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Backend developer: CV and cover letter examples

2 fully written cover letters, a ready CV with a placeholder portrait and practical tips – open the example and replace the details with yours.

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Cover letter examples

Each example is written for a different starting point. Borrow the structure, not the sentences – your own examples and numbers are what make a letter work.

1Database-focused developerExperienced

Mei Lin Zhou
60 Hills Road
Cambridge CB2 1LA
089 99998 233 · mei.zhou@example.com

Warehouse Systems Ltd
Baker
12 Station Road
Cambridge CB1 2JD

DD Month YYYY

Application for the position of Backend developer

Dear Mr Baker,

our slowest query took four seconds and ran twenty thousand times a day. A week of query plans, two new indexes and a rewritten join brought it down to eighty milliseconds. That is the kind of work I enjoy most.

I have five years of backend development in Java and Python, mostly for billing and warehouse systems. I design clean data models, build APIs other teams like using, write tests before merging and have shared on-call duty. Your software runs warehouses with millions of transactions a day.

Yours sincerely,

Mei Lin Zhou

Enclosures
CV
References

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2Graduate with a payments projectEntry level

Nick Warner
50 Mill Road
Cambridge CB1 2AS
030 23125 540 · nick.warner@example.com

Riverbank Fintech
Kraus
200 Bishopsgate
London EC2M 4NR

DD Month YYYY

Application for the position of Junior backend developer

Dear Ms Kraus,

my final-year project was a payments service for a student canteen that records top-ups from an app without counting a penny twice. Idempotent APIs, transactions and tests with simulated network failures were at its core.

I write Go and Python. A fintech where every transaction has to be right is the place where I want to learn.

Yours sincerely,

Nick Warner

Enclosures
CV
Project link

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All people, companies and contact details in the examples are fictional.

CV example

A complete CV for the role – with an illustrated placeholder instead of a photo.

Preview of the CV of Mei Lin Zhou in the Modern design
Read the CV as text

Mei Lin Zhou

Backend developer

60 Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 1LA · 089 99998 233 · mei.zhou@example.com

Placeholder portrait: replace it with your photo in the editor, or remove it.

Work experience

  • 2021 – present
    Backend developer
    Billing Systems Ltd, Cambridge
    • Java and Python services
    • Query optimisation: 4 s to 80 ms
    • On-call, monitoring

Education

  • 2016 – 2021
    MSc Computer Science
    University of Cambridge, Cambridge

Skills

Java, Python, SQL, API design

Languages

English (C2 – proficient), Chinese (Native)

Interests

Table tennis, board games

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Good to know

Your application in three steps

  1. Add your own photo – or none

    The example uses an illustrated placeholder. Replace it under “Choose photo” in the editor, or remove it: in the UK, US and many other countries a CV photo is not expected.

  2. Replace the details

    Name, contact, jobs, skills: everything is filled in and can be overwritten field by field.

  3. Save as PDF

    The PDF is created in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, no account needed.

What employers look for

Backend developers build interfaces, data models and services that run reliably under load. Employers ask about languages, databases, testing, security and operations. Describe a system you improved, with numbers.

  • One or more backend languages

  • Relational and other databases

  • API design, testing, security

  • Operations and monitoring basics

  • Code review culture

Tips for your application

Do

  • Describe systems with numbers.
  • Name languages, databases and operations work.
  • Link code or projects.

Don’t

  • Buzzword lists.
  • Company secrets in examples.
  • Ignore testing and operations.
Typical interview questions

Prepare a short, honest example from your own work for each one.

  1. How would you design an API for a mobile app?
  2. How do you find a slow query?
  3. What is idempotency?
  4. How do you handle a production incident?

Salary expectations

If the advert asks for your salary expectations, give an annual gross figure or a range you have researched – through pay scales, salary surveys from public sources or people who do the job. If it does not ask, leave pay out of the letter; it will come up in the interview.

Frequently asked questions
Do I need DevOps skills?

The basics help: containers, logs, monitoring, deployment. Many teams expect backend developers to run what they build.

Should I put a photo on my CV?

It depends on the country. In the UK, Ireland and the US a photo is usually left out to avoid bias, and many employers prefer CVs without one. In Germany and some other countries it is common but optional. If you use one: recent, friendly, plain background, dressed as you would be on a good day at work.

Can I copy the example letters?

Yes, they are free to use. But recruiters read a lot of letters – one with your own examples, numbers and a real reason for choosing this employer will always do better. Use the examples as scaffolding and write the sentences yourself.

Is my data stored anywhere?

No. The CV and the letter are created in your browser. Nothing is stored unless you switch on “Save the draft” in the editor – and then only on your device.

Related jobs

Finish your application

Cover letter and CV as PDF, certificates added, all in one file – small enough for any job portal.