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When you’re applying for an administrative assistant position, you’ll likely be competing against many other qualified candidates.
Including a cover letter with your application is a perfect way to stand out, as it allows you to highlight important information from your resume and convey your unique positives qualities.
In this article, we’ll discuss the core components that all effective administrative assistant cover letters share. We’ll also provide you with important tips and writing samples to help you craft your own copy.
No matter which company you’re applying for, your administrative assistant cover letter needs to follow a logical structure and include several important pieces of information.
These structural components are:
The header. Add your contact info, followed by the company’s info. You should also use a professional greeting, such as “Dear [Hiring manager’s name],”
If you don’t know who will be reading your cover letter, then simply using “Dear Hiring Committee” will suffice.
Opening paragraph. Grab the recruiter’s attention by diving into your achievements and results.
Body paragraph #1. Demonstrate your proficiency in the key skills mentioned in the job description.
Body paragraph #2. Explain how you’re going to replicate your past successes and generate value for the company.
Closing. Thank the reader for their time and indicate your enthusiasm for further discussion.
Looking for a job? These position are hiring now near you:
Sarah Ward
165 Greenwire Road
Miami, FL 11363
222-565-1212
sWard@gmail.comJune 06, 2021
Larry Griffin
5562 Rockmill Street
Rochester Hills, MI 63212
444-222-1212
lGriffin@gmail.comDear Larry Griffin,
I am writing to apply for the Administrative Assistant position at Quicken Loans. After reading through your job description, I believe that my 11 years of experience in the field and passion for increasing office efficiency make me the ideal candidate to add value to your team.
At my previous administrative assistant position at Jackson Hewitt, I spearheaded an initiative to digitize the planning and paperwork processes, saving the company over $6,000 per year in labor expenses.
Some other results I’ve generated for past employers include:
At PwC, trained four administrative assistants on key office procedures such as customer service and maintaining files.
At Deloitte, efficiently managed the local branch president’s travel arrangements and meetings, saving him 2 hours of time each day.
Also at Deloitte, reduced annual office expenses by $4,000 by negotiating better deals with existing suppliers.
The opening paragraph is the most critical section of your entire cover letter.
On average, hiring managers will spend less than a minute reading over your entire application. This means that even if you have a well-written cover letter, recruiters will skim over most of it if you don’t catch their attention at the very start.
The first or second sentence of your document needs to be an example of when you’ve proven your ability to generate value for an organization.
Once you’ve caught the recruiter’s attention, list more achievements to further demonstrate your credibility. Make sure that each one is short and snappy, taking up no more than a sentence or two.
Since your job as an administrative assistant is to increase office efficiency and reduce costs, make sure to quantify your achievements with real numbers. If you saved a previous employer money, then list the actual figure.
The opening paragraph is also where you should mention if an existing employee of the company referred you for the position.
I’m confident that with my technical, leadership, and communication skills, I can generate the same results for your organization.
In addition to saving multiple employers thousands of dollars annually and increasing employee efficiency, My proficiency in tools such as SalesForce, Microsoft Excel, and QuickBook has allowed me to create detailed reports for managers 20% more quickly.
Use the first body paragraph of your cover letter to list some of your key skills and areas of expertise.
Try to cover a variety of different types of skills rather than focus on a single one.
One of the core types of skills that employers look for when hiring administrative assistants is technical proficiency. If you’re an expert at commonly used software such as Microsoft Excel or Quickbook, make sure to mention it here.
During my three years as an administrative assistant at Deloitte, I trained over 30 office staff from multiple departments. By adapting to the different personalities and backgrounds of all these professionals, I mentored them into contributing members of the organization.
I believe this experience as an effective communicator makes me the perfect candidate to fulfill the needs of executives at your organization and enable them to work more efficiently.
The second body paragraph is where you want to really target the main skill and duty requirements included in the job listing.
Think of this paragraph as the “value proposition” that you’re offering the company. You’ve already demonstrated how you created value for previous employers, so now you need to directly address the needs of the current company and tell them how you’re going to do the same for them.
The above sample is for a job posting that lists “creating stress-free and efficient work environments for upper managers'' as the main requirement. Therefore, the cover letter emphasizes the candidate’s communication skills and ability to assess the needs of all different types of individuals.
For your cover letter, you’ll want to tailor this section to the job you’re applying for.
I would love to join Quicken Loans and use my proven abilities to create efficient office environments and reduce costs to further your organization’s goals. I look forward to speaking with you to discuss further how I can add value to the team.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Best Regards,
Sarah Ward
Make sure to spend extra time perfecting your cover letter closing, as it’s your last chance to leave a memorable impression on the recruiter.
Use this section to briefly summarize the value you offer to the team and refer back to the achievements you mentioned earlier.
You should also indicate your enthusiasm and availability for further discussion, as well as your appreciation for the reader’s time.
Looking for a job? These position are hiring now near you:
Here is a complete version of the administrative assistant cover letter sample we’ve covered so far:
Sarah Ward
165 Greenwire Road
Miami, FL 11363
222-565-1212
sWard@gmail.comJune 06, 2021
Larry Griffin
5562 Rockmill Street
Rochester Hills, MI 63212
444-222-1212
lGriffin@gmail.comDear Larry Griffin,
I am writing to apply for the Administrative Assistant position at Quicken Loans. After reading through your job description, I believe that my 11 years of experience and passion for increasing office efficiency make me the ideal candidate to add value to your team.
At my previous administrative assistant position at Jackson Hewitt, I spearheaded an initiative to digitize the planning and paperwork processes, saving the company over $6,000 per year in labor expenses.
Some other results I’ve generated for past employers include:
At PwC, trained four administrative assistants on key office procedures such as customer service and maintaining files.
At Deloitte, efficiently managed the local branch president’s travel arrangements and meetings, saving him 2 hours each day.
Also at Deloitte, reduced annual office expenses by $4,000 by negotiating better deals with existing suppliers.
I’m confident that with my technical, leadership, and communication skills, I can generate the same results for your organization.
In addition to saving multiple employers thousands of dollars annually and increasing employee efficiency, My proficiency in tools such as SalesForce, Microsoft Excel, and QuickBook has allowed me to create detailed reports for managers 20% more quickly.
During my three years as an administrative assistant at Deloitte, I trained over 30 office staff from multiple departments. By adapting to the different personalities and backgrounds of all these professionals, I mentored them into contributing members of the organization.
I believe this experience as an effective communicator makes me the perfect candidate to fulfill the needs of executives at your organization and enable them to work more efficiently.
I would love to join Quicken Loans and use my proven abilities to create efficient office environments and reduce costs to further your organization’s goals. I look forward to speaking with you to discuss further how I can add value to the team.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Best Regards,
Sarah Ward
Here are some additional guidelines to keep in mind when you’re writing a cover letter for an administrative assistant position:
List achievements, not responsibilities. Many candidates make the mistake of wasting space on their cover letters by listing their routine day-to-day duties.
The goal of your cover letter should be to impress and stand out, even if you’re just applying for an internship or asking for a promotion. If all you can do is prove that you’re adequate, you’re going to lose the position to more qualified candidates.
Demonstrate your value, and you’ll get what you want.
If you show off impressive achievements, the recruiters will automatically assume you know how to do all the common day-to-day duties anyway.
Emphasize your technical skills. Many surveys show that when employers are looking to hire administrative assistants, technical proficiency is one of the top factors that decide who they ultimately choose.
If you automated manual office tasks or trained other employees to use the software at a previous job, then put these types of achievements at the top of your list.
Use keywords. Employers often use software to automatically filter and rank job applications based on how often they mention certain keywords and phrases.
When it comes to administrative assistant positions, here are some keywords that you should try to naturally integrate into your cover letter:
Inventory management
Microsoft Office
Sharepoint
Salesforce
QuickBooks
Multitasking
Record-keeping
Scheduling