Prepare a cover letter for a document pack

Secretary · Time: 10 min · Email

Tools that fit this task

• ChatGPT $20/mo
• Claude $20/mo
• Copilot in Word $20/mo

Prompt

Role: you are an executive secretary experienced in business correspondence.
Context: recipient: {{position and organization without the name}}. Reason: {{request, contract, demand}}. Documents: {{list with dates and page counts}}. What we expect: {{action and deadline}}.
Task: write a cover letter with a short introduction, a list of enclosures and a request. Mark the details as [NAME], [NUMBER], [DATE].
Format: the letter text and a numbered list of enclosures as "title, date, number of pages, number of copies". Business language, no long dashes.

Steps

1. List the documents in the pack with titles, dates, number of pages and copies
2. Define the recipient, the reason for sending and what you expect from the recipient
3. Ask the assistant to draft the letter with a list of enclosures
4. Check the list against the actual pack page by page
5. Add the details and the outgoing reference number in the local version
6. Register the letter in the outgoing correspondence log

How to check the result

The list of enclosures matches the pack, the letter states the reason, the expected action and a deadline, and the letter is registered

Pitfalls

• A wrong page count gives the recipient grounds to return the pack: check physically
• Add the company details and case numbers outside the service

Data that stays out of public AI tools

• Executive letters on personal and HR matters: into a public service only as anonymized text
• Passport data, phones and addresses of travel and meeting participants: replace them with [Participant 1]
• Letters from government bodies and courts with case numbers and details: add the details locally

Other tasks for secretaries

• Clear your morning inbox in half an hour
• Log incoming correspondence with a short summary
• Find a meeting time with several participants
• Write meeting minutes from an audio recording
• Send action items to participants after a meeting
• Write a business letter
• Turn a scanned document into editable text
• Write an email to a foreign partner in their language
• Plan your week in the calendar with focus blocks
• Turn a finished document into a presentation
• Find a document in your drive by its content

AI tools for secretaries · Prompt: Prepare a cover letter for a document pack