Software engineers need to have more than just general knowledge regarding software development. Although the software engineer position certainly benefits from knowledge of skills like programming languages, landing the software engineer job you want is also largely about your communication skills. You need to write the perfect cover letter to get a great job. Here’s how you can use a software engineer cover letter sample to find the right job.
To start with your professional cover letter, you might first want to start with an example of a great-looking software developer cover letter. Here’s an amazing starting point.
Dear Mr. Smith,
Over 15 years of experience as a software engineer has taught me one thing: your technical skills are useless if you can’t back them up with critical thinking. I believe that all the computer science education in the world can’t teach you the importance of interpersonal relationships, especially in the field of software engineering, which so often relies on teamwork. That’s why I’m excited to apply for the senior software engineer role at Company Name.
I am well-versed in website creation; over the past six years at my current employer, I have built and managed six high-traffic websites, including three e-commerce websites, which collectively pull in over ten million individual viewers per month. My skills in JavaScript and Python, as well as general web development, have made it possible for me to create and manage these websites from the ground up.
I believe that I would make a great addition to the team at this new job. I look forward to hearing from you about when we can sit down and talk about the paths that I hope to lead your company down over the next ten years and beyond.
Sincerely,
Edwin Ray
This is a shorter cover letter than you’ll likely end up actually turning in. However, this gives you a great start to the cover letter template that you can build from.
Your cover letter should always start with a great header. This will typically include your contact information, including your phone number and job networking links like your LinkedIn profile. For your salutation, always start with the hiring manager’s name. Generic cover letter openers like “Dear hiring manager” tend to come off as lazy and unhelpful in a job application. From there, you can write the rest of your cover letter.
Immediately in your first paragraph, you need something to hook the hiring manager and show that you’re different from the average job seeker. In this example, the applicant opens with the best feature from his software engineer resume: he has over 15 years of professional experience. He also leads that into his personal mantra, that you need both skills and critical thinking to succeed. This is a strong opener that a recruiter is likely to stop and look at.
Fill the second paragraph with as many of your certifications and experiences as you can. Check the job description to see what the potential employer actually wants from you, then try to cover as much of it as possible throughout your cover letter writing. Here, the applicant mentions having created multiple websites, pulling in millions of viewers daily, as well as skills in programming languages. If you wanted to include even more experience, then you could add it to bullet points underneath the second paragraph.
The third paragraph is also your final paragraph. This is where you wrap up the cover letter writing with a call to action, specifically asking for the job interview. This is one of the most important parts of writing a cover letter: the fact that you actually get to ask for an interview. Now that you’ve shown off your work experience, hard and soft skills, and knowledge of the field, you should feel confident in asking for an interview. Sign off with your full name.
A cover letter is always important for any job search, whether you’re looking at an especially advanced job application or an entry-level application. The cover letter lets you talk directly to the hiring manager, discuss more of your information from your resume template, and ask directly for a job interview. If you’re not sure how to write a cover letter, then you can use the cover letter builder from ResumeNerd to create yours more effectively.
Software engineer jobs often rely heavily on technical skills, and that means you should incorporate plenty of discussion around your skills as a whole, with discussion on computer science concepts like SQL and Java. Additionally, especially if you’re planning to apply for a higher-level position, project management skills are often key.
Although this software engineer cover letter example includes over 15 years of experience, the building blocks remain the same whether you have 30 years of experience or 30 days. The key thing to remember is that you want to showcase yourself as being a better choice than any other job seekers who are competing with you for the job.
