Software Engineering Cover Letter

Whether you’re a graduate looking to start your career or an experienced software engineer seeking a new challenge, you’ll need to write an impressive cover letter to reach your goals.

Software engineering is a competitive field. Standing out from the crowd and getting hired by a top company can be a challenge. But with our help and guidance, you can learn to grab their attention and boost your chances.

People sometimes overlook the importance of a cover letter and instead focus all their time and energy on creating a resume. But what those applicants fail to realize, is that it’s often the cover letter that can make the biggest impact.

Unlike a resume (also known as a curriculum vitae or CV), a cover letter gives you room to be creative. It allows you to show your enthusiasm and passion for the position. Where a CV is a long detailed document containing facts about your academic and employment background, a cover letter is much shorter and more specific. It should address employer questions such as:

• Why do you want to work for us?
• What motivates you as a person?
• What makes you suitable for this role?
• Where do you see your future?

A cover letter is often the first document an employer will read. It gives them a first impression of you as an individual and provides valuable insight into your personality.

Since you want to write a cover letter for a software engineering role, you must be aware of exactly what to include and what not to include. Remember that even the smallest of mistakes  can distract the employer, and affect your chances of securing the job.

But fear not, this article will go through everything you need to know to write an impressive software engineering cover letter.

Grab Their Attention with Your Writing Style

Even in a technical area like software engineering, one of the first things to think about is your writing style. You need to use the appropriate structure, content, and tone in your letter to keep the employer engaged.

The writing style must be professional, with a formal tone throughout. Be cohesive and avoid any breaks in the flow as this can distract the employer. Keep the following points in mind:

1. First, list all the points that you want to include in your letter. This will ensure cohesion once you actually start writing.
2. In terms of length, keep it crisp and to the point. The employer doesn’t have time to read long essays.
3. It’s best to divide your ideas into 3 or 4 paragraphs, each paragraph highlighting different aspects of your professional life.
4. Make sure the content is well structured, one idea after the other. Every paragraph should be geared around the overall goal of getting hired.
5. A good starting point is to outline why you’re applying to the company and why you think you are suitable for the role.
6. You should then discuss more generally, your passion for software engineering. Mention any relevant skills and interests.
7. Make sure you include any educational credentials which are related to the role.
8. It’s good to add a few lines about the latest projects you’ve worked on.
9. Describe your experience of working in previous roles, and how that experience would benefit the company.
10. After discussing your education and work experience you should write about your skills. This is one of the most important aspects of the cover letter.
11. You must include both hard and soft skills. For example, you can mention your expertise in dealing with Java, SQL, and XML along with being efficient in communicating with other teams in the organization.
12. Remember to proof-read your cover letter. You can also get a friend to read through your copy to make absolutely sure there are no mistakes.

If you feel like this is too much work or you simply don’t have the time, there are other options. You could consider hiring a professional writer to help you. Provide the writer with a bulleted list of points that you want to include, and leave the rest to them.

Remember that your main aim is to stand out and create a lasting impression. You need to really emphasize how the company would benefit from your knowledge and technical skills.

What to Include in Your Software Engineering Cover Letter

It’s important to understand exactly what to include, and what not to include. Unprofessional or off-topic content that doesn’t relate to the job, or even the field of software engineering, could crush your chances of getting hired.

• Be positive about your vision of the company and identify yourself with the brand of the organization. You must iterate why you think the company should hire you.
• You should always mention what attracted you to the job profile. Discuss your skills and mention your educational credentials.
• If you’re struggling to get started, try something like:

“I have X years of experience in software engineering and have played a key role in several projects including A, B, and C.”

You can go on to talk about your role in each of the previous projects.

• Be direct when stating your skills and experience. The employer needs a clear understanding of your background.
• Research the company history and demonstrate your knowledge of the products they offer.
• Highlight your strong work ethic and provide real-life examples to prove the point.
• Explain how perfectly you fit the job profile. Emphasize what you can offer, and how the company will benefit from your skills and experience.

A well-written cover letter should lead your potential employer to seriously consider your application. It should create excitement and enthusiasm. Use language that keeps the hiring manager reading, and inspires them to read through your entire resume in detail - even if they’ve received hundreds of applications from other software engineers.

Software Engineering Cover Letter Sample

If you’re ready to see these tips in action, here’s a sample cover letter. You can use this as a template if you’re stuck or need inspiration as you work through those job apps.

Dear Hiring Manager,

My name is Rinkan and I'm thrilled to be applying for the position of Software Engineer at PineCone Tech. I’m an expert in building world-class software systems that exceed client expectations. Thank you for this opportunity to showcase my technical and leadership skills as part of PineCone's expert team.

During my previous stint at Hobbs & Muriel, I was in charge of developing creative solutions across various software platforms. I was a key player in developing our mobile-based accounting software for the pharmaceutical industry. In 2019, I was instrumental in developing a content management system and successfully executed the relocation of all client content from our legacy platform to the new system.

I’m also aware of the need for continuous process improvements. While I was in Hobbs and Muriel, we faced repeated delays due to Quality Assurance challenges. To solve this issue, I designed and developed an automated bug tracking system. It successfully detected issues in the development cycle and considerably reduced the number of bugs reported during QA reviews.

I appreciate your time and consideration and look forward to learning more about the software engineer position. I'm excited about the opportunity to leverage my skills, and I'm eager to prove my commitment to developing leading software solutions for PineCone Tech.

Sincerely,

Rinkan Roy

Explain Your Software Engineering Skills

Highlight your skills with confidence and precision. In order to land a coveted software engineering role, your letter should reflect your expertise in coding and interest in Java, SQL, and .NET. Try to also mention any testing and debugging experience. Besides technical skills, emphasize your passion to work within a team and list other transferable skills such as communication, punctuality, negotiation, and leadership.

That concludes our guide on writing the perfect cover letter. Hopefully, you found the article useful. The only thing left to do is wish you the best of luck in securing your new job!

For further insights into software engineering take a look at our blog. It contains many more posts on the subject, including 10 Job Interview Questions Every Software Developer Should Know.

Stand Out From The Crowd

To further increase your chances of landing your dream job, enroll in our Software Engineering Bootcamp. Along with your shiny new cover letter, our online course will teach you essential skills to help you get hired fast. You’ll benefit from expert mentors that are focused on your future success as a software engineer, as well as an in-depth curriculum that includes both front-end and back-end programming.