Software engineering is a vital field. Professionals employed in this field play a huge role in nearly every technological device and system we enjoy, today. Software engineers work in different fields such as application development, video game development, cyber security, and network development.
To get into this field, you need a strong resume and cover letter to apply for roles. This guide will cover how to write an effective software engineer cover letter and resume with samples and templates to help you get started.
Software Engineer Cover Letter Guide
If you want to work in a software engineer position for any company, a cover letter is an excellent way to highlight your relevant experience, soft skills, and technical skills. Your cover letter needs to address your eligibility while conveying enthusiasm for the position. It should also include your achievements and a brief overview.
Why Does Your Software Engineer Cover Letter Matter?
Your software engineering cover letter matters because many professionals will apply for the same roles as you. You need to be able to show the recruiter why you are better suited to the job. In some cases, other candidates may be more qualified or experienced than you.
In these cases, a potential employer relies on your cover letter to determine if you’re better suited, despite having lower qualifications. It allows them to read a summary of your resume and see your highlighted strengths, such as technical skills, communication skills, experience, and education. There are various cover letter formats that will ensure all the desired information is included.
Essential Components of Your Software Engineer Cover Letter
To craft the perfect cover letter for a software engineering position, you need to include the following components. These will ensure that your expertise and passion for the role are covered in an organized manner.
- Heading. Cover letter headers should be the first thing that employers see. It includes your full name, phone number, email address, and any relevant links to your portfolio or LinkedIn account. This is essential for the hiring manager to be able to contact you if they’re interested in your application.
- Introduction. The cover letter introduction section gives the reader a summary of your skills, qualifications, and experiences. It also covers the role you want to occupy in the company. This part needs to be short while explaining why you’re best for the job and why they should choose you instead of other candidates.
- Skills, experience, and accomplishments. When you are done introducing yourself, the next section should go into detail about your key skills and hands-on experience. This part highlights training and education as well as the programming languages you are proficient in. It can also include any notable projects you have taken part in.
- Call to Action. This is the final paragraph and it is for summarizing your interest in the job. It also includes an expression of interest in scheduling an interview to chat about the position. You can also thank the hiring manager for reviewing your application.
- Signature. This is the last section of the cover letter. It includes a professional closing phrase and your full name along with your signature. If you are emailing the cover letter then you just type out your name.
5 Tips for Writing a Strong Software Engineer Cover Letter
Listed below are five tips for writing a strong cover letter for a software engineering position. These tips can be used alongside the essential components listed above to create a solid cover letter.
- Avoid generic greetings. One of the most important rules is to avoid generic greetings such as “Dear hiring manager”. It is better to find the full name of the hiring manager and address them directly. This information can be obtained from the company website or even the job posting. If you can’t find the hiring manager’s name, address it to the company.
- Highlight your qualifications. Your cover letter must show that you meet the requirements of the job. It helps to mention why your qualifications and experience in software engineering adequately meet the demands of the job that you’re applying for.
- Align your skills with the job ad. Include any relevant skills you have that align with the job description. For instance, if the job requires knowledge of Python, be sure to point out that you are proficient in this programming language.
- Add metrics to your achievement descriptions. Companies like to see proof of your claims. One way to do this is by listing your metrics to highlight the impact of your ideas or contribution to past projects. For instance, you can add that software you developed generated a 15 percent increase in traffic and saw a 20 percent reduction in downtime.
- Research the company. Highlighting some things you know about the company such as their products, accomplishments, reputation, corporate culture, or community involvement can show the hiring manager that you are already invested in the company.
Software Engineer Cover Letter Example
A good software engineer cover letter needs to prompt the hiring manager to read the resume. It should firmly summarize the content of the resume to prove that you are a good fit for the role. Here is a strong sample cover letter for a software engineering position.
Software Engineer Cover Letter Sample
[Name of Applicant]
[Street address]
[City, State]
[Phone number]
[Email address]
Dear [Hiring Manager],
I am excited to apply for the role of Senior Software Engineer at [Company]. My prior experience and skills are an excellent fit for this role, as I have 20 years of experience in the software engineering field. I thrive on developing quality systems that meet and surpass the expectations of the end-users.
In my previous position at [Former Company], I was responsible for coming up with innovative solutions and developing them for different software platforms. I also took the lead on developing expense-tracking software for real estate clients. This software was largely successful in the industry with over six million active users today.
I’ve developed useful skills such as problem-solving and critical thinking skills throughout my years of experience. When [Former Company] faced delays due to issues with quality assurance, I recommended the creation and implementation of a bug-tracking system to automate the entire process. This led to 40 percent fewer defects on average.
Thank you for taking the time to review my application. I look forward to further discussing the role and all that it entails. I respect [Company’s] mission to [company mission] and would be honored to contribute to that. I would sincerely appreciate the opportunity to demonstrate my devotion to developing revolutionary software solutions for [Company] and hope to be considered for this postion].
Sincerely,
[Name of Applicant]
Software Engineer Resume Guide
Like a software engineer cover letter, a resume should also follow certain guidelines in order to appeal to the hiring manager. It is a very important document that is submitted alongside the cover letter.
Why Does Your Software Engineer Resume Matter?
Your software engineer resume matters because it highlights your achievements and skills that make you suitable for the job. The first person that views it is the recruiter, so it needs to be compelling enough to get you shortlisted for an interview.
Your resume also answers some of the questions that a hiring manager would ask you during an interview, specifically on educational qualifications, work experience, achievements, and skills. It allows you to list your relevant qualifications and increases the likelihood of being called back for an interview.
Essential Components of Your Software Engineer Resume
Resumes generally have similar elements as cover letters, such as contact information, education, professional experience, and skills To write a solid software engineer resume, you’ll want to be sure you’ve included the essential components listed below.
- Contact Information. This section is usually at the top and allows the hiring manager to contact you, if necessary. It should contain your first and last name, phone number, email address, and LinkedIn profile.
- Education. This section covers your educational qualifications. It is often written sequentially, starting with your highest level of education and working your way down to your high school diploma. It should contain the institutions’ names, type of achievement or award, and year of graduation. You can also add any academic honors, study abroad participation, research projects, and relevant coursework.
- Work Experience. This section often includes jobs, internships, volunteer work, special projects, and co-ops. To complete this section, write the position title, starting and ending date, name of the organization, and its location. Lastly, include a short description of the duties and responsibilities you fulfilled during your time of employment.
- Skills. This part is just as important as the work experience section. It helps to check the required skills in the job ad and incorporate them into the resume, as long as it’s true. It could include both soft and hard skills that show the recruiter that you are a dynamic applicant.
- References. References don’t need to be listed on a resume, as they can be provided on request. However, if you need to share them, they should be listed in alphabetical order by name. Each one should include a name, phone number, and email address. Three references will suffice in most cases.
5 Tips for Writing a Strong Software Engineer Resume
Along with the essential components and structure of your resume, the tips provided below will help you craft an impressive professional resume.
- Limit the resume to one page. Hiring managers often have to go through many resumes when there is a job opening. Because of this, it is very important to make your resume concise and straight to the point. Focus on the relevant work experience and skills. If vital information can’t fit on one page, two pages would be the absolute limit.
- List relevant engineering skills. It may seem like a good plan to list all the possible skills for the software engineering role, but that is not necessary. When you list too many skills, a hiring manager can assume that your knowledge is broad, rather than deep. It is better to focus on skills that are directly relevant for engineering.
- Relate your skills to achievements. While writing your skills, note your accomplishments that support the skills you have listed. This can help you to illustrate that your skills have been put to the test and are useful.
- Tailor your resume to each job application. Your resume should be tailored to each job application. To do this, research the company and job ad and note any special requirements. Use that information to customize the resume and include the relevant requirements. Everything you list should be truthful and supported with evidence.
- Emphasize your projects. To craft a strong software engineer resume, you need to emphasize your software engineering projects, especially if you do not have much work experience. Projects you have worked on can replace work experience. Personal projects, work projects, and coding bootcamp projects are suitable for this purpose.
Software Engineer Resume Examples
A strong software engineer resume must contain all of the essential components and tips listed above. Below is a sample of how this section should look. Beyond that is a full resume template that you can use to build your own resume.
Software Engineer Resume Sample: The Job Experience Section
Software engineer
"Career Karma entered my life when I needed it most and quickly helped me match with a bootcamp. Two months after graduating, I found my dream job that aligned with my values and goals in life!"
Venus, Software Engineer at Rockbot
Orange Inc.
June 2018 – Sept 2021
- Engineered modern applications with SQL, Java, NoSQL, and JavaScript
- Deployed and integrated mobile software
- Built innovative web services and microservices
- Liaised with product managers and other professionals to identify clearly defined feature sets and minimum viable product requirements
- Used Cloud Foundry for developing on top of Kubernetes
- Integrated and deployed scripts to enhance continuous integration practices
- Cut downtown by 30 percent
Software Engineering Intern
Mellow Tech
January 2017 – May 2018
- Supported the testing and engineering process
- Worked with members of the product team on innovations and projects
- Assisted the software engineers in completing software for clients
- Took part in continuous identification, improvement, and measurement of processes.
- Completed maintenance on client programs
- Boosted coding efficiency by 30 percent
Sample Software Engineer Resume Template
[Name]
[Address]
[Telephone number]
[Email address]
Objective
[The objective highlights why you are a perfect fit for the job. It also summarizes your skills, qualities, and experiences.]
Education
[This section includes degrees as well as certifications or training you have taken part in.]
Work Experience
[Here, add your previous roles. If you have an extensive work history, you should focus on recent soft engineering jobs or closely related jobs.]
Skills
[this section lists your skills and proficiencies. Be sure to focus on skills that are relevant to the job ad.]
Software Engineer Resume Template Resources
- Indeed. You can choose the most suitable format and fully personalize it.
- Zety. This career resource offers hundreds of templates to choose from. It is unique because it tailors to professionals with varying levels of experience.
- Canva. Canva offers thousands of templates that can be fully personalized and customized.
Importance of a Software Engineer Cover Letter and Resume
Software engineer cover letters and resumes are important because they give prospective employers a first impression of you. They attest to your education, experience, skills, and overall eligibility for a position. Both documents allow hiring managers and recruiters to get an idea of who you are and how you can contribute to their mission.
Software Engineer Cover Letter and Resume FAQ
A software engineer cover letter should include your personal information, contact details, and a formal greeting. It must also contain your professional skills and achievements, and why you’re an ideal candidate for the job.
Prospective employers look for succinct and concise cover letters that summarize the content of the resume. They want to see your achievements and how they can be applied to the job role they’re hiring for.
Before writing the resume, do some extensive research on the company and the job ad. Learn about their products and company culture, as well as key requirements the company upholds. Be sure to list your achievements and provide metrics to support your achievements. Incorporate resume tips for organized structure and enhanced appeal.
The chronological format is probably the easiest for employers to navigate. It simply means that your work history and education are listed from most current to oldest. However, there are many free resume templates that include a build-in format so that all you have to do is fill in your information.
About us: Career Karma is a platform designed to help job seekers find, research, and connect with job training programs to advance their careers. Learn about the CK publication.
