January was grim. I'd sent out maybe 40 applications since November and heard back from three of them — two rejections and one recruiter who went silent after the first call. I was applying for mid-level product roles in financial services, £50k-ish range, London and hybrid. Not unreasonable. But nothing was landing.
A mate suggested I use AI to write my cover letters. I'd already been doing that. That was the problem.
The mistake I was making (and probably you are too)
I was prompting ChatGPT like this: "Write me a cover letter for a product manager role at a fintech company."
What I got back was this polished, confident, completely soulless letter that sounded like it had been written by a motivational LinkedIn post. Full of phrases like "I am passionate about driving impact" and "I thrive in dynamic environments." It meant nothing. UK hiring managers — especially at places like HSBC, Deloitte, or the NHS digital teams — read hundreds of these. They clock it immediately.
The issue isn't using AI. The issue is using AI without giving it any actual context. Generic prompt in, generic output out. The model doesn't know you're in the UK, doesn't know the role is likely to involve a competency-based interview panel, doesn't know that IR35 might be relevant if it's a contract role, doesn't know your actual experience.
When I started being more specific — properly specific — things shifted. Three interviews in January. Not a huge number, but after two months of silence it felt like a lot.
Here are the exact prompts. Copy them. Change the bits in brackets.
The prompts
1. CV tailoring (for a specific job posting)
I'm applying for a [job title] role at [company name] in the UK.
Here is the full job description: [paste JD]
Here is my current CV: [paste CV]
Rewrite my CV to better match this role. Keep it to 2 pages max.
Use UK spelling throughout. Don't add experience I haven't listed —
just reframe and reorder what's there. Focus on the skills and
responsibilities that appear in the JD. Use bullet points, not paragraphs.
Start each bullet with a strong action verb.
The "don't add experience I haven't listed" part matters. Without it, AI hallucinates impressive-sounding things you've never done. Also explicitly asking for UK spelling stops you submitting a CV with "organize" and "optimize" in it, which looks sloppy.
2. Cover letter that doesn't sound like a robot wrote it
Write a cover letter for this role: [paste JD]
My background: [2-3 sentences about your actual experience]
The company: [what you know about them, what appeals to you specifically]
Tone: conversational but professional. This is for a UK employer.
Avoid clichés like "I am passionate about" or "I thrive in dynamic
environments." Keep it under 350 words. First paragraph should hook them,
not start with "I am writing to apply for."
That last line is doing a lot of work. The default AI opening — "I am writing to apply for the position of..." — is an instant skip. You need something that makes them want to keep reading.
3. Competency-based interview prep
This one made the biggest difference for me. UK interviews, especially in the public sector, financial services, and big consultancies, love competency frameworks. Deloitte, the civil service, NHS leadership roles — they're all going to ask you STAR-format questions.
I have an interview for a [job title] at [company/sector] in the UK.
It will likely be competency-based. The job description mentions these
key competencies: [list them, or paste the JD].
My background is: [brief summary]
Give me 5 likely interview questions, then for each one, help me
structure a STAR answer (Situation, Task, Action, Result) using
realistic examples from someone with my background.
Flag where I should add specific metrics or outcomes.
You then take those draft answers and replace the placeholder examples with your real ones. It gives you the skeleton; you supply the actual story.
4. Researching salary before negotiating
This is something people skip and then regret.
I've been offered a [job title] role in [city/region] in the UK.
The offer is [£X]. Based on current UK market rates (early 2026),
is this competitive for someone with [X years] experience in [sector]?
Where should I look to benchmark this? What's the typical range
advertised on Reed and Totaljobs for this level?
What's a reasonable counter-offer to make without being unrealistic?
AI isn't a live salary database, so treat the numbers it gives as a starting point, not gospel. But it's good at helping you frame the conversation and work out whether you're being low-balled. For reference, a lot of the mid-level tech and ops roles I was looking at were sitting in the £45k-£65k band depending on company size and sector. Big banks and consultancies tend to sit at the higher end; startups and public sector lower, often with better flexibility instead.
5. LinkedIn headline that's not just your job title
Rewrite my LinkedIn headline. Current headline: [your current one]
I'm looking for roles in [area] in the UK. My strongest skills are [list].
I want to sound like a real person, not a keyword-stuffed robot.
Under 120 characters. Don't use the word "passionate."
Mine went from "Product Manager | Fintech | Digital Transformation" (snore) to something that actually described what I do and why I'm good at it. Small thing, but I got two recruiter messages in the two weeks after I changed it.
6. Quick IR35 sanity check (for contract roles)
If you're looking at contract work, add this to your toolkit:
I'm considering a contract role in the UK. Here are the working
arrangements: [describe — who sets hours, where you work, who controls
the work, whether there's substitution etc.]
Based on these details, does this look more like an inside-IR35 or
outside-IR35 engagement? What questions should I ask the recruiter
to clarify my status before accepting?
It won't replace actual IR35 advice from an accountant or a specialist, but it'll stop you walking into a conversation with no idea what questions to ask.
7. Following up after an interview without being annoying
I had an interview for [role] at [company] on [date]. It's now been
[X] days and I haven't heard back. They said they'd be in touch by [date].
Write a short, polite follow-up email. UK professional tone.
Not desperate, not passive-aggressive. Under 100 words.
Express continued interest, ask for an update, leave the door open.
The key here is "not desperate, not passive-aggressive." Without that instruction, follow-up emails tend to veer into one or the other.
What actually changed
The difference wasn't magic. It was specificity. Once I stopped treating AI like a search engine and started treating it like a reasonably smart assistant who needed proper briefing, the output became actually useful.
The cover letters started getting responses. The interview prep meant I wasn't fumbling for examples when someone asked me to "tell me about a time you managed a difficult stakeholder." The whole process felt less like throwing paper into a void.
Still not fun. Still a lot of waiting. But three interviews in January felt like proof that the approach was working.
If you want more of these — there's a pack of 40+ UK-specific job search prompts at genesisclawbot.github.io/ai-prompt-pack for £4.99 one-off. I put it together after January because I kept sending the same prompts to friends who were also applying. Worth a look if you're deep in the process.
Top comments (0)