Office Assistant Cover Letter Example & 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./Ms.] [Manager’s Name],

I am interested in applying for the full time position as an Office Assistant as posted on (Website). Enclosed is my resume for your reference.

I completed my Bachelor’s degree in Sociology in February of 2007. Since then, I’ve accrued seven years of administrative experience. During that time, I’ve gradually built a strong foundation of knowledge regarding the various tasks and duties required of an office assistant. For instance, I’m now deeply familiar with Microsoft Office and other office management software, and have developed a suite of efficiency tools to keep an office organized and on task.

Working as Head Office Assistant at Omega Corporations has prepared me to meet the challenges of a managerial role in a professional office environment. One example of how I exceeded expectations as an employee is when I simplified the process of data retrieval for my managers – saving the company $24,000 in annual labor costs. I was also responsible for supervising and training a staff of three regular clerks and four interns. I believe that, equipped with my proven managerial skills and cost cutting abilities, I can contribute effectively to your company and be a valuable employee.

Additionally, I worked at Land’s End Industries where I handled the payroll activities for 60+ employees, answered an average of 40 calls per day, and improved our customer service rating 15% by training employees in new service techniques. Throughout my tenure I was known for taking the initiative, embracing challenges, and overcoming obstacles.

I would be thrilled to have an opportunity to personally interview with you. Please feel free to contact me at your earliest convenience. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]

Office Assistant Cover Letter Writing Tips

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

Office assistants are essential for keeping any office up-and-running.

But 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 demonstrate to employers that you’re capable of meeting the demands of a busy office you need a strong cover letter that highlights your skills.

To improve your application, here are three tips for writing a great office assistant cover letter:

Highlight office assistant skills

Employers are always looking for reliable office assistants to support their office’s day-to-day operations.

To show them you have the right expertise, use your cover letter to showcase the hard and soft skills you have that match what’s required in the job posting.

Additionally, here are some commonly required office assistant skills you should include in your cover letter:

Communication skills
Organizational skills
Prioritization
Active listening
Time management skills
Problem-solving and critical thinking
Interpersonal skills
Collaboration
Attention to details
Telephone skills
Fast typing
Managing files and records
Google Drive and Microsoft Office Suite (Excel in particular)

Additionally, here are some important office assistant computer skills to highlight in your cover letter:

Enterprise resource planning software (ERP): Oracle JD Edwards EnterpriseOne, Oracle PeopleSoft, SAP
Project management software: Mavenlink, Microsoft Project, Microsoft SharePoint

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.

By writing a simple one page cover letter, your application becomes easier to read and will more succinctly communicate your qualifications.

Here are some tips for achieving the ideal cover letter length:

Stay between ½ and one page in length
Structure your ideas with 3-4 paragraphs
Avoid wordiness by making your sentences short and direct

Emphasize your organizational skills

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

An image of an office assistant demonstrating the organizational skills highlighted on his cover letter — Office assistants must be highly organized multitaskers.

Convince them that you’re reliable and capable of performing tasks efficiently by emphasizing organizational and time management skills in your cover letter.

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

Focus on relevant accomplishments that’ll address the responsibilities outlined in the job posting
Lead with an impressive achievement to help employers visualize how you can deliver results
Quantify your skills by using numbers to back up achievements. For example, “Simplified data entry and retrieval processes to streamline electronic recordkeeping and saved $16,000 in labor costs annually.”

Provide real-life examples of accomplishments that’ll demonstrate to employers that you can effectively prioritize and manage your time to get things done.