult for me to include them naturally in my letter and I had to go in afterwards and tweak a few of my sentences in order to incorporate them. Incorporating specific skills as keywords felt too on the nose as well, like the inclusion of my proficiency in the Microsoft and Google Suites so I decided to forgo them.
When comparing my own cover letter and the AI generated one, I think it’s hard to decide which one is better formatted. While my own has its own personal touch and highlights precise details, the AI letter has better structure and keyword integration. AI can easily help create a template or a format which you could use while creating your own cover letter, but I think it’s important to make your cover letter seem personal and unique. I would certainly take some pointers from the AI letter, like the sentence “I have developed a strong foundation in editorial work” which easily condenses my whole spiel about the certificate program. The AI letter also put more of an emphasis on Children’s literature, but Little Brown for Young Readers is also focused on Teen Fiction and Young Adult Fiction. The AI Cover Letter certainly hits all the notes that a cover letter would need if it was being process through AI, but applications will be thoroughly vetted through humans that focus on writing especially. To add to that, that’s why I believe a more sincere and human touch would be more appealing in this situation than if a programmer was making a cover letter or a hair stylist.
This assignment has opened my eyes to what AI can do as supplemental tool and has made me keener on using AI as a whole. It is interesting to compare what a machine that could be used in the cover letter analysis process might deem as a near “perfect” setup for a cover letter. I’d still probably steer clear of using AI at all in my own personal cover letters when it comes to creating cover letters just because of the field that I’m going in to, but it wouldn’t hurt to compare mine again and use it to integrate tweaks to my own. Competition does breed innovation.
