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Free Tool

Does Your Cover Letter Just Restate Your Resume?

Paste both and we'll show you the word overlap and whether your cover letter is actually adding new value.

A weak cover letter is one that re-states the resume in paragraph form. A strong one introduces something the resume can't: a specific story, motivation for the company, or a transition explanation. This tool compares the two documents and shows you the word overlap plus the words unique to your cover letter — a quick gut check on whether it's pulling its weight.

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How it works

A few steps, no signup

  1. Step 1

    Paste your full resume text

  2. Step 2

    Paste your full cover letter text

  3. Step 3

    Submit for the comparison

When to use

The right moment

  • Before sending a cover letter you wrote in a rush
  • Diagnosing why your cover letters don't seem to help
  • Comparing two cover-letter drafts side by side

Examples

What you'll get

Good complement

Input: Resume (650w) + cover letter (320w, focused story)

Output: Verdict: Strong complement — only ~20% overlap.

Bullet-by-bullet rehash

Input: Resume (650w) + cover letter (450w, just restating roles)

Output: Verdict: Too much overlap — rewrite around one story.

What this tool isn't

Honest limitations

  • Word overlap is a proxy — even at 'good' overlap, a cover letter can still be generic. Read it aloud as a final check.
  • Tokenization is simple: word boundaries, stopwords removed. No stemming, so 'building' and 'built' count as separate words.
  • Nothing is uploaded; the comparison runs in your browser.

FAQ

Common questions

What's the difference between a cover letter and a resume?

The resume is a structured list of what you've done. The cover letter is a short story (250-400 words) explaining WHY this role and what specific story from your background makes you a fit. They should complement, not duplicate.

What's a healthy overlap percentage?

25-65% is healthy — some shared keywords are natural (your name, current role, key skills). Above 65% means the cover letter is mostly a recap and isn't earning its space.

Is my text uploaded anywhere?

No. The comparison runs entirely in your browser. Nothing leaves your device.

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Every tool above, plus AI job matching, one-click resume tailoring, and application tracking. Free to start.

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