Ugh, THIS. 👆
Listen, it's gotten so bad that almost all my Upwork job postings now get flooded with these AI-written proposals that all sound exactly the same. And the worst part? Some folks don't even bother to check what the AI spits out - I had someone apply recently where their cover letter was responding to requirements I didn't even list!
Here's my automatic reject list:
Proposals that start with that overly formal "I am writing to express my keen interest..." (Just talk like a normal person!)
Those that somehow manage to be both extremely detailed and completely vague at the same time
Cover letters that read like they were written by a corporate robot trying to sound human
And don't even get me started on Upwork's AI evaluation tool - it actually FAVORS these AI-written proposals! I turned that garbage off real quick.
Look, I get it. You're trying to be efficient, save time, whatever. But here's the thing - I'm not looking for perfection. I'm looking for someone who actually read my job post and took 5 minutes to write their own thoughts about it. Even if it's not perfectly polished.
Pro tip: If you're going to use AI (which honestly, fine for grammar and structure), at least read what it wrote and make it sound like YOU. Because right now, I'm getting the same cover letter 20 times with slightly different words, and it's driving me nuts.
NOTE: And no, starting your cover letter with "BANANA" because ChatGPT told you to doesn't make it better. Yes, this actually happened. 🤦♂️