Cyber Security Cover Letter

Writing a cover letter is a good way to engage employers on a more personal level and let them know what you, as a candidate, have to offer.

As an information technology professional tasked with safeguarding sensitive data and privacy, employers need to know that you’re capable, knowledgeable, and trustworthy. Your cover letter is the perfect opportunity to convince them that you’re the right fit for the job.

Here are three tips to help you write a convincing cyber security cover letter:

Tailor your cover letter to the job description

One of the most effective ways to ensure your cover letter lands well with an employer is to tailor it to the job description.

Each employer is going to have a different set of expectations and requirements, as well as unique security needs, and your cover letter should communicate your ability to meet those specific requirements.

To target a position effectively, look carefully over the responsibilities and qualifications sections in the job advertisement, and identify any job-related keywords. These are words or phrases that indicate what qualifications an employer is looking for, including specific skills, educational background, or particular types of experience.

Take a look at the job description for this cyber security engineer position, with keywords underlined in blue:

If you’re applying for this job, you want to include as many of the underlined keywords in your cover letter as possible.

Using the language from the job description helps reassure employers that you have the right qualifications and skills to effectively fill the role.

Showcase your cyber security skills

Working in cyber security requires you to be equipped with a large set of technical skills, which is exactly what employers want to see when they scan your application.

In addition to including them in your resume, you should also provide examples of your hard skills in your cover letter, with some additional detail about how you’ve effectively used them.

Look in the job description for any particular software or tools the company requires applicants be familiar with, and if you have experience using them be sure to mention it.

Here’s how the candidate in our cyber security cover letter example highlights their skills:

Whether working on implementing effective cyber security plans or delivering proactive information security and threat management services to large organizations, I’m adept at maintaining optimal security and business continuity. In my current role as Cyber Security Engineer for Value Stream Engineering, I maintain the security of 300+ network users to protect against unauthorized modification, destruction, and disclosure.

Of course, it’s also important to demonstrate your soft skills. Soft skills relate to how you interact with others and can make a big difference when it comes to whether or not you’ll be a good fit for a particular company.

So don’t forget to let employers know how great your problem-solving, collaborating and communication skills are. These personal qualities could be what convinces an employer to hire you over another equally qualified candidate.

Quantify your accomplishments

Employers at larger companies have to look at dozens of applications for the same job, and reading that many cover letters can get dull when they all say the same thing.

To catch their attention and spark interest, make sure to include hard numbers when discussing your professional accomplishments as a cyber security expert.

You can include hard numbers in the body paragraphs of your cover letter, or use a few bullet points to highlight them further, like in the following example:

• Detected and removed over 250 new viruses and malware while safeguarding and observing more than 60 websites without any major attacks
• Reduced security risks by 20% by installing physical access controls
• Implemented a multi-layer security system for the institution, including enhanced anti-virus, anti-spam, and anti-spyware software, which reduced malware risk by 47%

Making your achievements quantifiable is a quick and effective way to show employers your expertise in security, and demonstrates what tangible benefits you can bring them.

Not only that, but using numbers will make your cover letter more memorable and increase your chances of hearing back from an employer.