IT Cover Letter Cover Letter & Writing Guide

A well-written IT cover letter complements your resume, conveys valuable details about your skills and experiences, and significantly improves your chances of impressing hiring managers. It’s a professional document that highlights your motivation for the job and eagerness to go the extra mile to get it.

That’s why we’ve created a comprehensive guide to help you craft a perfect one, no matter if you need an IT cover letter for an internship or one for a senior specialist’s position. You’ll learn how to write each section down to the sign-off.

We’ve even prepared specific examples and expert strategies to transform your letter from great to outstanding. Let’s dive in!

What Format to Use for an IT Cover Letter?

The best format for an IT cover letter is the business letter format. It offers an optimized framework for writing these types of documents that ensures their clarity and professional appearance. 

Recruiters and hiring managers are used to this format, so it gives you the best chance of conveying valuable information about your skills and qualifications.

Here’s what the cover letter format looks like, from top to bottom:

In addition to the format, you should also create a stellar cover letter layout. It’ll make your document visually appealing and easy to read.

Here’s what the perfect cover letter layout should look like:

If you’ve never written a cover letter before, all these guidelines can feel overwhelming at first. That’s why we created a specialized software tool to help you make a professional cover letter for an IT job. 

Even if you’re an absolute beginner, you can use our cover letter builder to produce a submission-ready, job-winning document in minutes.

7 Key Elements For Your IT Cover Letter

With the format and layout out of the way, let’s examine each of the key elements that every IT cover letter needs to have. 

To help you visualize what we’re going to talk about, here’s a brief visual guide:

#1. Heading

The heading of your cover letter is a functional section where you should include your and the recipient’s contact information along with the date of writing.

You should start with your details and include the following:

Optionally, you can add:

After that, you should include the date and the location of the writing to highlight your letter’s recency and help hiring managers sort and find your document. Finally, you want to list the recipient’s contact details.

Let’s see all that in an example:

#2. Salutation

A formal salutation is a traditional, courteous way of starting a letter. It is as simple as including “Dear” followed by a reader’s name. However, it’s exactly the name that is the key to properly addressing a cover letter.

Instead of using generic greetings like “To Whom It May Concern” or “Dear Sir/Madam,” you want a personal approach that directly acknowledges the hiring manager. This helps build rapport with them and increases the impact of your writing.

Here’s an example:

Still, if you thoroughly researched the company and weren’t able to find out who’s going to read your IT cover letter, you can address the reader by their title.

#3. Introductory Paragraph

The introductory paragraph of your IT cover letter is its elevator pitch. In a concise way, you want to specify the position that you’re applying for and highlight your key strengths, such as your degree, notable skills, and most impressive accomplishments.

Here’s a good example of how you can start your cover letter:

#4. Skills, Qualifications, & Experiences

The main part of your cover letter should be 1–3 paragraphs long and all about your skills, qualifications, and experiences relevant to the role you’re applying for. This is your chance to demonstrate that you’re the right person for the job by focusing on those qualities that employers are looking for.

That’s why it’s crucial to research the company, their team, and culture and carefully read the job ad. That’ll help you pinpoint what experiences, soft, and hard skills hiring managers and employers look for in candidates.

Here’s an example of how you should write this section:

#5. Motivation for Applying

Your motivation for applying can set you apart from other candidates since it can show genuine enthusiasm. One of the best ways to achieve this is to specify something about the company that resonates with you.

Here’s an example:

#6. Call to Action

A strategically placed call to action (CTA) in the last paragraph of your IT cover letter for a job increases the chances of receiving a response. You can use a CTA to end a cover letter, suggesting the reader contact you for an interview, check your website, examine your resume, and so on.

Let’s see that in an example:

#7. Closing & Sign Off

A closing should be simple and polite, just like a salutation. You can include many of the established closings, followed by your name.

Here’s an example:

Here’s a complete IT cover letter example that takes into consideration everything you’ve learned so far:

IT Cover Letter Example

Use this example

4 Best Strategies for Crafting an IT Cover Letter

Let’s conclude this all-encompassing IT cover letter guide with the best strategies that will help you perfect your document:

Final Thoughts

The IT field is rapidly growing. Computer support specialists can enter the workforce right after high school, looking at a 5% positive job outlook and a $60,810 median salary. On the other hand, graduates in computer and information research science can expect a stunning 23% job outlook and a $145,080 median salary.

Ultimately, whether you’re writing an IT cover letter with no experience or with decades of it, a professional document will help you impress recruiters and maximize your chances of landing an interview. After that, you might want to take a look at common interview questions and answers to ace the meeting and land that job!