Craft an impressive electrical engineer cover letter
Whether it’s designing and testing new electrical equipment or supervising the manufacturing process, electrical engineers have many key technical responsibilities. To earn a position as an electrical engineer, you need a cover letter that showcases your skills, qualifications, and professional drive.
In this guide, we will teach you everything you need to know about writing a cover letter as an electrical engineer. Keep reading to learn all about:
- Creating an electrical engineer cover letter header & headline
- Personalizing your electrical engineer cover letter
- Writing a memorable electrical engineer cover letter introduction
- Highlighting your key skills & accomplishments as an electrical engineer
- Ending your cover letter with a thoughtful closing statement
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1. Create an effective electrical engineer cover letter header & headline
Before beginning to write the actual body text of your electrical engineer cover letter, the first step to take is to create your header and headline.
A cover letter header is a well-organized block of text at the top of the document that includes:
- Your name and professional title
- Your professional contact information
- The name, department, and address of the company you are applying to
Here is an example of a well-formatted electrical engineer header
John Doe, Electrical Engineer
(123) 456-7890 | johndoe@email.com | linkedin.com/in/john-doe
To: Expert Electrics, Engineering Department
1234 Street Address
Chattanooga, TN, 37405
With your header in place, you will next create your cover letter headline. Although headlines are an optional element, they can help significantly with initially attracting an employer’s attention.
To write an electrical engineer headline, include a keyword related to the position, an eye-catching number or trigger word, a powerful adjective or verb, and a promise.
Here is an example of an electrical engineer headline, followed by a breakdown of its core components
My Top 3 Strengths as an Electrical Engineer & How They Will Benefit Your Company
Trigger Word/Number: 3 Strengths
Keyword: Electrical Engineer
Adjective/Verb: Top, Benefit
Promise: Your Company – this detail indicates to the employer that you will relate the information in your cover letter directly to their company's needs and goals.
2. Personalize your electrical engineer cover letter
Whenever you write a cover letter, it is essential to steer away from generic information and instead personalize as many details as possible. To accomplish this, you will need to research the company thoroughly, searching for information such as:
- Which member of the company will review your application
- What the company’s core values and current goals are
- What current or future projects the company is involved in
As part of this process, you should create a personalized greeting – a type of greeting that addresses a specific person at the company by name. Generally, this should be the company hiring manager or the head of the department you are applying to.
Here are 3 examples of personalized greetings
- Dear Ms. Jane Smith,
- Dear Hiring Manager Jane Smith,
- To Engineering Department Head Joe King,
3. Write a memorable electrical engineer cover letter introduction
Crafting a memorable and attention-grabbing cover letter introduction is crucial. As this is the first paragraph an employer will read, it can often be the deciding factor of whether or not the employer continues reading.
To write a strong cover letter introduction, you should include:
- A brief overview of your professional history
- A statement on why you are enthusiastic about applying to this company
- A mutual acquaintance (when possible)
Here is an example of a memorable introduction from an electrical engineer’s cover letter
Dear Ms. Jane Smith,
I am an Electrical Engineer with more than 5 years of experience designing electrical components for industrial equipment. As a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, I have had the pleasure of collaborating with your Lead Electrical Engineer, Mason Blevins, on multiple occasions. Mr. Blevins informed me of this opening at your company and recommended I apply, as my professional values are perfectly aligned with your company’s.
4. Highlighting your key skills & accomplishments as an electrical engineer
Following up the introduction are the body paragraphs of your cover letter. These body paragraphs are where you will provide more in-depth descriptions of your best and most relevant qualifications.
A strong electrical engineer cover letter will contain between 2 to 4 body paragraphs that answer the following key questions:
- What excites you about working at this company?
- What do you hope to contribute to this company?
- What accomplishments or qualifications make you stand out as an applicant?
- What relevant skills do you possess and how will you apply them?
While you will cover many of your skills, qualifications, and accomplishments in your resume, your cover letter gives you the best opportunity to expand upon each of these and relate them back to the company’s needs.
Here are 6 examples of excellent electrical engineer skills to describe in a cover letter
- Complex problem-solving
- On-Site safety standards
- Product design & prototyping
- Manufacturing processes
- Creative development & problem-solving
- Teamwork & collaboration
Here is an example of how to describe an accomplishment in an electrical engineer cover letter
As an Electrical Engineer at [Former Employer], I designed an average of 8 new prototypes per year, with an average of 5 going to final production. Using my in-depth knowledge of electrical systems and materials, I ensured these products were affordable to manufacture, reducing overall manufacturing costs by 15%.
5. End your cover letter with a thoughtful closing statement
Finish your electrical engineer cover letter off strong with a thoughtful closing statement that includes:
- An enthusiastic sentence saying you are looking forward to hearing from them
- An additional sentence stating you will follow up, including how you will contact them or how they can contact you
- A formal sign-off
Here is an example of a closing statement from an electrical engineer cover letter
I am eager to further discuss this opportunity with you and how I can apply my skills as your new Electrical Engineer. To best get in touch with me, please reach out any weekday from the hours of 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. at (123) 456-7890. I will plan on checking back in next Monday if I have not heard back by then.
Yours Truly,
[Applicant Name]
Follow this cover letter outline for maximum success.
