Office Assistant Cover Letter Example & Writing Tips

Text Format

[Today’s Date] [Hiring Manager’s Name] [341 Company Address] [Company City, State XXXXX] [(XXX) XXX-XXXX] [hiring.manager@gmail.com]

Dear [Mr./Mrs./Mx.] [Manager’s Name],

Over the past 5 years, I’ve built a solid foundation of skills and knowledge as an office assistant. Equipped with my strong organizational skills, leadership abilities, and customer service experience, I’d love to help your office meet its growth goals while maximizing resources.

Working as Head Office Assistant at Capsule has prepared me to meet the challenges of a larger office environment. One example of how I exceeded expectations as an employee is when I simplified data retrieval, saving the company $24,000 in annual labor costs. I was also responsible for training and supervising a staff of one full-time office assistant and two interns, receiving 95% positive peer feedback from my trainees. Given my proven leadership skills and cost-cutting abilities, I can quickly make an impact at your company.

I also went above and beyond my daily responsibilities when working at Omega Industries. Using my customer service knowledge and new research I compiled, I organized a workshop to train employees in updated service techniques, which led to a 20% increase in customer service ratings. Throughout my tenure, I was known for taking initiative, embracing challenges, and overcoming obstacles to contribute to the overall success of the company.

I would be thrilled to have an opportunity to discuss my qualifications further in an interview. Please feel free to contact me at (212)572-9812 or youremail@email.com at your earliest convenience. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]

How to write an office assistant cover letter

Learning how to put together a cover letter for the specific job(s) you want will help you land more interviews.

As an office assistant, you’re responsible for seeing to the administrative functions of the office, such as answering phone calls and emails, scheduling appointments, and managing databases.

For this type of role, it’s especially important to highlight organizational abilities and familiarity with relevant tools and software so employers know you’re prepared to take charge of daily operations.

To demonstrate to employers that you’re capable of meeting the demands of a busy office, here are three tips for writing a great office assistant cover letter:

1. Highlight office assistant skills

Employers want reliable office assistants to support their office’s day-to-day operations so they can focus on the other aspects of their job. Between greeting guests, booking appointments, managing files, and maintaining supplies, companies won’t just hire anyone — you need the right mix of technical skills and soft skills to excel.

To show them you have the right expertise, use your cover letter to showcase the hard and soft skills you have, paying special attention to those that are mentioned in the job posting.

Here are some commonly required office assistant skills to consider including in your cover letter:

Organization
Prioritization
Active listening
Time management
Problem solving
Budgeting
Critical thinking
Interpersonal skills
Collaboration
Data entry
Recordkeeping
Communication
Attention to detail
Phone/email etiquette
Fast typing
Computer skills
Analytical skills
File management
Google Workspace
Microsoft Office (Excel in particular)

2. Make sure your cover letter isn’t too long (or too short)

The ideal cover letter length for office assistants is between 250-400 words. Submitting a cover letter that’s too long or too short could hurt your chances of hearing back from employers.

A lengthy cover letter is unappealing for hiring managers who have dozens of applications to look over. They may end up skimming your letter to save time and miss out on some of your important qualifications. On the other hand, a too short cover letter is a missed opportunity for you to expand and add to the skills on your resume.

To ensure your cover letter communicates your qualifications effectively, edit your writing to cut out unnecessary phrasing and repetitive ideas. The hiring manager that reads your cover letter will appreciate you being considerate of their time and walk away with a better overall understanding of your abilities.

Tips for achieving the ideal cover letter length:

Stay between ½ and 1 page in length
Structure your ideas with 3-4 paragraphs
Avoid wordiness by making your sentences short and direct
Consider using a bulleted list to save space and communicate ideas clearly

3. Emphasize your specific accomplishments

Employers rely on their office assistants to make sure everything runs smoothly in the office.

Convince them that you’re dependable and efficient by giving good examples of how you’ve applied skills like organization and time management in your cover letter.

Here are a few ways to emphasize your accomplishments in a cover letter:

Focus on relevant accomplishments that demonstrate your success in organizing, prioritizing, and efficiently managing multiple projects
Lead with your most impressive achievement to hook employers and encourage them to continue reading
Quantify your achievements by using numbers so employers know exactly what the result was. For example, “restructured inventory management system to reduce waste and save $12,000 annually”.

For each example you choose to include in your cover letter, try to be as specific as possible and indicate how your efforts helped the business.