Despite being a highly specialized field, opportunities within the electrical engineering space are often very competitive. To make a strong first impression on potential employers, complement your resume with an impactful cover letter that captures the full breadth of your engineering background. Our guide provides expert advice and examples to help you translate your career as an electrical engineer into a powerful marketing document.
Electrical Engineer Cover Letter Templates and Examples
- Entry-Level
- Mid-Career
- Senior-Level
How To Write an Electrical Engineer Cover Letter
The first step in writing a powerful electrical engineer cover letter is to carefully research the company you’re applying to. Approach the writing process the same way you would a technical specification or project roadmap. What are they looking for in an engineer? How does your unique background in engineering match the organization’s needs and long-term goals?
Answering these questions will help inform your content strategy and greatly enhance the impact of your cover letter. Below, you’ll find a list of tips to guide you through every step of the cover letter writing process:
1. Contact information and salutation
It’s important to address the hiring manager by name — Mr. or Ms. [Last Name] at the start of your electrical engineer cover letter. This small personal touch shows you’ve taken the time to learn more about the company before applying. If you can’t find the hiring manager’s name, use a variation of “Dear Hiring Manager.” You can also feature a link to your LinkedIn URL in your header as well.
2. Introductory paragraph
The strength of your introduction can often make or break your job application. To make a lasting impression on the hiring manager, lead with one of your most impressive accomplishments as an electrical engineer. Select a project you can quantify using a strong metric or monetary figure, such as the overall budget or a significant cost reduction you generated. This immediately sends a message to potential employers that you have a proven track record of success in your industry.
Example
During my time with Clean Energy Consulting, I coordinated with a dynamic team of engineers to create technical drawings and design components for commercial solar energy projects valued at up to $1.2 million. I also identified new ways to optimize the effectiveness of renewable energy solutions. I can achieve similar results for your company in the electrical engineer position.
3. Body paragraphs
Continue to describe your engineering experience and qualifications in the body paragraphs of your electrical engineer cover letter. Start by mentioning something specific about the company’s mission or reputation and explain how your background aligns with its long-term goals. Feature achievements that convey your comprehensive engineering knowledge and your ability to collaborate effectively in team-based environments. Consider including a list of bullet points to break up the monotony of the text on the page and improve the reading experience.
Example
I understand that Flynn & Parker Inc. is looking for an engineering leader to support the development and manufacturing of new products within the consumer electronic market. With over eight years of experience in large production environments, I specialize in developing new processes, tools, and equipment to maximize throughput. Some of my career highlights include:
- Partnered with engineers and cross-functional teams in designing, prototyping, testing, and launching top-caliber products within the consumer electronics space
- Developed and implemented new processes to streamline manual testing, improve throughput, and enhance quality assurance audits, which saved over $300,000 in production costs
- Introduced new preventative maintenance programs that reduced unscheduled machine downtime by 39%
4. Key skills and qualifications
When building your electrical engineer cover letter, highlight qualifications that demonstrate your advanced knowledge of electrical engineering and project management. Identify keywords the company is looking for and carefully integrate these terms into your paragraphs. Below, you’ll find a list of key skills you may encounter during the job search:
| Key Skills and Qualifications | |
|---|---|
| AutoCAD | Circuit design |
| Coding languages: C, C++, Python | Cross-functional leadership |
| Electrical power and energy | Electrical schematics |
| Electronic equipment maintenance | Engineering design |
| Engineering management | Leadership |
| Linear systems theory and analysis | MATLAB |
| National electrical code (NEC) | Power systems |
| Process improvement | Programmable logic controllers (PLC) |
| Project management | Prototyping |
5. Closing paragraph
The closing paragraph of your electrical engineer cover letter should function as a call to action that invites the hiring manager to bring you in for an interview. Reinforce how your unique background and experience can bring value to the company’s engineering team. Be sure to thank the reader for their time and consideration in the last sentence of the paragraph.
Example
I’d like to set up an interview to discuss how my expertise in renewable energy solutions can help support your mission and long-term objectives at Arkline Engineering. Please feel free to contact me via phone or email at your convenience. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Best regards,
Hideo Araki
Electrical Engineer Cover Letter Tips
1. Quantify your electrical engineering projects
To convey the full impact of your contributions and electrical engineering achievements, incorporate hard numbers, data, and monetary figures throughout your cover letter. Establish a sense of scope for your accomplishments and illustrate how you’ve continually generated positive results for employers throughout your career. In the example below, the candidate features a variety of key metrics in their opening paragraph:
Achieving a 15% production cost reduction at TMI Engineering was one of the high points of my career. In collaboration with my team, I successfully saved over 40 work hours per week and reduced operating expenses by $300,000 per year. My ability to identify process improvement opportunities would be a strong asset to your organization in the electrical engineer position.
2. Align your cover letter with the job description
As you build your electrical engineer cover letter, emphasize how your background and values align with the organization you’re targeting. For example, this candidate is seeking a position with a company that is heavily focused on renewable energy solutions. By highlighting their previous work on both solar and wind systems, the applicant showcases how their electrical engineering experience intersects with the company’s long-term goals:
Arkline Engineering’s mission to drive the adoption of renewable energy strongly aligns with my personal values. As an engineer and California resident, I understand the importance of expanding clean energy at both the residential and commercial levels. I can help support your organization’s long-term goals based on my previous career achievements:
- Coordinated with engineering teams, project managers, and client stakeholders to design and install solar and wind energy systems for residential and commercial projects ranging from $150,000 to $1.2 million
3. Feature your leadership capabilities as an engineer
In addition to your engineering qualifications, hiring managers also want to see you’re the ideal fit for their company’s culture. Highlighting your leadership background sends a clear message that you can collaborate effectively with engineers, cross-functional teams, and stakeholders to execute complex projects. In the example below, the candidate emphasizes their experience developing top talent and managing large engineering teams, which illustrates how they can provide effective leadership to potential employers:
Magnus Corp’s reputation as one of the nation’s leading providers of industrial engineering solutions draws me to apply for this opportunity. As a senior electrical engineer, I excel in developing top talent to identify creative solutions to large-scale engineering challenges. I can help your team continue to excel based on my professional achievements:
- Managed a team of 25 engineers throughout all phases of the project lifecycle and executed industrial projects with budgets ranging from $3 million to $20 million
Electrical Engineers Text-Only Cover Letter Templates and Examples
- Example #1
- Example #2
- Example #3
Aliya Jackson
Electrical Engineer | [email protected] | (123) 456-7890 | Seattle, WA 12345 | LinkedIn
January 1, 2024
Matthew Johnson
Senior Hiring Manager
Flynn & Parker Inc.
(987) 654-3210
[email protected]
Dear Ms. Alvarez:
Achieving a 15% production cost reduction at TMI Engineering was one of the high points of my career. In collaboration with my team, I successfully saved over 40 work hours per week and reduced operating expenses by $300,000 per year. My ability to identify process improvement opportunities would be a strong asset to your organization in the electrical engineer position.
I understand Flynn & Parker Inc. is looking for an engineering leader to support the development and manufacturing of new products within the consumer electronic market. With over eight years of experience in large production environments, I specialize in developing new processes, tools, and equipment to maximize throughput. Some of my career highlights include:
- Partnered with engineers and cross-functional teams in designing, prototyping, testing, and launching top-caliber products within the consumer electronics space
- Developed and implemented new processes to streamline manual testing, improve throughput, and enhance quality assurance audits, which saved over $300,000 in production costs
- Introduced new preventative maintenance programs that reduced unscheduled machine downtime by 39%
I look forward to telling you more about how my background in consumer electronics can help improve production output at Flynn and Parker Inc. Please feel free to contact me via phone or email at your convenience. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Best regards,
Aliya Jackson
Electrical Engineer Cover Letter FAQs
Why should I submit an electrical engineer cover letter?-
Even if a job application doesn’t list the cover letter as a requirement, there are still competitive advantages to providing one. First, this immediately shows that you’re willing to go above and beyond what’s expected. The cover letter also helps to convey your genuine interest and enthusiasm, which can sometimes make the difference if a hiring manager is torn between you and another candidate.
How long should my electrical engineer cover letter be?-
Your electrical engineer cover letter should be relatively concise and straightforward, limited to 400 words or less. Providing an excess amount of information runs the risk of overwhelming the reader and drawing attention away from your most relevant qualifications. Avoid simply restating job duties from your resume and instead focus on describing your most impressive engineering projects and achievements.
Should I use artificial intelligence to write my cover letter?-
Artificial intelligence (AI) can be used for additional support during the cover letter writing process, but you also need to be careful in how much you rely on these tools. Electrical engineer positions are highly technical in nature, and it's unlikely that an AI can create unique and compelling content to help you stand out during the job search. The best approach is to utilize AI tools to give yourself a rough draft, which you can then build upon with your own unique insights and experiences.
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