Most “cover letter checkers” check spelling and tone. Recruiters care about something else: whether your letter answers this job posting. A letter can be grammatically perfect and still get skipped because it never mentions the three things the employer asked for.
Below is a free way to check your cover letter the way a hiring manager reads it: a 12-point checklist, a copy-paste prompt that turns ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini into a cover letter checker, and a simple score that tells you whether to send, fix or rewrite.
What a cover letter checker should actually check
Put the job posting next to your letter and go through these 12 points. Each one is something a recruiter notices in the first half-minute, or something they can search for in an applicant tracking system (ATS).
| # | Check | Why it matters | Quick fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Names the role and the company | A generic letter reads like a mass application | Use the exact job title and company name in the first two sentences |
| 2 | The opening gives a reason to keep reading | The first lines decide whether the rest gets read | Lead with your strongest match to the role, not “I am writing to apply for…” |
| 3 | Covers the top 3 requirements | Hiring managers scan for their must-haves | Find the requirements listed first or repeated in the posting and give one piece of evidence for each |
| 4 | Uses the posting’s own words | Recruiters search applications by keywords | Reuse the exact names of tools, skills and certifications (“Salesforce”, “SQL”, “CPA”) where they are true for you |
| 5 | Has numbers | Specific results are believable and memorable | Add one number per story: team size, %, time saved, revenue, users |
| 6 | Doesn’t repeat the resume | Copied bullets waste the space | Tell one or two stories behind your bullets: the problem, what you did, the result |
| 7 | Says something specific about the company | Shows you chose them on purpose | One sentence about a product, project or value from their site or recent news |
| 8 | Right length | Long letters don’t get read to the end | 250–400 words, 3–4 short paragraphs |
| 9 | Clear close | A weak ending leaves no next step | End with what you would bring in the first months and ask for a conversation |
| 10 | Tone fits the company | A bank and a startup read letters differently | Mirror the posting: formal or conversational |
| 11 | No errors in names | A wrong company name is an instant rejection | Double-check the company, the hiring manager and the job title; read the letter aloud |
| 12 | Readable file | Some systems lose text in images, columns and text boxes | Plain layout, standard font, PDF or DOCX as the posting asks, a file name like “Firstname-Lastname-Cover-Letter.pdf” |
Score your letter: send, fix or rewrite
Give each of the 12 points 0, 1 or 2: missing, partly there, done. Then add them up.
- 20–24: send it.
- 14–19: fix the zeros first. They are usually points 3, 4 and 5.
- Under 14: rewrite the letter from the job posting instead of patching it. It’s faster.
Check your cover letter with AI: a copy-paste prompt
Any general AI assistant (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Copilot) can work as a cover letter checker if you give it the job posting and a clear rubric. Copy this prompt, then paste your job posting and your letter at the end:
You are a recruiter hiring for the job below. Review my cover letter against the job posting. 1. List the 3 most important requirements in the posting. 2. For each requirement, quote the sentence in my letter that proves it, or write "missing". 3. List important keywords from the posting (tools, skills, certifications) that are missing from my letter. Only include ones my letter suggests I could honestly claim. 4. Score my letter 0-2 on each point: names the role and company; strong opening; covers the top 3 requirements; uses the posting's keywords; includes numbers; tells a story instead of repeating a resume; mentions something specific about the company; 250-400 words; clear closing; tone fits the company; no errors in names; plain formatting. Give the total out of 24. 5. Suggest the 3 changes that would improve the letter most. Do not invent experience I don't have. JOB POSTING: [paste the job posting] MY COVER LETTER: [paste your cover letter]
Two cautions. AI checkers are generous: if one gives you 22 out of 24 for a letter that never names the company, trust the checklist over the score. And never paste in a fact the AI suggests unless it’s true. The line “do not invent experience” helps, but read every sentence.
Do ATS systems read cover letters?
Often, yes, but not the way people fear. Most applicant tracking systems store your cover letter with the rest of your application, either as an uploaded file or as text pasted into a form. There is no universal “cover letter score” that rejects you automatically. What does happen is that recruiters search and filter applicants by keywords, and a hiring manager reads the letter once your resume has passed a first look.
So the rule is the same for both readers: a plain format the system can read, and the posting’s key terms used naturally where they are true. If the form has a separate text box, paste the letter as plain text instead of uploading a designed PDF, and check that the line breaks survive.
Common problems a checker finds, and how to fix them
“I am writing to apply for…”
Before: “I am writing to apply for the Marketing Manager position at Acme.”
After: “Acme’s move into B2B subscriptions is exactly the kind of launch I led at Brightline, where we grew trial-to-paid conversion from 9% to 14% in two quarters.”
Listing qualities instead of proving them
Before: “I am a detail-oriented team player with strong communication skills.”
After: “When our month-end close slipped to 9 days, I rebuilt the reconciliation checklist with the AP team. We closed in 5 days the next quarter.”
Missing the posting’s must-haves
If the posting mentions “HubSpot” and “paid social” three times and your letter mentions neither, add a sentence of evidence for each, but only if it’s true.
One letter for every job
A letter that works for every company works for none. Keep a base version, but rewrite the opening and the two stories for each posting.
Is AI-written text a problem? A note on AI detectors
Many people search for an “AI detector for cover letters”. AI detectors are unreliable and flag ordinary human writing too, so few employers make decisions based on them. What recruiters do notice is generic text: buzzwords, no names, no numbers, nothing about their company. A letter built from your real stories and the specifics of the posting reads as human, whether or not you used AI for the first draft.
When to stop checking and rewrite for the job
If your letter scores under 14, or you send more than a few applications a week, writing each letter from the job posting is faster than patching one template. That’s what Dovira does. You add your resume once and paste a job posting. Dovira drafts a cover letter for that posting: an opening, two stories from your own experience that match what the employer asks for, and a close. You can edit it in an AI chat (“make it shorter”, “more formal”) and download a PDF. Then run it through the checklist above before you send it.
FAQ
Is there a free cover letter checker?
Yes. The 12-point checklist and the AI prompt on this page are free and work with the free versions of ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini. Paid checkers mostly add a score and grammar suggestions.
Can ChatGPT check my cover letter?
Yes, if you give it the job posting and a rubric like the prompt above. Without the posting it can only check grammar and tone, which matter least.
How long should a cover letter be?
250–400 words, or 3–4 short paragraphs. Under 200 words rarely covers the main requirements. Over 450 words rarely gets read to the end.
Should my cover letter use the same keywords as my resume?
Use the posting’s key terms where they are true for you, inside sentences that prove them. Don’t paste a list of keywords: a person will read the letter.
What is a good cover letter score?
On the 24-point checklist above, 20 or more is ready to send. Most first drafts land between 12 and 17. The biggest gains come from covering the top 3 requirements with evidence.
Get a cover letter written for this exact job
Paste the job posting and Dovira drafts a cover letter from your own experience: an opening, two relevant stories and a close. Edit it in an AI chat and download a PDF. Your first 3 cover letters are free, no credit card needed.
