Python Developer Cover Letter

Many job applicants today submit resumes without attaching a cover letter. While they understandably think that the practice is old-fashioned, a well-written cover letter can play an essential role in helping future Python Developers secure a job in the field.

Consider a recruiter or hiring manager's viewpoint when drafting a cover letter. The company can create three types of job listings:

• Resume and cover letter required
• Resume and optional cover letter
• Resume and no cover letter

If a job post specifies that applicants should not submit a cover letter, you should respect that. Otherwise, why not stand out from other applicants who submitted no cover letter?

How to Write a Python Developer Cover Letter

Of course, there are some universal things that belong in a cover letter:

• A heading with your contact information
• A direct greeting to the person who will receive your application
• The name of the job you’re applying for
• Success stories demonstrating skills from the job posting
• A call to action at the close

However, there are also a few things particular to Python development that future Python Developers will want to have in their cover letters. Read on to learn more.

Python Hard Skills

When you mention your Python hard skills, you should include skills that fit into three categories: programming, databases and servers, and development. Beyond core Python concepts, you need experience that will differentiate you from other applicants.

Core programming skills besides Python include libraries and frameworks like NumPy and Matplotlib. Depending on your experience, databases/servers may include SQL, Django, and MongoDB. Additional development tools may be IDEs (Integrated Development Environments) like Visual Studio Code, AWS, or PyCharm.

Python Soft Skills

After you mention specific hard skills, refer to your best soft skills. Be cautious: do not mix hard skills with soft skills. In other words, don't list adaptability between Scikit-learn and Pandas.

While cover letters allow you to shine beyond your resume, be concise here. A brief mention of an asset like innovation or time management can go a long way. Listing three soft skills is acceptable, but listing two can be even better.

Matchmaking 101

How your skills match the advertised position will be essential to your cover letter. Here you will need to be creative.

Every job candidate must research a company when applying there. You can highlight different aspects of your experience and unique skill set for each role. For example, if the position requires helping the company build websites, you might emphasize how a soft skill like collaboration helped your team to exceed a benchmark.

In matching your skills to the position, think of soft skills but solid numbers. Give an example or two of specifics, either percentages or dollar amounts.

Python-Adjacent Skills

Not every job listing will require skills outside the development realm, but some will. As a Python Developer, you already have knowledge of object-oriented programming, core tools like HTML and CSS, and web technologies like Git and AWS. You might have additionals skills, too, that match the position better than other candidates. Examples include:

• Machine Learning (ML)
• Deep Learning 
• Digital Forensics
• Tableau
• Power BI

Of course, you might instead have Python-adjacent skills irrelevant to the position. Although you can include these on your resume, avoid repeating them in your cover letter. Brevity is the key to a strong cover letter, which means every sentence should be relevant.

Customized Call-to-Action

Your call-to-action (CTA) can be an excellent place to show your familiarity with the company. Research is essential to every application, and here's where you can show your value.

Up to this point, your cover letter has been about your skills, experience, and making a great impression on a recruiter or hiring manager. Close strong, expressing your enthusiasm and how your skill set and knowledge will benefit the company.

Examples might include:

• Your experience with frameworks like Django and Flask will help the company develop applications of differing sizes and complexity.
• Your teamwork and time management skills will help them meet internal or client deadlines.
• Your cloud engineering and architecture knowledge can help the company with specific needs.

Mention the solution without calling attention to the challenges the company faces. You intend to demonstrate your value, not critique the company. 

5 Python Developer Cover Letter Tips

Once you have written a working cover letter draft with Python hard and soft skills, Python-adjacent skills, and a customized call-to-action, take time to review.

While you can add or subtract from this draft, consider the following suggestions before you hit send.

Minimize Technical Jargon

Always remember your reader may not be versed in your field.

When your cover letter and resume move on to the next stage, one or more people with technical expertise will review them. However, the initial contact may be a recruiter or hiring manager with little to no background in Python development.

Minimizing technical jargon does not mean leaving out essential tools like Django or SQL. Your recruiter most likely has to use an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) that searches for keywords like framework and library names.

More crucial is that you do not string together long phrases of technical names or use obscure verbiage. Replace business jargon like utilize or catalyze with straightforward language like use or make. Avoid tech jargon that can mean something else to a layperson, like sprint, duck, and forking.

As always, put yourself in the hiring manager or recruiter's chair. While you shouldn't use too many obscure acronyms, you don't need to specify that SQL stands for Structured Query Language or that CSS is short for Cascading Style Sheets. Their ATS most likely looks for these acronyms as keywords. However, avoid acronyms like MVP (Minimum Viable Product), which means Most Valuable Player to the layperson. 

Single Page Only

One of the most challenging aspects of writing a first-class Python Developer cover letter is making it the right length. As you do with your resume, you should take a Goldilocks approach: neither too long nor too short, but "just right."

Fewer cover letters are too short compared with too long, but it happens. The most common mistake people make on a too-short cover letter is thinking they should never add anything that isn't on the resume. On the contrary, the perfect single-page cover letter supplements your resume.

The too-short cover letter doesn't grab a recruiter's attention. Typically this involves following a boring cut-and-paste template and recycling it for each position. Never make this common mistake. Instead, create a custom cover letter for each application.

Although your cover letter should take up much of the page, it also shouldn't run over into the next. A too-long cover letter usually contains either too much detail or empty phrases, like "hard worker" or "problem solver." It's better to tell how you met a challenge, including data if applicable.

Highlight Qualifications

Just as you must customize your Python Developer cover letter and minimize jargon, you must convince the reader of your qualifications to do the job. If you are not qualified, you shouldn't apply. Don't try to get a position hoping you can rise to the challenge.

To convince a recruiter or hiring manager about your qualifications in a brief cover letter, ensure they understand your background. While the cover letter supplements the resume and vice versa, each should stand alone to a degree.

If you have a degree that benefits you in your search, by all means, mention it. If you have graduated from a bootcamp or certificate program, or are a self-taught development professional, explain that. You can avoid misunderstandings and aborted job interviews if the key stakeholders understand your education, skills, and background.

The most important qualification you can highlight in a cover letter is one that can help a company solve a problem or improve a product or service. Mention that before adding others to your cover letter. And remember, a recruiter may receive hundreds of applications, so your application must stand out from the crowd to rise to the top of the pile.

Proofread and Spell Check

Any list of tips on cover letters and resumes will emphasize the importance of proofreading and checking for spelling errors. If you're not a great speller, write all your drafts in a program that finds errors, whether MS Word or Grammarly.

However, as you go through your editing and proofreading process, be aware that these programs are far from perfect. One may not catch a mistake like writing "form" instead of "from," while another may offer continuous changes until you think you'll never get it right. If you are an ESL student (English as a Second Language), you most likely won't catch these errors, and you may need a native English speaker to assist you.

Get Feedback

One of the smartest moves you can make is to ask a trusted teacher or development professional for feedback on your cover letter. Many Python Developers get into the field after graduating from a comprehensive bootcamp or certificate program like the Python Developer Certificate from Noble Desktop. This course offers intensive training from experts in the field. Attendees get four 1-on-1 career mentorship sessions, which can cover portfolio review and job search materials review.

Whether you train as a Python Developer or a Cybersecurity Analyst with Python expertise, a strong cover letter that hits all the above benchmarks can help land you the job of your dreams.

Learn the Skills to Become a Python Developer at Noble Desktop

To become a Python Developer, everyone needs a range of skills and knowledge. Most people start with basics, like functions, variables, and the principles of object-oriented programming (OOP). Progressing to a development role also can include additional server-side languages like React (JSX), machine learning algorithms, and object-relational mapping (ORM).

Noble Desktop offers a range of online and in-person Python classes and bootcamps for development, data science and analytics, FinTech, and cybersecurity. Instructors with practical expertise teach these programs, which feature small class sizes to ensure individual attention. Each graduate receives a certificate of completion and can even retake the course for up to one year at no additional charge.

Many Python novices review some free online resources to prepare for one of these courses. Noble Desktop’s Learn Hub includes a comprehensive guide to learning Python for development or data-centered roles. Here you can check out free on-demand courses and tutorials on topics like exchanging Excel for Python and making a Twitter bot with Python. 

If you’re new to Python training, you might want to start with an immersive course like Noble’s Python Programming Bootcamp. However, you can also save by taking this bootcamp as part of their immersive Python Developer Certificate. This program provides Python fundamentals before taking participants through in-demand tools like Django REST, Git, and SQL. Check course listings for more details, including prerequisite information.