Software developers keep the digital world running, and our reliance on them to keep doing that is not diminishing any time soon. But while jobs may be plentiful, getting the best job requires an outstanding software developer cover letter.
As part of every carefully targeted job application package, the cover letter is an essential companion to your resume. That’s just two pieces of paper — but they need to be virtually perfect.
Resume.io is a global leader in providing job applicants with field-tested templates for resumes and cover letters, as well as professional, occupation-specific guidance on how to prepare them.
This article will address how software developers in search of a job should write a cover letter. Consider this a companion to our guide on how to prepare a software developer resume. You might also want to review our cover letter guide for software engineers, a profession that’s very similar to software developers.
These are some of the issues we’ll address in this cover letter writing guide, along with the software developer cover letter examples:
Let’s dive in.
Dear Ms. Barnes,
Having worked as a Software Developer for DoIt on the Farm Crossing franchise for the past six years on Old Deaf, Mally Camp, and Flu Horizons, I would relish the challenge of collaborating with your tight-knit team on Blackburst Valley.
I have deep experience in both mobile and console gaming and have played a part in creating the software for some of the most popular mechanics in the game. Working remotely alongside a Japanese software team, I focused on coding the character movement and “reactions” – winning universal plaudits for bringing 400+ villagers to hyper-realistic life.
After receiving my MS in Computer Science from UCLA, I gained software experience in UE4 and Visual Studio as well as fluency in Java, C++, Perl, Python PHP, and ActionScript 3.0. In terms of Blackburst Valley programming, I have done projects in C# and used Visual Studio on a couple of consultancy projects, so although the aesthetics of the two games differ, I possess the programming experience to do the best job.
The following experience would make me a great addition to your Blackburst Valley team:
I am seeking a move to work with a smaller team as I feel that a flatter hierarchy and simpler decision-making processes would be more rewarding. Great solutions can get buried if they are discussed and amended by too many wise men and women.
I enclose a portfolio of work that I have done over the past five years and would be fascinated to hear how I might fit into your amazing team at a potential interview.
Yours sincerely,
Dale Woodward
Software developers are the innovators behind all the software applications that power our computers, phones and other digital platforms. We have them to thank for envisioning, designing, building, maintaining and upgrading these computer programs.
The pay in this field is exceptional, with a median annual salary of $120,730 recorded by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in 2021. Also, the job outlook is gangbusters, with growth of 26% projected from 2021 to 2031 — much higher than the average for all occupations. Overall, there were 1.6 million software developer jobs in 2021, but there are expected to be more than 2 million by 2031.
So if this is your field, you’ve chosen well.
If your resume already covers all the major bases of your qualifications for a job, why do you need a software developer cover letter? First of all, it’s a simple courtesy. You are asking for a job, right? It’s only polite to say a few words.
A cover letter is your way of introducing yourself to a potential employer, explaining your interest in a job, and highlighting all the reasons you’re eminently qualified. It is a way of establishing a personal connection to a hiring manager. A cover letter is a means of starting a dialogue that ideally will lead to an interview and a job offer.
Yes, your resume should list all of your major job qualifications, including your employment history, education and skills. But a resume doesn’t even include the word “I” or “you,” so it’s not exactly a personal appeal.
A cover letter, on the other hand, is a professional yet personal means of outreach to someone who has the power to offer you a job, so it’s important. There are a few employers who prefer to receive only a resume, but unless you’re asked otherwise, you should always include a cover letter when sending a resume.
In fact, surveys of hiring managers have found that the failure to include a cover letter is one of the primary reasons resumes are rejected. If you don’t include a cover letter, an employer would understandably wonder why. Is it because you feel so entitled to the job that you don’t even have to bother writing a letter asking for it? Is it because the job is not very important to you? Is it because you’re a bad writer and you don’t want the employer to know that?
Obviously, you don’t want employers to be asking any of these questions. Take no chances by always including a cover letter unless you’re specifically asked not to.
With very rare exceptions, a cover letter should be one page only, a maximum of 400 words. Here’s how your software developer cover letter should be structured:
Let’s talk about what each of these components should contain.
The header is an electronic version of what used to be called a letterhead — the space at the top of the page of your software developer cover letter that contains your name, occupation, phone, and email address. Include your street address at your discretion.
The first reason for this is obvious, so that the employer knows how to contact you. But the header is also an important design element, as it gives you an opportunity for creative use of typography, layout, color and white space.
Take a moment to review some of the headers on the free cover letter templates at resume.io. The header is the most visually complex part of the cover letter, and by far the easiest way to create one is to use a pre-designed template.
Align document styles
Your cover letter and resume should be a matching set, and you need to make them look alike by using the same fonts, styles and formatting. The header on both, for example, should be very similar if not identical, making it obvious that these two came from the same person.
Aligning the styles between these two documents gives you a “visual brand,” and it shows that you pay attention to detail and understand the importance of coherent, attractive design.
Aim of the cover letter header: Identify yourself, with vital contact information, on an attractive, professional-looking document that the hiring manager will readily distinguish from other applications.
“Dear Ms. (or Ms.) [Last Name]:” is the traditional and time-honored way to write the salutation of any business letter, including one within a job application. You can’t really go wrong with this approach for opening your software developer cover letter.
Yet there are arguments to be made that the greeting can be more informal. For example, if you happen to know the person you’re writing to, addressing that person on a first-name basis is probably acceptable.
Study the culture and style of the company you’re targeting, and look at how it addresses the public on its website or in other communications. Depending on the formality or lack thereof of the company culture, you may choose to replace the “Dear” with a less formal “Greetings,” “Hello,” or the like, followed by the name of the person you’re writing to.
Try to address your letter to a specific person
Always try to find out the name of the person responsible for hiring at the company you’re targeting, and address your letter to that individual. There are several reasons for this:
Do some research to identify the name of this person, and if necessary simply call the company and ask. However, if you’re told that the hiring manager prefers to remain anonymous, then you need to come up with a greeting that says, “Dear [Company Name] Hiring Manager” or the like.
Aim of letter greeting / salutation: Start off on the right note by addressing the hiring manager by name if possible, in as formal or casual a manner as suits the situation.
The first paragraph of your software developer letter should be a provocatively written opening statement that expresses your interest in a job and offers a brief preview of your qualifications (for example, the number of years you’ve worked in this field).
It’s important to set the right tone from the beginning — friendly but professional, confident but not arrogant. It’s also important to avoid cliché-ridden language that the recruiter has seen in a thousand other cover letters. Use energetic, lively language that makes the reader want to read on.
Aim of the cover letter introduction: Capture the attention of hiring managers with a compelling preview of your qualifications that motivates them to read more.
Dear Ms. Barnes,
Having worked as a Software Developer for DoIt on the Farm Crossing franchise for the past six years on Old Deaf, Mally Camp, and Flu Horizons, I would relish the challenge of collaborating with your tight-knit team on Blackburst Valley.
The central two or three paragraphs of your software developer application letter are where you must deliver the goods. Here you must talk about your employment experience in the field, and you need to include highlights of some of your top job-related accomplishments.
Be specific, using facts and figures where possible to describe how many projects you handled, their dollar value to the company, etc. Also, use anecdotes to describe tough challenges you faced in the past, what actions you took to resolve them, and the positive outcome you achieved. The body of your letter can also address your education, special training and skills, and any certifications you hold in your field.
You may also choose to discuss your aspirations for the future, especially as they relate to the company you’re targeting. If you’ve studied this firm closely, you may be aware of specific challenges it faces, and you may have ideas about how you can help. This is the place to mention that.Always remember that your letter is not about what this employer can do for you, but what you can do for this employer.
Aim of the cover letter body: Highlight and quantify your most relevant accomplishments in a relatable way so the employer can envision your potential contributions if hired.
I have deep experience in both mobile and console gaming and have played a part in creating the software for some of the most popular mechanics in the game. Working remotely alongside a Japanese software team, I focused on coding the character movement and “reactions” – winning universal plaudits for bringing 400+ villagers to hyper-realistic life.
After receiving my MS in Computer Science from UCLA, I gained software experience in UE4 and Visual Studio as well as fluency in Java, C++, Perl, Python PHP, and ActionScript 3.0. In terms of Blackburst Valley programming, I have done projects in C# and used Visual Studio on a couple of consultancy projects, so although the aesthetics of the two games differ, I possess the programming experience to do the best job.
The following experience would make me a great addition to your Blackburst Valley team:
I am seeking a move to work with a smaller team as I feel that a flatter hierarchy and simpler decision-making processes would be more rewarding. Great solutions can get buried if they are discussed and amended by too many wise men and women.
Close with a recap, a “thank you” and a call to action. You might want to ask if you could call in a week or so to see about arranging an interview, or you could simply say that you are eagerly looking forward to a reply. You might note that you are always reachable at the contact info provided.
The main idea of the conclusion is to plant the idea in your reader’s head that he or she should take some action as a result of this letter, and not just set it aside. Close on a confident, friendly and optimistic note.
Aim of the conclusion: Finish on a confident note, with a call to action that ideally results in an interview.
Close with a “Sincerely” or the equivalent, add a space, and type your full name. It’s also not a bad touch to include an actual scanned signature, though in electronic communication it’s not expected.
I enclose a portfolio of work that I have done over the past five years and would be fascinated to hear how I might fit into your amazing team at a potential interview.
Yours sincerely,
Dale Woodward
Design matters, and you need to adhere to certain formatting rules to make sure your cover letter has an eye-pleasing look.
You need to try to get “inside the head” of the person you’re writing to — and rather than write the letter you want to write, write the letter you want that person to receive. Psychologists say the human brain responds to stimuli with a mix of emotional and rational responses, and ideally you want to trigger both.
You want to use a certain amount of personal, emotional language that appeals to the heart more than the head. You want your reader to like you, and to see that have a deeply felt passion for the field you’ve chosen. But you also want to speak to the rational side of your reader’s brain by demonstrating that you have the work history, education and skills to make you fully qualified for the job you’re seeking.
Try to read your own letter through the eyes of the person you’re writing to. If you received this letter, would you want to interview the person who wrote it? Would you want to work with that person for years to come?
Have you identified the precise reasons that make you a winning candidate, or have you veered off into irrelevant info or meaningless clichés? Have you chosen the right tone of voice, confident but not presumptive, friendly but not too familiar? Have you made it easy for your reader to say yes, I want to hear more?
Here are some of the most common mistakes people make when writing a cover letter:
Searching for more inspiration? View our related information technology cover letter examples and guides here below:
To get started today, check out the cover letter templates at resume.io, choose a style you like, fill in your own information, and you’re done!