Operations Manager
Cover Letter Sample

Operations Manager Cover Letter Template

Using the right formatting for your cover letter ensures employers take your application seriously.

Average operations manager salaries in the US

The following table includes information from O*NET Resource Center by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. The data is presented based on the top states by downloads in the USA.

How to write an operations manager cover letter

Writing a cover letter to accompany your operations manager resume is key to helping you succeed in finding your next operations role.

Follow these three writing tips to improve your operations manager cover letter and land a spot on the management team.

1. Highlight your operations management skills

Operations managers are high-level experts who can manage people and assess how businesses work and create improved processes for them. State your hard and soft skills in your cover letter so employers know you have a diverse skill set and can successfully lead your operations team.

You learn hard skills from on-the-job experience, training, or schooling. As an operations manager, you need to learn many technical skills to use at the workplace.

For instance, many businesses use software to track and automate business processes, calculate revenue costs, and record budget or project information, so employers seek operations managers who are comfortable with using different types of technology and tools.

These are other operations manager hard skills for your resume:

• Administrative skills
• Data analytics
• Language skills
• Product development
• Project management skills
• Risk analysis
• Scheduling software
• Strategic planning
• Supply chain management
• Workflow process and development

And don’t forget to mention your soft skills. Soft skills relate to your personality and work ethic.

Operations managers should have excellent interpersonal skills and customer service skills, and listing these skills in your cover letter tells employers you’re comfortable interacting with everyone from fellow employees and other managers to key clients and new hires.

Include these soft skills in your resume skills section:

• Adaptability
• Communication skills
• Conflict management
• Critical thinking skills
• Delegation
• Financial know-how
• Management skills
• Organizational skills
• Patience
• People skills
• Sales skills
• Staff management
• Teamwork skills
• Time management skills

2. Open with a strong cover letter introduction

Starting your cover letter with an effective opening provides employers with insight into why you’re applying for the operations manager role and what professional skills and experiences you offer.

Begin by introducing yourself and saying how you found the job posting. If you’re applying because of someone you know at the company, name drop your referral briefly in your cover letter introduction.

Next, give more details about your operations manager experience by listing your:

• years of work experience
• related educational background
• interest in or passion for the role

For example, our applicant mentions their 10+ years of work experience, bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, and passion for fitness in the first four sentences of their operations manager cover letter.

Stating these facts at the beginning of your cover letter lets hiring managers know that you have the qualifications they seek — which will make them want to continue reading.

3. Provide examples of your achievements by using hard numbers

Working in operations management means you’re focused on numbers, details, and ways to strengthen your company. To prove you’re an operations manager who brings positive results to a company, quantify your experiences with hard numbers.

Hard numbers include percentages, team sizes, dollar amounts, and any relevant data that shows your work accomplishments as an effective leader and manager.

Here’s an example showing how to use percentages to highlight your achievements:

For instance, I improved our sales goals by 82% in 2020 after creating a new strategy that involved updating our company’s POS and fitness scheduling systems.

Our applicant also lists the number of employees they oversee and how many workshops they’ve created:

I currently supervise our sales team of 5+ employees and have collaborated with my director to provide ongoing staff training and 20+ professional development workshops.

Once your cover letter is complete with the highlight reel of your qualifications, expand on these skills and experiences in your operations manager resume.