Mechanical Engineering Cover Letter Example

Working in one of the most diverse engineering disciplines, mechanical engineers design and develop systems and machinery in many different industries. Employers interview only the most qualified candidates for their mechanical engineering job openings, so you’ll need to highlight your top skills and experience in an exceptional cover letter.

Here are three tips for writing a strong mechanical engineer cover letter that helps your application stand out:

1. Highlight your mechanical engineering skills

Mechanical engineers require an excellent grasp of engineering science to do their jobs well. So employers look for candidates who have a lot of technical knowledge.

Show them you have the right expertise by including these hard skills — technical abilities you develop in class, self-study, and on the job — in your mechanical engineer cover letter:

• Knowledge of design principles (blueprints, drawings, models)
• MathWorks MATLAB
• Minitab
• Autodesk Revit
• Bentley MicroStation
• C++, Python, G-code, R, Perl
• Microsoft Visual Basic, Verilog, National Instruments LabVIEW

Although mechanical engineering is highly technical, employers want to see that you’d be a well-rounded employee. Show them you have more than just technical skills to offer by including these soft skills (personality traits you use to work with others) in your mechanical engineer cover letter:

• Time management skills
• Organizational skills
• Decision-making
• Leadership skills
• Project management skills
• Analytical and critical thinking skills
• Communication skills
• Teamwork

2. Open your mechanical engineer cover letter with a strong introduction

Companies hiring mechanical engineers often have hundreds of applications to review, making it difficult for you to stand out from the competition.

So explain your unique value with a concise cover letter introduction to differentiate yourself.

Here’s hows to write an attention-grabbing introduction for your mechanical engineer cover letter:

Showcase a relevant achievement

Lead with more details about an impressive accomplishment from your resume that emphasizes your job-essential mechanical engineering skills.

Show your passion

Convey your enthusiasm for the industry or role to show employers that you have the skills and the passion to succeed.

Highlight your research on the company

Research the company, and then open by showing how your talents line up with what they’re looking for. If there are any challenges they’re currently facing, you can address them in your cover letter.

Here’s an example of a mechanical engineer cover letter introduction that emphasizes a relevant accomplishment (several patents for machine component designs):

3. Quantify your achievements with hard numbers

Whether it’s maximizing production capacity or reducing mechanical errors, the success of a mechanical engineer is measured in numbers.

To show employers what you’re capable of and that you’re results-driven, back up the skills and accomplishments you talk about in your cover letter with data.

Below are three examples of quantified mechanical engineering skills in a cover letter:

• Completed all projects according to specifications and at 15% under budget
• Helped plan workforce use and equipment layouts to optimize workflow, leading to a 6% increase in production capacity over 1 year
• Maintained a production error rate consistently below 3% through precise attention to detail and expert care

But what if you’re a fresh mechanical engineering graduate or a student writing a cover letter for an internship and don’t have any professional achievements? You can still quantify your relevant education or volunteer experience. Here’s an example that shows how:

Last semester, I participated in a student-led engineering project that converted 35% of the university’s fossil fuel–based energy consumption to wind and solar energy.