{"id":750,"date":"2021-12-29T14:23:07","date_gmt":"2021-12-29T12:23:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arc.dev\/developer-blog\/?p=750"},"modified":"2025-11-03T13:30:48","modified_gmt":"2025-11-03T05:30:48","slug":"software-engineer-cover-letter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arc.dev\/talent-blog\/software-engineer-cover-letter\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Write a Software Engineer Cover Letter w\/ Sample Template & Tips"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ah, the cover letter for software engineer jobs<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, these documents remain a crucial part of any development team job application \u2014 especially if you\u2019re applying for remote jobs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Along with your software developer resume<\/a>, a cover letter provides space for you to tell the recruiter a little more about yourself: not just about your technical skills and engineering team experience, but also about how you will contribute to the company. If used right, your cover letter should be able to show some of your true self and your personality \u2014 something a resume really can\u2019t do. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For developers, writing a cover letter can be a challenge, especially as the work you do can be quite technical. How do you describe your duties and responsibilities to a non-technical hiring manager or recruiter in a compelling, understandable way? And, at the same time, how to still<\/em> showcase your technical skills for any engineering leads or CTOs who might pick up your cover letter next?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t you worry! We\u2019ll break down what to include in a cover letter for a software developer, as well as some tips and advice for how to stand out among the sea of developer candidates you\u2019re competing against. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, before we get to the step-by-step guide, have a look just below for our example cover letter for software developers \u2014 a little extra inspiration to get you started! <\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Arc<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Sample Software Engineer Cover Letter (for Reference)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Here is a cover letter example for software development jobs. Feel free to copy and use as you wish, but make sure you tailor the content for each company to which you apply! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bianca B. Seward<\/strong>\nExperienced Cloud & Back-End Software Engineer\nbianca.bridgerton.seward.123@gmail.com\n+1 (555) 987-6543\ngithub.com\/biancabseward\/\nlinkedin.com\/in\/biancabridgertonseward\/\nbiancabseward.com\n\nJuly 2, 2022\n\nJeremy Lignetti \nSr. Technical Recruiter\nDigitalOcean\n101 Avenue of the Americas, 10th Floor \nNew York, NY 10013\n\nDear Jeremy:\n\nHaving recently come across your job posting for a senior cloud software engineer at DigitalOcean and subsequently reading the job description, I knew I had to apply immediately. As a New York City local who has earned her master\u2019s degree (computer science) and worked for top companies around Silicon Alley, this role seems like the ideal next step in my career.\n\nCurrently a cloud and back-end engineer at Apple\u2019s Cloud Services division, I manage a variety of tasks similar to what your job description mentions for this role. These include establishing secure cloud environments, ensuring uptime, building, designing, and deploying complex SaaS-based applications, and production monitoring. With over 7 years of experience around engineering and cloud services, particularly with CI\/CD, Docker Swarm, Golang, Java, and Python, I think I\u2019d be a great fit for taking on the challenges of this particular senior position.\n\nAt Apple, I was instrumental in overhauling the bug tracking and ticketing system on our cloud engineering team. Through these efforts, we were able to catch issues 30% earlier, on average. Prior to that, I led a cross-functional team to extend REST and API utilization internally, and this increased our productivity by about 15%. \n\nI\u2019d really appreciate the opportunity to speak with you and share more about how I can contribute to DigitalOcean's cloud efforts. Thank you in advance for considering my application, and I look forward to your reply!\n\nSincerely,\n\nBianca B. Seward\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
How to Write a Software Engineer Cover Letter<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Software development, and IT jobs generally, are pretty technical in nature. You\u2019d probably rather write code than write a resume cover letter! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But, luckily, the best cover letters are relatively short and sweet. Stick to three to four paragraphs and focus on explaining how your past experience is going to help the new company succeed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
These days, most cover letters are sent in the email body as text, rather than as a separate attachment. Include the job that you\u2019re applying for as the subject line of the letter and email to make it clear to the recruiter what your intent is. And, don\u2019t forget to attach your resume to the email, too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s a quick guide on how to write a cover letter for a job in software engineering: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. Before you begin writing\u2026<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Don\u2019t just start writing, even with the help of our software engineer cover letter sample above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First, you need to get the original job description out and open in front of you. Keep it there as a reference to help you write your cover letter in a way that is tailored to this specific job. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Next, research the company a bit, what they do in general, projects they\u2019ve done in the past, and where they hope to be heading in the future. This will help you further customize your cover letter for this particular software engineer job position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finally, remember what the cover letter is for. It\u2019s not meant to repeat the information that already exists in your resume \u2014 that\u2019ll just waste both your time and theirs. Instead, use your software engineering cover letter to highlight particular accomplishments in more detail and\/or to speak about any items you might have left off. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Read More<\/strong>: 8 Best Resume Makers for Software Engineers in 2022<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. The cover letter header<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Include your contact information first, at the very top of the page. For your personal information details, you can follow the standard business letter formatting (like in our cover letter example above), or you can use the same template as your resume to deliver a cohesive package.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Start by listing your name, branding statement or title, address, and one or two other important details, like your GitHub, StackOverflow, or LinkedIn profile. You don\u2019t need to include everything, as your resume has more of this same information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After your contact information, leave a line break and add today\u2019s date. Follow that with another line break and then include the addressee\u2019s details. These are, line by line: the person\u2019s name, their title, the company name, and the company\u2019s address.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. Salutations & the introductory paragraph<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
After the heading of the cover letter, open the written portion with a salutation. Use \u201cDear Jeremy:\u201d if you can find a name, and do try to find their name! This is much more compelling than other generic options (e.g., \u201cTo whom it may concern:\u201d).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, use the introduction paragraph in your software engineering cover letter draft to accomplish a few things:<\/p>\n\n\n\n