Crafting a development manager cover letter can often seem like a daunting task, especially if you're deep in the job search and realize it's not just your resume that needs to shine. Your cover letter is your chance to highlight a crowning professional achievement in a narrative that captivates the reader—without just echoing your resume. Striking the perfect balance of formality and originality, while keeping it under one page, is no small feat. Let's dissect how to craft a cover letter that stands out for all the right reasons.
- Personalize the greeting to address the recruiter and your introduction that fits the role;
- Follow good examples for individual roles and industries from job-winning cover letters;
- Decide on your most noteworthy achievement to stand out;
- Format, download, and submit your development manager cover letter, following the best HR practices.
Use the power of Enhancv's AI: drag and drop your development manager resume, which will swiftly be converted into your job-winning cover letter.
If the development manager isn't exactly the one you're looking for we have a plethora of cover letter examples for jobs like this one:
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Development manager cover letter example
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- Quantifiable Achievements: The cover letter highlights a significant achievement of surpassing sales targets by 150% in Q4 2021, which showcases the candidate's direct impact on sales performance.
- Leadership and Mentorship: Demonstrates the applicant's ability to lead and mentor a team, which is critical for a senior role, as evidenced by the successful mentoring of junior associates that enhanced their performance by 30%.
- Strategic Initiatives: By mentioning the development of a novel cross-selling initiative that led to a 25% increase in policy sales among existing customers, the cover letter reflects the candidate's strategic thinking and its contribution to business growth.
Five tips on formatting your development manager cover letter
Do you want to make a good impression on recruiters and, at the same time, follow the best industry advice on writing your development manager cover letter?
Make sure to include the following:
- Header and Salutation;
- Introductory paragraph;
- Body paragraph;
- Closing paragraph;
- Signature (this one is up to you).
Remember to use the same modern, simple font for your development manager cover letter as you did for your resume (e.g. Lato, Rubik, etc.)
Ensure your development manager cover letter is single-spaced and is wrapped around a one-inch margin, like in our cover letter templates.
Once completed, use our cover letter builder to export your development manager cover letter in the best format to keep your information intact - PDF.
At the end of the day, your development manager cover letter won't be assessed by the Applicant Tracker System (ATS) software, but by the recruiters. Your information should thus be legible, organized, and follow a structured logic.
The top sections on a development manager cover letter
- Header: Include your name, contact information, and the date, to ensure the recruiter knows who you are and how to reach you for further conversation about the development manager position.
- Greeting: Address the letter to the specific hiring manager or recruiter by name, if possible, to personalize your application and demonstrate attention to detail, which is critical in a development manager role.
- Introduction: State the specific development manager position you are applying for and how you learned about the job opening, as this shows your genuine interest and proactive approach in seeking out the opportunity.
- Body: Outline your relevant experience, leadership skills, and successful project completions, using specific examples, as these are core competencies that recruiters look for in a development manager.
- Closing: Summarize your enthusiasm for the role and the value you would bring to the team, along with a call to action, such as expressing your desire to discuss the position in more detail, which shows confidence and initiative.
Key qualities recruiters search for in a candidate’s cover letter
- Proven leadership and team management skills: Crucial for overseeing cross-functional teams and ensuring project success.
- Experience in Agile methodologies: Essential for managing the iterative development process and facilitating collaboration between teams.
- Strong technical background: Helps in understanding the challenges faced by the development team and ensuring effective communication with technical stakeholders.
- Strategic planning and vision: Necessary for aligning the development team's work with the company's long-term goals and product roadmap.
- Excellent communication skills: Key for conveying complex technical ideas to non-technical stakeholders and for maintaining transparency within the team.
- Prioritization and decision-making abilities: Critical for managing the development backlog, allocating resources efficiently, and making tough calls on project scope and timelines.
What matters most when tailoring your development manager cover letter salutation
Your development manager cover letter greeting should feel welcoming to recruiters.
Use their first name (e.g. "Dear Marshall" or "Dear Sara"), if you've previously been in touch with the hiring manager and are on a more friendly basis.
If this is the first time you're contacting the recruiters, start your development manager cover letter with:
- their last name (e.g. "Dear Ms. Ali" or "Dear Mr. Stevens") - look up who's the hiring manager for the role on social media or the company website;
- generalized greeting (e.g. "Dear HR Team") - just don't use "To whom it may concern" or "Dear Sir/Madam".
List of salutations you can use
- Dear Hiring Manager,
- Dear [Company Name] Team,
- Dear [Department Name] Hiring Committee,
- Dear [Mr./Ms./Dr. Last Name],
- Dear [Job Title] Search Committee,
- Esteemed [Job Title] Selection Team,
Your development manager cover letter introduction and the value you bring
Moving on from the "Dear Recruiter" to your professional introduction.
Use those first two sentences of your development manager cover letter to present the biggest asset you'd bring to the organization.
Don't go into too much detail about your achievement or the skill set, but instead - go straight for the win.
That is - what is your value as a professional?
Would you be able to build stronger, professional relationships in any type of communication? Or, potentially, integrate seamlessly into the team?
Choosing your best achievement for the middle or body of your development manager cover letter
Now that you have the recruiters' attention, it's time to write the chunkiest bit of your development manager cover letter.
The body consists of three to six paragraphs that focus on one of your achievements.
Use your past success to tell a story of how you obtained your most job-crucial skills and know-how (make sure to back these up with tangible metrics).
Another excellent idea for your development manager cover letter's middle paragraphs is to shine a light on your unique professional value.
Write consistently and make sure to present information that is relevant to the role.
Ending your development manager cover letter to avoid "sincerely yours"
Yes, this sort of closing statement may work best before your signature.
But you want to give recruiters something more with your development manager cover letter ending.
Some professionals choose to go down the path of promises. In a single sentence, they map out what they'd bring about to the role (whether that's a particular technical skill set or personal traits).
Others, decide to be more concrete by thanking recruiters for their time and prompting for their next interview.
Whatever path you choose, remember to always be polite and respectful of the opportunity you've had. Good manners go a long way.
What to write on your development manager cover letter, when you have zero experience
The best advice for candidates, writing their development manager cover letters with no experience, is this - be honest.
If you have no past professional roles in your portfolio, focus recruiters' attention on your strengths - like your unique, transferrable skill set (gained as a result of your whole life), backed up by one key achievement.
Or, maybe you dream big and have huge motivation to join the company. Use your development manager cover letter to describe your career ambition - that one that keeps you up at night, dreaming about your future.
Finally, always ensure you've answered why employers should hire precisely you and how your skills would benefit their organization.
Key takeaways
Turning your development manager cover letter into a success is all about staying authentic to yourself and relevant to the job:
- Be creative with your development manager cover letter introduction by stating something you enjoy about the company (that is genuine) or about your skill set (to get the recruiters' interested);
- Use single spacing and have a one-inch margin wrapping all around the content of your development manager cover letter;
- Select just one past achievement from your career or life to tell a story of how you've obtained job-crucial skills and how they'd be beneficial to the role;
- The finishing paragraph of your development manager cover letter doesn't necessarily have to be a signature but could be a promise of what you plan to achieve in the role;
- Instead of focusing on your lack of experience, spotlight your transferable skills, one relevant achievement, and career dreams.
