How To Write Cover Letter For Engineers

February 29, 2024 by Kazu Fujimoto

In school they don’t teach you how to write resumes or how to write cover letter for engineers. Anything outside of theoretical engineering knowledge, you will need to take your own time and due diligence to learn. This includes anything career or money related. A good cover letter is clear, concise, and to the point. A good cover letter highlights some of your major accomplishments, your skillset, and why you’re interested in the position.

You should be using the template below for your job search needs. Approaches vary wherever you find them, but I like to have a general template that I can use for multiple jobs.

What Your Cover Letter Should Consist Of:

1. Header

To be consistent, use the same format for your header as you do for your resume.

2. Date

This date should consist of when you are submitting your job application in. It is important to add this as this shows the recruiter or hiring manager how relevant your application is relative to the posting.

3. To Whom

Address this to the Hiring Manager if you don’t have a name. Otherwise, if you have a lead, use their name.

4. Introduction Paragraph

Talk about the position you’re interested in, where you heard about the company, and why you are interested. Tie in your interests with the company’s mission and define something measurable or attainable that you can achieve. (SMART)

5. Accomplishments Paragraph (Most Important)

Talk about your skill set here and your accomplishments. Really aim to show that you have macroeconomic and industry knowledge, not that you only do design work for XXX. A very useful tip when demonstrating your accomplishments is to show quantifiable, results based outcomes. Anyone can say I did “XXX”, but to go a step beyond, and say that you did “XXX” and as a result, you achieved “YYY”, that goes infinitely further.

Example of utilizing a quantifiable, results based outcome:

(Non-Quantifiable)

I designed CAD drawings for pump components such as shafts, bearings, casings, and impellers.

Vs.

I designed 100+ CAD drawings for pump components such as shafts, bearings, casings, and impellers; resulting in revenue of $1M towards markets such as Oil and Gas.

The first one is plain and simple – just shows you did simple CAD tasks. The second bullet gives the reader an idea of how many designs were produced, what markets segments were hit, and gives dollar values. (This is how you should be writing your resume!)

6. Closing Paragraph

To close it up, specify that your skills and experiences would make you an asset for XXX company. Set up the interview and leave your email and phone number.

And that’s it. There’s not much to writing a cover letter. Some could argue that you don’t even need a cover letter, but often times I have came across job postings that do require it.

If you also want to learn how to write cover letter for engineers, check out my template on my store – save yourself the trouble of doing all the formatting.

Also check out our cover letter writing service to 10X chances of getting an interview.