Claude 5 Family for Job Search: Model by Model

Anthropic dropped Claude 5 as three separate models at once: Opus 5, Sonnet 5, Fable 5. Each one has its own character, its own strengths. And if you just open claude.ai and type "fix my resume" - honestly, you're leaving most of the potential on the table, like driving a Ferrari in first gear.

This isn't about which model is "the best". They're all good at different things. This is specifically about job searching: what fits where, and which prompts actually work.

What changed in Claude 5 compared to Claude 4

Short version: Claude 4 was already capable, but sometimes gave a "nice answer" instead of the "right answer". It tried to please. Claude 5, especially Opus 5, flatters less and analyses more. When you throw it a CV and ask for feedback, it doesn't write "wow, great experience!". It writes "here are three specific problems".

Fable 5 is a new model that didn't exist before. Built for narrative and style. It sounds human. For cover letters, it's a completely different conversation.

• Opus 5: most powerful, slowest, most expensive via API. For deep document work.
• Sonnet 5: balance of speed and quality. Good for daily use, coaching, interview prep.
• Fable 5: specialises in human-sounding text, narrative, tone. Perfect for cover letters and LinkedIn about sections.

Opus 5: when your CV needs to be taken apart completely

Opus 5 is the model worth opening when you have 15-20 minutes and want real feedback, not compliments. It holds large context well - drop your full CV text, the job description, and ask for a specific analysis.

By the way, if you also want an ATS score on top of that - the AI CV Analyzer does that separately and shows line by line where you're actually losing points. Opus 5 and Trackr complement each other well: one gives nuance, the other gives a structured score.

Prompts for Opus 5 (CV editing)

1. 1Deep analysis prompt: "Here's my CV [paste text] and here's the job description [paste JD]. Don't give general comments. Give me a list of specific bullet points that are weak, and show me how to rewrite each one for this role. If anything in my CV contradicts the job posting, say so directly."
2. 2Prompt for 2022 gap: "I have a gap in my CV from February to December 2022. I left Ukraine due to the full-scale invasion. Help me phrase this in the CV and cover letter so it doesn't sound like an excuse, just a fact."
3. 3Prompt for EU market CV: "Here's my Ukrainian CV [text]. I need a version for Poland/Germany/Netherlands. Adapt it to local standards: date format, level of detail, whether to include a photo, whether to write an objective summary."

Sonnet 5: the daily coach that doesn't get annoying

Sonnet 5 is the model you open in the morning before a recruiter call. Or in the evening after a rejection, when you want to figure out what went wrong. It responds fast, doesn't choke on large contexts, and keeps the conversation tone without unnecessary formality.

For interview prep, it's genuinely excellent. You can literally have a conversation: "ask me a behavioural question", answer it, and get STAR feedback without having to re-explain your context every time. If you want more structured prep tracking, the AI Coach in Trackr saves progress between sessions - but Sonnet 5 as a live conversation partner is irreplaceable.

Prompts for Sonnet 5 (coaching and prep)

1. 1Technical screening simulation: "You're a technical recruiter at [company name or company type]. Role is [job title]. Run a 15-minute phone screen with me. Ask questions one at a time, wait for my answer, give a short comment, then move to the next one."
2. 2Post-interview feedback: "I just had an interview. Here are the questions they asked and my answers [paste]. Tell me where I sounded unsure, where my answer was too long, and what specifically to improve before next time."
3. 3Salary question prep: "I'm going to a final interview for [role] at [company type]. My current level is [amount]. Market range I'm seeing is [range]. Help me prepare an answer to the salary expectations question: confident, without over-explaining."

Fable 5: cover letters that sound like a person, not a bot

OK, honestly: most AI cover letters are awful. "I am writing to express my sincere interest in the position of..." - and the recruiter has already closed the tab. Fable 5 is built differently. It's trained to make text sound like a real voice, not a LinkedIn Premium template.

But there's a catch: Fable 5 doesn't read minds. You need to give it character. If you throw in a prompt with no personality, you'll still get something generic, just prettier. That's why the prompts below include specific details about you.

Prompts for Fable 5 (cover letters)

1. 1Basic cover letter with voice: "Write a cover letter for [role] at [company or type]. Here's my key info: [2-3 sentences about experience]. Here's what genuinely caught my attention about this company: [specific detail - product, article, approach]. Tone: direct, no corporate speak, don't start with 'I am writing to'. Length - 3 short paragraphs."
2. 2Cover letter after a break/relocation: "I need a cover letter for [role]. I have [X] years of experience, but in 2022 I relocated due to the full-scale invasion and spent a year doing [insert - freelancing, volunteering, learning]. Don't make it dramatic, but don't hide it either. Write it so it reads as part of my journey, not a red flag."
3. 3Version for a strong-culture company: "This company [name] has a very specific culture: [2-3 words or a quote from their site]. I want the cover letter to show I get it, without looking like I'm just parroting their slogans. Find a way to show my fit through a specific example from my experience."

How to combine all three in one job search

The real workflow looks something like this. Once every two weeks you sit down with Opus 5 and do a serious CV audit for a specific role type. You get a concrete list of changes. You make them.

Daily or before each interview - Sonnet 5. Quick conversation, question simulation, feedback. No rituals, just open it and talk. Meanwhile you're tracking your applications in Trackr, so you don't get lost in 40 open tabs.

You write each cover letter for a specific job through Fable 5. Not adapting a template - writing fresh each time. Takes 10-15 minutes, but the result is very different from generic text.

• Opus 5 - once every 1-2 weeks, deep CV audit and adaptation for market/role
• Sonnet 5 - before every interview or when you have a specific job search question
• Fable 5 - for every individual application, cover letters and LinkedIn about sections

What Claude 5 still won't replace

Claude 5 is a powerful tool. But it doesn't know your company, can't sense the team culture from a LinkedIn page, and can't decide for you whether a role is the right fit. It gives you text and structure - but the decisions and context stay with you.

One more thing: prompts matter more than the model. You can get a mediocre result from Opus 5 with a bad prompt, and an excellent result from Sonnet 5 with a precise one. So always give specific context: role, company, your experience, and exactly what you want as output.

• Include role and company in every prompt - even if it seems obvious
• Say what you don't want: "no generic phrases", "don't write 'I am writing to'", "no bullet points"
• Ask for iterations: "rewrite only the first paragraph" works better than "make it better"
• If you don't like the result, explain why - don't just say "try again"