Electrical engineering cover letters can be tricky, requiring significant attention to particular professional issues in the job criteria. This is a trade in which clear evidence of expertise is often very much a part of getting a position or not.
Cover letter Issues
It's important to analyze the needs of the job when drafting a cover letter. Essential criteria are compulsory considerations, but the nature of the job and its requirements are very useful when translating your skills and experience into relevant information for your cover letter.
Electrical engineering is a skills based trade, and these skills, experience and criteria can be combined into good, relevant information content. Content issues can be categorized in relation to the cover letter as follows:
- Qualifications and licensing: Must be addressed because of the different requirements and status of these elements in your resume. A person with a higher level of qualification and licensing can also demonstrate higher skills levels.
- Systems experience: The type of system is a primary defining element of skills levels and expertise which directly affects selection of candidates.
- Design work: Systems design, planning, etc. are often important components of these jobs, and excellent material for cover letters in terms of proving expertise.
- Technical: Specific requirements for technical knowledge. In specialist electrical engineering, the knowledge base is a major factor in establishing credentials for positions.
Drafting the cover letter
One of the major issues with cover letters generally is that the often large amount of information needed has to be condensed down to one page. Technical trades also often include a lot of specific job criteria, like experience in the use of particular systems, design skills, and other areas. Start by listing each of the job criteria. This allows you to address each point, and makes sure you cover all points in these important job requirements. For example:
- System design skills
- Experience in ABCD systems
- Problem solving skills
- Communications
You can address these elements in detail. It's best to use headings and clearly cover each aspect as a separate subject. This is useful for screening purposes, because you show that you've met all criteria.
Writing the cover letter
Depending on your experience, you can show very strong levels of skills in your letter. Using the criteria above as headings, you can create a good cover letter. Note that in this case headings are used to separate criteria. This helps the screening officer identify direct matches to the requirements of the position:
- System design skills: I have five years direct experience in design of electrical architecture and components of this type of system, including CAD design and preparation of detailed subsystem plans.
- Experience in ABCD systems: I have a current ABCD Certificate of competence and 12 years experience in repair, installation, diagnostics and maintenance.
- Problem solving skills: As a senior electrical engineer, my duties include a lot of problem solving at all levels. My current position as senior electrical maintenance officer requires me to deal with all aspects of system problems.
