Are you looking for a new job in the IT industry? You might have a great resume and a lot of experience, but if your cover letter isn’t any good then the resume won’t even get read. Read on to find out how to write a cover letter for IT.
Use The Right Format With A Cover Letter For IT
The cover letter you’re writing should be in a standard format. It should consist of three areas – the introduction, the body, and the conclusion.
- Introduction – This is where you introduce yourself and mention the position you’re applying for. Make sure to begin with the name of the person who is advertising the role (or, if you can’t find the information, use “Recruitment Manager” or something similar). Mention the position you’re applying for and how your experience or knowledge makes you relevant for that position.
- Body – This is where you go into further detail about yourself. Mention your technical skills, experience in previous roles and projects, and your communication skills. Be careful with this section – it’s not meant to be a repeat of your resume. Stick to a few things that are relevant to this position and use appropriate language to describe them.
- Conclusion – The final part of the cover letter is to thank the recruiter or the reader for consideration of your resume, and that you’re interested in an interview for the position. Highlight that you can be contacted using the details at the top of the resume, and sign off with your name. A signature at the bottom of the letter is preferred, but as a lot of jobs in the IT industry are handled online, you may not have an electronic version of your signature so this is not essential.
Perfect Spelling and Grammar
The cover letter should not contain any spelling or grammatical errors. Not one. Recruiters spend a lot of time reading cover letters and resumes, so if yours has any spelling errors they will most likely pick up on it – and your resume won’t be put into the “good pile”. It shows that your work is lazy and inaccurate. Don’t rely on the spell checker in Microsoft Word or other word-processing programs to check your cover letter for IT – proof read it yourself or get a friend to. Or do both.
Don’t Use A Template
There are hundreds of templates for IT cover letters on the Internet I could easily provide a few links here, but I don’t think it’s a good idea. Using a template makes your cover letter look standard and makes you look uncreative. By all means, get some ideas on how a cover letter should look, but don’t copy a standard template. Change the formatting and styles of any templates you see (within reason, of course) to make it less common – just make sure it’s still readable.
Research The Company
One way you can stand out from the other IT cover letters that come across the recruitment team’s desk is to actually research the company you’re applying for. This not only shows that you’re willing to do a bit of extra work, it shows that you’re interested in the company – which helps your job chances. Look for information on the size of the company, where they are based, any recent projects they have been involved in, who their customers are, what products or services they provide.
Use this information when suggesting why you would like to work for the company. For example, if the company has a lot of customers in the finance industry, you could highlight that you’re experience in the finance industry would be beneficial to them. Or, you could say you have a keen interest in the finance industry and point out that this company came up when looking for finance industry roles.
Give Reasons Why You Should Be Hired
One of the best things you can put into a cover letter for IT is the reasons why this company should hire you. This is where you focus on your strengths – both in your career and how it applies to the job you’re going for. You can mention your technical experience, your great personal skills, your enthusiasm, any related experience you have with this company or the field, or anything else you can come up with. You’re essentially trying to convince the recruitment team to give you this job over anyone else.
Put Yourself In The Recruiter’s Shoes
Finally, before submitting your cover letter, try to think in terms of the recruiter and put yourself in their shoes. Read and re-read your cover letter for IT and ask yourself, “Would I give this person a job?” If not, why not? Make any changes as necessary. Clean up the formatting, make it easy to read, ensure your contact details are on the resume – and hope you’ve done everything possible to get the job!