Stuck on writing your software engineer cover letter? Read this guide to help you engineer a cover letter awesome enough to develop into an IT interview.
You’ve come across the ideal job opening for a software engineer position.
It’s got it all—autonomy, challenging projects, a great company culture, and awesome colleagues to work with and help you grow.
But first—
Before you can score that IT interview, you need to write a software engineer cover letter that compels them to read your CV and call you in for a meeting.
It’s not as tough as it sounds.
In this article, you’ll get:
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Do you still need to write a CV? These guides (with examples) may come in handy:
Let’s begin with two software engineer cover letter samples:
In this first example, get acquainted with Zadie.
Zadie has been a software engineer for several years. Her contract has now expired, so she is on the market looking for new opportunities.
Zadie has experience in web development and mobile applications, which is exactly what MASS Gaming is looking for. They want someone with JavaScript, Django, and Python, among other things.
Let’s see Zadie knock it out of the park with this senior software engineer cover letter example:
Zadie King
Software Engineer
070 0534 5754
zadie.king@email.com
linkedin.com/in/zadieking
30 August 2019
Martha D. Porter
IT Director
MASS Gaming
99 Park Row
EFAILNEWYDD
LL53 7WB
Dear Martha,
I was excited to come across the job opening for a senior software engineer at MASS Gaming, not only because my current contract is coming to an end, but also because I have been a big fan of the mobile productivity apps you’ve created over the years. Having 4+ years of professional experience in shipping code quickly, Python programming, and both SQL and NoSQL expertise, I believe I have the tech skills necessary to be a perfect addition for your team.
According to the job listing, it appears you’re looking for a senior software engineer who is particularly efficient at software performance optimization and managing deployments. At my recent position with Cork App Design, I successfully participated in weekly software deployments on a Kubernetes cluster (Google Cloud Platform). My implementation of performance analyses contributed directly to a 50% increase year-over-year in workflow improvements. I am certain that I’d be able to bring about similar results as a senior software engineer at MASS Gaming.
Aside from the awesome productivity and finance apps you put out, I have always admired your company’s dedication and support of the open source community. I would love to be a part of the amazing work culture, share in the wins, and contribute to your successes.
Can we arrange a face-to-face or telephone call in order for me to explain how I could help with MASS Gaming’s upcoming challenges?
Yours sincerely,
Zadie King
070 0534 5754
zadie.king@email.com
What’d you think?
Zadie is sure to impress the IT recruiter, hiring manager, or Director of IT with this software engineering cover letter example.
Now, what if you haven’t any software engineering experience?
Don’t worry.
Meet Zadie’s twin brother, Zachary.
Though they’re the same age, Zack doesn’t have professional software engineering job experience. During the time Zadie worked on her IT career, Zack here took a few years after university to backpack around southeast Asia.
Zack’s applying for a junior software engineer job opening at MASS Gaming, an entry-level position which will help him hone and develop his software engineering skills.
Let’s see how Zack’s cover letter for entry level software engineer still wows the CTO:
Zachary King
078 6023 3750
zachary.king@email.com
linkedin.com/in/zacharyking
30 August 2019
Martha D. Porter
Director of Information Technology
MASS Gaming
99 Park Row
EFAILNEWYDD
LL53 7WB
Dear Martha,
After completing my Bachelor of Software Engineering (B.SE.) and volunteering around the world for the last few years, I’m ready to settle down at home here in Efailnewydd. As I freelanced on various software engineering projects to help sustain my travels, I was delighted to find the junior software engineer opening at MASS Gaming.
In the junior software engineer job description from the careers page on your website, it says you’re looking for someone with a basic knowledge of mobile app development, Swift, and Visual Basic .NET. While freelancing, I was hired to work on over 15 different mobile applications, both for Android and iOS, while utilising Swift, Visual Basic .NET, ASP.NET, Ruby, and other technologies. I am certain my remote work portfolio (enclosed) makes me a top contender for the junior software engineer role.
I would appreciate the opportunity to talk with you more about how my software engineering university studies and contracted jobs give me an advantage in helping MASS Gaming meet its upcoming IT and development goals.
Yours sincerely,
Zachary King
078 6023 3750
zachary.king@email.com
There you have it.
You’ve now seen two software engineer cover letter examples that will set the benchmark for other candidates and is sure to score an IT interview.
Now—
Let’s go through each step of writing a top-performing cover letter for software engineer jobs of your own.
If you’re feeling short on time, don’t worry. We’ll give you simple templates for every portion of your technical cover letter. All you need to do is fill in the blanks.
Is your software engineer CV not optimised? See our dedicated CV guide: Software Engineer CV Template—25+ Examples and Writing Tips
Here is how to create a software engineer cover letter sure to win an interview:
Were you thinking of diving right in and writing your software engineer cover letter?
Hold up a sec.
Cover letter content has a dependency relationship with the software engineering cover letter format. See, the second thing the CTO notices is your first sentence. The first thing they notice? The layout of your cover letter template.
Want a software engineer cover letter with little entropy?
Here’s how to format a cover letter effectively:
Expert Hint: A study by the University of Minnesota says that “spelling errors, poor grammar, and poor organisation” are the biggest issues when writing CVs and application letters. On top of that, one of the most important factors for a successful cover letter is listing the specific job title, so never turn in a generic cover letter.
A headless browser may be useful for test automation, but a headless software engineer cover letter is useless.
Not only that—
The header of your software engineer cover letter should resemble the one on your CV.
Each needs to include your first and last name and contact information. Adding your job title or a branding statement is optional.
The cover letter goes further than the software engineer CV, in that it also needs to include the date of writing and the company’s details, just as any formal letter would.
Check out this easy cover letter heading template:
[ Your Full Name]
[ Your Job Title ] (Optional)
[ Phone Number ]
[ Email Address ]
[ LinkedIn Profile ]
[ Date of Writing ]
[ IT Director’s First & Last Name ]
[ IT Director’s Job Title ]
[ Company’s Name ]
[ Company’s Street Address ]
[ City, State, Zip Code ]
Easy as coding a “Hello world!” HTML page, right?
Double your impact with a matching CV and cover letter combo. Use our cover letter builder and make your application documents pop out.
Want to try a different look? There’s 18 more. A single click will give your document a total makeover. Pick a cover letter template here.
Like a fun, perfectly coded mobile game, you want the IT manager to become immersed in your software engineering cover letter.
How?
It starts with a compelling and informative cover letter introduction.
First, address the employer by name. Recruiters, hiring managers, and IT managers love personalised cover letters, and you can easily find their names on LinkedIn or the company website.
Next, start the cover letter by informing them about the position you’re applying for and a brief look at your professional career background so far.
Here’s a fill-in-the-blanks template to copy, alter, and use for yourself:
Dear [IT Manager’s Name]:
I came across the job listing for the [Position Title] position at [Startup or Company Name], and it excited me immediately. As a [Previous IT Job Title] with [Number of Years] years of professional experience, I have become highly skilled in [e.g., Python, HTML, JavaScript, ASP.NET, VB.NET, C/C++, Django, Ruby on Rails, Objective C, MATLAB, C#, mySQL, Arduino]. I am certain that my experience and background make me an excellent candidate to help you meet your upcoming IT goals.
Mention the specific job sought, the specific job requirements that you can fulfil (taken directly from the wording in the job posting), and highlight your education, certifications, work experience, skills, abilities, interests and aspirations that directly relate to that specific job (a bullet-format often works well for these items). Remember: The employer has a ‘problem’ (i.e., a vacancy in a specific job); and you must demonstrate that you're the ‘solution’ to that problem—in terms of providing a solid ‘fit’ for that open position.
Expert Hint: Show a bit of enthusiasm! Recent research has shown a direct correlation between the happiness of a software developer and the quality of their output, so exude passion for development on your software engineer cover letter.
The middle part of your software engineer cover letter—
This portion needs to match your IT skills, knowledge of developer duties, and past accomplishments to the software engineering role.
How?
Open the software engineer job description and find the specific responsibilities of the candidate they’re looking to hire. In your software engineer cover letter, explain how your experience and abilities have prepared you for this position.
Check out this software engineer cover letter example:
Inside the job description, it says that [Startup or Company Name] is looking for someone with skills and experience in [e.g., APIs, jQuery, HTML5, XML, Java, dBase, Oracle, Embedded C, R, AWS, Azure, IBM Cloud, Google Cloud Platform, etc.]. Well at my most recent job as a [Job Title or Position Name] with [Name of Current or Most Recent Company], I successfully [Give One or Two Responsibilities and How You Carried Them Out. Use Numbers to Be More Effective]. I am sure that I could bring that same knowledge and level of commitment to work at [Startup or Company Name].
Expert Hint: Writing a cover letter for an experienced software engineer? A Microsoft study found that skills for management in software development vary greatly from leadership in other domains. Focus more on soft skills and emotional intelligence over technical skills.
Whether writing a cover letter for a software engineer internship or experienced software engineer, drop some compliments.
Why?
Yes, they’re definitely more interested in your software engineering competence, tech skills, and IT abilities. However, they also want to see that you want to be there and how well you’d fit in on the team.
Check out this example:
I particularly admire that, at [Name of Startup], you [Give an Example or Two of Something You Applaud the Company for]. These principles perfectly match my own professional beliefs and values, and earning a spot on the team would be a great chance for me to learn and cultivate further technical skills at [Startup or Company Name].
To close a cover letter, ask for a meeting (don’t say interview), whether face-to-face, over the phone, or on a video chat session.
Highlight your proposition, and tell them you’re eager to talk more about how you see yourself fitting into their IT team and helping them to grow.
Here’s a sample software engineer cover letter closing to use as a guide:
Could we arrange a meeting or phone call in order for me to go over how I believe my software engineering skills might help [Name of Startup or Company] attain its near-future goals and objectives?
Sincerely,
[Digital Signature] (optional)
[First Name & Last Name]
[Phone Number]
[Email Address]
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Here’s how to write a software engineer cover letter as error-free as the code you deploy:
Got any questions on how to talk up your software engineering skills and IT abilities? Need more templates? Check out these free MS Word Cover Letter Templates. Need a more general guide on how to write a cover letter? Why don’t you leave a comment below, and we’ll chat. Thanks for reading!
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Dave is a career expert whose articles cover various topics related to job applications. He created numerous advice pieces for ResumeLab UK to help readers improve their chances of landing great jobs using well-researched, data-driven tips.
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