Chemical engineers possess core knowledge of chemical processes but it’s not the same regarding cover letters. A good number of these professionals make hideous mistakes when they want to write a cover letter. While we outline some of these mistakes, we will also show you how to write an irresistible chemical engineering cover letter.
According to Michael Page, a cover letter is an important way to showcase how your unique combination of skills and experience meets the key requirements of the job description. It is your chance to show a clear link between your knowledge, experience, and abilities and the employer’s needs.
Even when people ignore it, a cover letter is a vital instrument to help you get your job.
As much as we will talk about how you can write an irresistible chemical engineering cover letter, we will also show you the tricks and format.
The table of content below clearly outlines all you’ll learn from reading this article.
Table of contents
- What Is A Cover Letter?
- Why do I need a Cover Letter?
- What Mistakes Do I Avoid When Writing A Mechanical Engineering Cover Letter?
- What is the Format of A Mechanical Engineering Cover Letter?
- How to Write A Cover Letter for a Mechanical Engineering Job?
- Samples of Cover Letters for Mechanical Engineering Jobs
- Conclusion
- References
- Author’s Recommendations
What Is A Cover Letter?
A cover letter is a letter. Well, I know that definition doesn’t give a clear meaning. Maybe because there are so many types of letters and they each possess unique characteristics.
So, for clarity sake, a cover letter is a letter that symbolizes a candidate’s interest in an open position. In essence, it is the letter that a mechanical engineer interested in an open position at an organization sends to his plausible hiring manager.
While mechanical engineering cover letters have been handwritten, introducing improved technological systems has increased weight. So, you can even send a cover letter via mail.
While most organizations might not include the need for a cover letter when making their job publications, it doesn’t undermine it’s importance.
Why do I need a Cover Letter?
Since many hiring organizations don’t express the need for a cover letter in their publication, many folks might not deem it needful. While they may believe it’s not valuable, they must also know it has a place.
A cover letter is a strong statement of intent. It fundamentally summarizes your personality into sections of understandable grammar – no one wants to read a book about your life history. These highlights, in turn, convey your capability to fill the void.
A cover letter is usually your first interaction with your plausible employer. Hence, you have to express seriousness and commitment. A good thing to do would be to always put out information that will raise inquisition. This inquisition can earn you an interview where you can finish the job.
If you post your amazing resume without a cover letter, you reduce your chances of getting the job. So, your whole focus shouldn’t be on ensuring your resume is awesome, you should pay the required attention to your cover letter.
You Can See Our Get Our Irresistible Mechanical Engineering Cover Letter
What Mistakes Do I Avoid When Writing A Mechanical Engineering Cover Letter?
While a lot of mechanical engineers can fail to use the right keywords, that is not one of the most brutal mistakes you can make on your resume. Some errors are general and can be avoided. Some of these mistakes include;
Grammatical Blunders
Grammatical errors are normal, however, they are avoidable. You must be able to eliminate every sight of grammatical blunder in your cover letter.
The presence of a grammatical blunder can ruin your letter. Furthermore, ATS machines trash your cover letter at the sight of the simplest blunder. So you must review and ensure your letter passes all grammar checks. On the other hand, you can personally check it out or have your friends look through it. Better yet, you can use a grammar checker like Grammarly or Hemingway.
No Contact Information
When you submit your cover letter, your plausible employer must be able to reach out to you. Hence, you should avoid writing a piece of wrong contact information. Whether email, address, or phone number, all of them must be present. Your contact information must be accurate.
Excessive Data
Your cover letter is basically a statement of summary, hence, it should not be more than 300-450 words. Well, 400 is a lot on my side. The whole idea of the letter is to get your plausible employer to take a look at your resume and give you a call or send an interview mail. So the shorter, the better.
What is the Format of A Mechanical Engineering Cover Letter?
The challenge many professionals face when writing a cover letter usually arises when they get choked. And many people get choked when they don’t have an outlined format they follow when writing their cover letter.
We understand this difficulty; hence, after reviewing over 121 professional mechanical engineering cover letters, we came up with a format to help you when you’re writing.
The format includes;
Opening Awareness
Your first paragraph should discuss the channel through which you learned about the job opening. This is very important for hiring managers to know effective channels for proper utilization. Indeed, the right channel can help an employer get an amazing candidate. So, you can start with a statement such as “I write in response to your Job position spotted at the top header of Paramics Newspaper”.
Experience Data
After you have outlined how you came across the opening, you can then go to your core experience. In this section, you don’t only outline your work history and experience, you key in the huge results you achieved alongside. These results act as testaments of your capabilities and a license to prove worthiness.
Value Proposition
Experience is essential but no hiring manager pays more attention to experience than offering. Your offering is your value proposition. Your value proposition communicates what you can bring to the table at your target company. This aspect demands that you understand target building and planning.
Final Remarks
After you have listed how beneficial your skills and experience can be, you close. Your closing should be crisp. It must embody professionalism, respect, and optimism. Very importantly, your closing must be brief to avoid getting tedious and tiring.
READ ALSO: Copy our Irresistible Civil Engineering Cover Letter and Make it Yours | Free
How to Write A Cover Letter for a Mechanical Engineering Job?
Before you write a mechanical engineering cover letter, you must put certain facts into consideration. A good number of other facts will also come into play while you write your cover letter.
In a nutshell, here are effective hacks to help you write a great mechanical engineering cover letter.
1. Research
This is where a lot of people fail even before they start writing their cover letter. They don’t execute accurate, proper and detailed research.
The importance of research cannot be overemphasized. Proper research about the company where you want to work can grant you access to the information you need on your interview day.
Your research about any organization should cut focus on its mode of operation and offerings. You answer your interview questions with accurate data-supported information when you perform good research.
2. Use of Proper Salutations
For a lot of reasons, people ignore this very important position. Well, you shouldn’t be part of that lot at all. The salutation part of a cover letter holds the hiring manager’s attention at once.
Most times, job seekers use weak salutations when writing their letters. Well, this is what makes most of them never reach the interview room.
It’s necessary you know the general salutations and stick to them. You can never go wrong with a general salutation.
3. Use of Keywords
Every sector and industry has certain words that connect or make them unique. While some people use words like “wires”, others call them “lines”.
While the examples are endless, you must pay attention and have good knowledge of the keywords used in your industry. Hence, once you know them, you must mildly include them in your cover letter.
Conclusively, you shouldn’t fill your cover letter with your industry “keywords”. You should limit the use to a few times in your letter. Furthermore, endeavor to use it where you cannot possibly avoid it.
4. Simplicity
As I said earlier, a cover letter is not a resume; hence, you should only highlight the most important sections.
I know you’ve seen the need for using your industry keywords, but you must also capture the importance of using it less frequently. If you’re in the health sector, your case is slightly different.
However, the general rule remains “simplicity is key”. When your cover letter is written, it means you know how to share your thoughts in clear and understandable formats.
5. Following the Format
I feel the need to applaud you for coming this far. You have truly done well, and I hope you’re noting the vital lessons.
I can’t say it much more than I have done before; however, for one last time; “Follow the format”.
When you use the format, you can clearly.
- Avoid mistake
- Be clear and intentional
- Use the right keyword
- Stir Inquisitiveness
Conclusively, just like a map directs you when you’re on a journey, this format will help you produce a stunning mechanical engineering cover letter.
Samples of Cover Letters for Mechanical Engineering Jobs
To further help you, here is a sample of a mechanical engineering cover letter;
{Date}
Hiring Manager’s Name
341 Company Address
Newarre, California, 95555
(xxx)xxx- xxxx
hiring.manager@gmail.com
Dear [Hiring Manager’s Name],
My name is [your name] and I have been working with [previous employer] for the last [number of years]. Your description for the mechanical engineer position at [company name] strongly matches my experience and qualifications, especially prototype design of industrial machine components. As such, I am highly interested in joining your team.
I have a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from U.C. Berkeley and have worked as a mechanical engineer for [number of years]. In my time at [previous employer], I was able to:
- Develop three prototype components of the SuperDrill 9000 that was commercially employed;
- Act as a lead machinist and component designer on four separate engineering products for [previous employer];
- Win “Best Machinist – Western Region” – nominated twice
I am aware that [company name] has been engaged in some exciting projects and initiatives in the industry in recent years, especially with [project name or activity]. As you can see, I have been involved in similar work and know I could greatly contribute to [company name]’s goals in the future.
Thank you for taking the time to read my application and for your consideration. I would love to come in for an interview and look forward to hearing from you. I understand you’ve probably received several applications, so I will check in next week if I haven’t heard anything by then. Thank you again for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Your Name
Conclusion
Now that you have read this, you have no more excuses. In fact, you should get your next interview date after your application must have been carefully reviewed.
I advise that you take this article as a workbook. Ensure you review from time to time so as to internalize its truths. And you can practice our format with your resume during your free time.
Indeed, you can agree that it’s not always the best candidate who gets hired, but the one who shows his capabilities. So, start showing your capability with your cover letter.
References
- michaelpage.com/cover-letter-and-resume-advice/why-cover-letters-are-important
- indeed.com/career-advice/resumes-cover-letters/cover-letter-importance
- resumegenius.com/cover-letter-examples/mechanical-engineer-cover-letter-sample
