Why are you applying for these engineering internships? Shouldn’t you be setting up PayPal and earning your billions to blast into space?
Dave Rygielski Career Expert
Elon Musk is an engineering superstar. He alone could make hundreds of millions of people believe that engineers are cool, witty, and and play with flamethrowers all day. But, let’s get back down to Earth. You haven’t written the new PayPal just yet.
That’s fine, you’ll have a real engineering job soon.
This guide will show you:
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Looking for other cover letter examples for positions in engineering, tech, and science? See:
Haven't you written your resume yet? These examples can help you:
Our sample cover letter for engineering internships comes from Greg, who is soon graduating, and has been involved in many hobbyist projects and challenges. See how he displays his passion and unique approach to grab their attention and not let go all the way until the post scriptum.
Gregory B. Olmos
759 Willow Greene Drive
Montgomery, AL 36109
Montgomery, Jan 30, 2020
Montgomery, AL 36109
I want to express my excitable interest in the engineering internship you are offering at STP Engineering. As a final year General Engineering student at the University of Montgomery, I maintain a 3.75 GPA and have made the Dean’s List every semester, setting me up with a solid foundation to get a taste of real engineering at STP.
As well as maintaining these grades, I am also one of the team leaders of the Engineering Society, where we build machines that compete with each other on tasks, and an engineer in the Robotic Society, where we build machines that duke it out with each other to death, most days. During our largest competition of the past year, we competed to build an e-bike that would climb the maximum incline, and also for a 1-km actual hill climb race outdoors. I used CAD and automated CNC to fabricate ultra-light aluminum rear stabilizer wheels, with raised edges that allowed us to fit strips of solid rubber into the wheel, providing traction, and not having to fabricate the wheel to fit an existing tire. Our bike, powered by a rear hub drive, instead of a pedal assist, beat the next team on the incline by 14 degrees (40 degrees), and the last by 21 degrees. As the chief designer and fabricator behind the stabilizer design, I have exhibited outside-of-the-box thinking, and sacrificed a few pounds for increased stability and traction that would ace the harder task.
With these challenges, as well as subjects of my study, I am often able to find the innovative solution that will beat out the others, and have together with my team been crowned The Engineering Society best team in 2019. I am extremely interested and excited how my approach will fare in the world of real engineering, with real, complex, new problems, and I am excited to see how I could grow and what I could learn at a cutting-edge company such as STP.
When could we schedule a call or a meeting for me to tell about the other crazy robotics projects we made?
Gregory B. Olmos
PS There was a sword fight involved in our last robotics project. You might want to see the video.
Let’s engineer that letter of your own.
Imagine this. Your engineering cover letter gets picked up. BANG!
A fuse is blown. In the brain of the hiring manager, when they see that fonts between your cover letter and resume do not match, and neither do the margins. In the bin. Something as silly as this can disqualify you from a job requiring this level of attention to detail.
Let’s get into our engineering internship cover letter example. Here’s what it should include.
The header of your cover letter for engineering internships should match your resume header. Both should be only one page, so that there is no delay in the “user journey”, or hesitation permitted on the side of the hiring manager.
List your details in full, a space, city and date, a space, and the details of the hiring manager. Things like listing your LinkedIn profile at this stage may be an unnecessary distraction—there’s not going to be anything there they won’t find on the resume just yet.
We can compare notes:
[ Your Job Title ] (Optional)
[ LinkedIn Profile ] (Optional)
[ Hiring Manager’s Full Name ]
[ Hiring Manager’s Position ]
[ Company Street Address ]
[ City and Zip Code ]
Expert Hint: If you’re applying online, there are some specific issues to keep in mind when sending your legal cover letter electronically, which our email cover letter guide will clue you up on. At ResumeLab, there is also always more cover letter tips, dos and don’ts to know.
Internships are often amongst the most contested positions on the market. In specialist fields such as engineering, everyone needs their first shot somewhere. Preferably somewhere big, recognizable, and prestigious. Sound familiar?
The statistical truths are on your side, however. The majority of these inexperienced future world-changers will make cardinal errors in their application, the kind that this engineering internship cover letter guide is here to prevent.
When addressing your cover letter, always address the manager by their first name. It shows your attention to detail and research skills. If the name of the manager is nowhere to be found in the job posting, go on the company LinkedIn, or even pick up the phone!
Check against our template:
Dear [Hiring Manager’s name]:
As soon as I saw your company logo next to the engineering internship ad on [career website], I knew this is the opportunity I have been waiting for. As an [degree program name] student in their [year] year of study, I maintain a [X] GPA, and have made the Dean’s List [X] times. I have excelled in [coursework relevant to company] modules during my studies, achieving [grade] grades, and managed to [achievement/project related to the above-mentioned]. Together with the know-how and mentorship of [target company name], I will be able to make steps towards becoming a true, professional engineer.
Expert Hint: While you’re on LinkedIn stalking hiring managers, you can do some very impressive research. In an innovative, dynamic field such as engineering, many companies will put out their content online. See if the company has any LinkedIn blog posts (check the website, too!)—double points if they’re written by the person who’s going to be receiving your engineering resume. See if there is anything you can relate to or discuss in your engineering internship cover letter.
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Just like in our sample cover letter for engineering internships, start strong, and don’t let go. Maintain the attention. Using empty and flowery statements to fill space will get you binned, and your hopes of being the next Elon Musk.
If you don’t have many varied achievements, feel free to work one angle just like Greg did in the example. If you can provide metrics, ways you contributed to the success, and explain your thinking, that is far more interesting than listing your “relevant coursework” or education. Start here:
I have been impatiently waiting for you to reopen your intern intake at [target company name], and am excited to offer my candidature. Apart from maintaining the grades, I also take active part in [society/hobbyist projects/other]. During one of our frequent challenges, we were required to [challenge task], where I innovated a [describe solution] which allowed us to [achievement/metric] and dominate over our opponents. I very much enjoy being an active, motivating, and stimulating part of the team, while competing with the opponents, and I would like to bring that attitude to my tasks at [target company name].
Expert Hint: Need to show an ability to develop holistic solutions and work in multidisciplinary teams? See Design For America for events, courses and ideas. Putting these projects, achievements and awards on your resume will boost your chances.
Alright, you’re there to grow, to learn, we get it. That’s what interns are for.
Put yourself in the employer’s shoes, and think, what would I want an intern to bring to the table? All interns are bringing an effectively empty slate—they all have been educated similarly—focus on what you can do for the employer.
Fill in the [blanks]:
I think I would make a significant impact for an Intern, through my hobbies and the college societies I have developed [skills] skills far outside the scope of a regular engineering graduate. Perhaps when combined with [target company name]’s know how and experience, I could develop those skills to the next level and become a valued employee at the forefront of innovation.
End your cover letter professionally, and boldly ask for a call or an interview. You’ve made your case. Sometimes, people need an extra push. Drop in an extra reason or incentive to convince them.
Use this:
When would be a good time for a call or a meeting to discuss how my [your best, most relevant skill/experience/their most important requirement] skills can help [target organization name] achieve [something important to this employer]?
[Digital copy of your handwritten signature]
[Your full name]
[Phone number]
[Email address]
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When composing a cover letter for engineering internships, remember to:
Do you have any more questions about writing a cover letter for engineering internships? Did you find our engineering internship cover letter examples helpful? Leave us a comment, I’ll be more than happy to hear from you!
At ResumeLab, quality is at the crux of our values, supporting our commitment to delivering top-notch career resources. The editorial team of career experts carefully reviews every article in accordance with editorial guidelines, ensuring the high quality and reliability of our content. We actively conduct original research, shedding light on the job market's intricacies and earning recognition from numerous influential news outlets. Our dedication to delivering expert career advice attracts millions of readers to our blog each year.
Written by Dave RygielskiDave is a career expert delivering a wide range of well-researched advice regarding the job hunting and application process. At ResumeLab, his data-driven resume and cover letter guides help readers capitalize on their potential.
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