Before we built CVeetje, we used ChatGPT for our own CVs. It worked. It worked pretty well. So why build a separate tool? Four specific reasons — and one honest reason to stick with ChatGPT.
What ChatGPT does well
- Rewriting text. Paste your old CV, paste the job, ask for a tailored version — you get something usable.
- Brainstorming framing. "My role was X, I achieved Y — what's that called in management speak?" is an excellent ChatGPT prompt.
- Cover letter drafts. Three versions, pick the best, polish. Every generic chatbot does this fine.
If you apply once a year, a dedicated tool isn't worth it. If you apply six times a month, or build CVs for a team, or work with different clients in different sectors each month, the friction starts to bite.
Where ChatGPT starts to grind
1. Your profile lives nowhere
Every new chat starts blank. You paste your work history again, your certs again, that one role from 2019 you always forget. Custom GPTs and projects help but don't enforce structure — the next time, the model phrases the same role slightly differently. Not wrong, but inconsistent. And consistency is what a CV needs, especially if a recruiter sees two from you.
CVeetje stores your profile as a structured data model. Each role, skill, education is a field. The AI fills it. On regeneration the factual layer stays identical — only framing changes.
2. Layout in ChatGPT is a chore
You get plain text or Markdown. For a real CV you pour it into Word or Docs, fight layout, pick fonts, align columns. Your "quick ChatGPT CV" is still thirty minutes of work.
A tool that produces text and PDF in one pass isn't a luxury — it's where the time lives. CVeetje renders five styles from the same data model.
3. AI tells in cover letters
Ask any LLM for a cover letter and you get: "With great enthusiasm, I am applying for the position of..." Every recruiter recognises this now. Not harmful — just unmemorable.
CVeetje runs every cover letter through a second humanizer pass. The prompt actively looks for AI tells (Wikipedia's "signs of AI writing" list is the source) and rewrites them to something a person would type on a Tuesday evening.
4. Honesty checks
LLMs are helpful by nature. Ask "make my CV stronger" and it will, without malicious intent, inflate a claim. "Helped the marketing team" becomes "led marketing strategy". CVeetje's prompts explicitly forbid this and a gatekeeper step checks whether revisions have honest grounds. Not security theatre — what keeps a CV usable across multiple applications without stumbling in an interview.
The honest part: when to stick with ChatGPT
Apply twice a year, technically comfortable, find Word fine? Open ChatGPT, prompt well, copy-paste into a template, done. You don't need CVeetje. It would be dishonest to claim otherwise.
The tipping point is roughly here:
- You apply more than two or three times a month.
- You work as a career coach or recruiter, making CVs for others.
- You're a freelancer sending tailored CVs with each proposal.
- You're a hiring manager or PO and want consistent material to send to clients or partners.
- You find re-pasting the same context tedious, or care that your profile stays in one place instead of scattered across chats.
The comparison in one table
| Aspect | ChatGPT (Plus) | CVeetje |
|---|---|---|
| Profile as data model | Custom GPT, limited | Structured, reusable |
| PDF output with layout | No — manual work | 5 styles, ready |
| ATS-friendly PDF | Depends on Word work | Built in |
| Cover letter without AI tells | Decent with good prompts | Second humanizer pass |
| Honesty checks | None specific | Gatekeeper on revisions |
| Filling your own DOCX template | Impractical | Upload + AI fills |
| Monthly cost | €22 (Plus) | €0 for 1 CV / €4.99 for 30 credits |
| Use your own API key | n/a | Yes — BYOK, 0 platform credits |
One thing ChatGPT does better
Open conversation. If you're not sure whether to apply, unclear which direction fits, or wondering what job title makes sense — open chat is perfect for that. Brainstorm in ChatGPT, bring the result to CVeetje once you know where you're heading. Two tools, two phases.
Read next
- Tailoring a CV in two minutes — how it works without the cringeThe "one CV for everything" advice is dead. Here's how to make a job-specific CV in two minutes without fighting Word.
- ATS systems in 2026 — what actually works, what's mythNo PDF panic, no table phobia, no nonsense about white space. A sober look at how modern ATS systems process your CV in 2026 — and what really matters.
- What a recruiter told us: "I see 200 CVs a day — here are the patterns"We spoke to corporate recruiters, agency consultants, and hiring managers. What stands out, what irritates, what moves a CV to the "yes" pile.