It’s imperative that you communicate why you are the right person for the job. Employers have a problem. They need an engineer or data scientist on their team, and you can be that person! They’ll never get the chance to meet you unless you introduce yourself. Be sure to make a strong first impression by following the guidelines in this ReadMe.
“Never say or write anything unless it positively supports your position as an applicant.”+
- Communicate why you are the right person for the job
- Don’t undermine yourself
- Failing to send a cover letter
- Not showing enough interest in the company
- Focus less on years experience and more on the strength of your skills
- Avoid language that makes you sound like a student
- DON’T SAY: “My classmates and I…”
- INSTEAD SAY: “My team and I…” OR “The other engineers/data scientists and I…”
- Talk less about how you want to learn on the job, and more about what you can contribute to the team
Job seekers often focus so much on their technical skills, that they forget the importance of soft skills like conversation and building rapport. For many employers, soft skills are just as important as technical. You could have the strongest technical skills in the world, but they aren’t as useful if you can’t work well in a team environment. Demonstrating your sociability goes a long way in telling the employer that you’ll be a productive member of the team. Plus you might make a new friend! Your personal narrative is more than an elevator pitch, it’s your entire online presence. Think of it as your personal brand. You want to portray the best image possible to potential employers, and you want the messaging to be consistent across the board. Here are the major components of your brand.
- Cover letter
- Resume
- GitHub
- Person projects
- Personal website/blog
- Other social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc)
You might not realize it, but selling is definitely an important skill for any successful software engineer or data scientist. Software engineers and data scientists sell ideas and visions regularly. At this stage you simply need to sell yourself. You need to convince a hiring manager that you’re the right person for the job. Here are some of the best ways to sell yourself effectively.
Frame the conversation | There’s always more than one way of looking at a subject. Some hiring managers may criticize you for a lack of experience, but you can “reframe” the conversation by talking about how quickly you’ve developed strong skills. If you picked this up in merely 3 months, imagine where you’ll be in a year. You’re a great investment! Get them the employer to see the good side of everything. They should enjoy talking to you, and feel good about the things you say.
Talk about your skills | Out of the skills they are seeking, which do you offer? Which do you love? Which can you learn very quickly? Help the hiring manager see why you meet the company’s needs.
Be a problem solver | The company might not come out and say they want a problem solver, but every team welcomes such abilities. You’ve practiced problem solving skills for 3 months at Galvanize. Flex these abilities when you communicate with an employer.
Speak their language | Every company has a unique culture with its own quirks. Study the company website on the job posting to get a feel for how they talk. Be sure to use similar language in your written materials and during interviews. This will help them to see you as a good culture fit. You needn’t change your personality, simply use the same kinds of language. For example, if they talk about how they love doing “disruptive” work, you might talk about being “disruptive”.
Don’t talk about your weak points | You certainly shouldn’t bring up weaknesses. For one thing, the employer might not have planned on talking about it. Why would you volunteer negative information about yourself? Of course, they may bring it up. If so, prepare responses that help you explain weaknesses away and leave the employer feeling strong about you.
Don’t talk about Galvanize | We understand that you’re proud of the hard work you did at Galvanize, but don’t lean on Galvanize in your written materials or during interviews. Not every company is familiar with coding schools, so it might steer conversation away from you and your ability and towards Galvanize. Keep the conversation focused on you and the company you want to work for. Talking too much about Galvanize makes you sound like a student. Your skills are in line with a professional software engineer and/or data scientist, now it’s time to represent yourself as such.
Job seekers often wonder if cover letters are necessary in a fast-paced modern world. While efficiency is important, and employers ultimately need certain skills, a strong cover letter can be the difference between getting an interview and missing out.
That said, there are some important steps to optimizing your cover letter.
Cover letters won’t get you the job | The objective is to get the employer to read your resume and ultimately invite you for an interview.
A cover letter isn’t a reiteration of your resume | You should highlight why you are a good fit for that specific company and its unique culture.
Don’t spend too much time on your cover letter | Optimize by creating a template to complete with each job application.
Your cover letter template is essentially a form you complete each time you apply to a company. You want the template to be flexible enough to allow you to use it for most companies. The goal is that a hiring manager will never realize it’s a template. This is possible because you will leave blank spaces to talk about topics specific to that employer. There are a number of things to take into consideration when creating a template. Check out some examples here, and read the guidelines below.
Open strong | You can open strong by congratulating the company on a recent accomplishment, or mentioning something you like about them. These pieces of information can be gathered from the job posting, company website (specifically the company blog), or from searching sites like Crunchbase.com.
Show your excitement about the job/company | Make sure the reader knows that this isn’t just another application for you. They should know that you are interested in their company, and want to learn more about their team. Don’t go so far as saying you want the job. You don’t know them enough yet. You simply want to chat, because you think this could be a really good fit.
Avoid humor/sarcasm | Don’t try to be funny, unless you are responding to their humor in a job description or the company website. Cracking a joke in your cover letter could rub a hiring manager the wrong way. It’s best to remain friendly and professional.
Don’t make it all about you | One of the biggest mistakes people make in cover letters is droning on about their own personal accomplishments. The cover letter should be just as much about the employer, and how your personal history and abilities will make the stronger.
Keep it short | The completed cover letter should be ⅔ of a page or less. Shoot for 2-3 paragraphs in under 500 words. Remember the purpose of the cover letter isn’t to get hired.
Your cover letter should meet all of the marks on this checklist:
- Convey what interests you about the company and the position.
- Describe how you can help the company.
- Provide an overview of your skills, and perhaps reference a relevant problem you’ve recently solved.
- Providing a call to action (I look forward to hearing from you, I look forward to speaking with you and your team regarding this role, etc.)
- Making a convincing and compelling case for why you love the product/company
- Talking about your technical accomplishments/experience in a succinct, informative way
- Selling yourself as a great fit because of those accomplishments/experience
Greeting 'Dear Hiring Manager' OR 'Dear [COMPANY] team' OR 'Dear Mr./Ms. ______',
This where you’ll show the company you’ve done your research and believe you’re a great fit. Your first line should be very strong and draw the reader in, letting them know this isn’t a template you submit for every company. Express enthusiasm for role, mention something specific you like about the company, or congratulate the company on recent achievements (e.g., funding, product release, etc.) Describe why you’re impressed with their product/vision/accomplishments. If you’ve used the product or would use the product, you can talk about that and how it has/would make an impact. You can also talk about how the company’s mission/core values/culture aligns with your passions/experience (elaborate)
High-level mention of range of technical and team skills 1-2 examples of relevant technical experience ('Most recently, I built X with Y and Z. I also did A with B and C.) For example, if they want someone who has experience working in Angular, lead with the Angular work you did on one of your projects. Mention any other relevant experience that makes you a good candidate for the job. Don’t simply repeat your resume! Quick mention of the soft skills experience you bring to a team (e.g., leadership, innovation, communication, collaboration, problem-solving, etc.)
Reiterate why you’re a great fit, interested in the role, and initiate next steps. Add a 1 line summary of skills/experience mentioned above. Close with how your skills and experience make you the perfect candidate for the job and how you're eager to discuss why you are a good match. Strong close with call to action. Examples:
- I look forward to discussing the role with you. Do you have availability this week?
- I look forward to discussing next steps with you soon.
Sign-off
Best Wishes/Sincerely/Best/etc.
FULL NAME
Phone number | Email Address | LinkedIn and/or Github profile
Hello!
First of all, congrats on [SOMETHING YOU LIKE ABOUT THE COMPANY]! I’m [YOUR NAME], and I’m excited to apply for the “[NAME OF POSITION]” position at [NAME OF COMPANY]. I find your approach to [SOMETHING THEY DO] to have a tremendous impact for improving [WHAT THEIR MISSION IS TO IMPROVE].
I have a strong understanding of JS frameworks and do in fact love [SOMETHING YOU LIKE ABOUT THE JOB DESCRIPTION]. I also have some experience building [WORK YOU WOULD DO FOR COMPANY], and I’m curious to learn how you’re needing to implement that. Here are a couple things I’ve built recently (link, link), and here’s some of my code on GitHub (link).
I think I fit the requirements of the ideal candidate pretty well, and [SOMETHING EXTRA YOU BRING TO THE TABLE] as well, so I believe this would be a good fit. Let’s chat some more, and see if this could be a good fit for each of us! What does your availability look like?
I am thrilled to hear of [COMPANY NAME]’s available [NAME OF POSITION] position, and formally submit my resume for consideration. I love that [COMPANY NAME] [SOMETHING YOU LIKE ABOUT THE COMPANY]! I’m sure you receive many candidates for open positions, so allow me to present a few reasons why you should consider me.
I am a passionate Software Engineer/Data Scientist with [SOMETHING FROM JOB DESCRIPTION THAT YOU POSSESS]. I have developed [SOMETHING ABOUT YOUR CAPSTONE]. You can see [CAPSTONE PROJECT NAME] here (link to your app). I encourage you to take a look at my code for this project (github link).
I can bring [COMPANY NAME] many benefits with my experience, background, and analytical thinking. I look forward to talking more about this exciting opportunity. Are you available to talk more within the next week?
How to Write A Cover Letter, The Balance
Software Developer Cover Letter and Resume Example, The Balance
Meiner Erfahrung nach ist ein aussagekräftiges Anschreiben sehr wichtig, wenn man sich auf Stellen für kundenspezifische Softwareentwicklung bewirbt. Diese Unternehmen haben sehr spezifische Probleme, die sie lösen müssen, und Ihr Anschreiben muss sie davon überzeugen, dass Sie ihre Probleme verstehen und die richtigen Fähigkeiten haben, um sie zu lösen. Ich konzentriere mich immer darauf, genau zu formulieren, wie mein Hintergrund mit den Anforderungen des Unternehmens übereinstimmt, anstatt nur allgemeine Qualifikationen aufzulisten.
Es ist auch wichtig, als erfahrener Fachmann zu sprechen, nicht als frischer Neuling. Die Personalverantwortlichen wollen das Gefühl haben, dass Sie sofort loslegen und einen Beitrag leisten können, und nicht, dass Sie viel Unterstützung brauchen. Ich finde, dass die Betonung der konkreten Lösungen und Funktionen, die ich geliefert habe, ihnen Vertrauen in meine Fähigkeiten gibt.
Persönliche Erzählungen sind meiner Meinung nach auch bei der Entwicklung individueller Software besonders wertvoll. Der kooperative Charakter von kundenspezifischen Projekten bedeutet, dass starke Soft-Skills auf dem Spiel stehen. Ihre technischen Fähigkeiten mögen zwar alle Kriterien erfüllen, aber wenn die Arbeitgeber glauben, dass es schwierig ist, mit Ihnen zusammenzuarbeiten, werden Sie nicht weit kommen. Ich versuche, Beispiele für erfolgreiche Teamarbeit und den Aufbau von Beziehungen aufzuzeigen.