Administrative Assistant Cover Letter Examples [+ 10 Ultimate Tips]
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What is a cover letter? A cover letter is a letter that introduces yourself in a meaningful and professional way during a job application.
🔎 A well-written cover letter typically expands your resume by emphasizing your achievements and what you can bring to the prospective company. This information not only gives the hiring manager a friendly approach to your first impression but also provides your motivation for joining the company.
Writing a good administrative assistant cover letter can be imperative to impress your future employer and hiring manager while showcasing your potentials and highlighting areas that might be right for the role. It is the most straightforward way to help you stand out from the crowd. So how to write a good cover letter for an administrative assistant? What does a good cover letter for an administrative assistant look like?
In this article, we will guide you through steps in writing an administrative assistant cover letter, including necessary content, tips, and administrative assistant cover letter sample.
Example of cover letter for administrative assistants
Joel J. Moore
608 Still Pastures Drive, North Manning, SC 29102
Phone: 803-473-699
Dear Ms. Smith
I am writing this cover letter as I was excited to read about the administrative assistant job opening at Z company. I have been a student administrative assistant throughout three years of university. Therefore I think this role is a perfect fit for me.
In my current position, my responsibilities as a student administrative assistant include assisting with special university program projects, conducting research on the relevant topics, and keeping accurate records of students and staff.
Additionally, as a highly valued student administrative assistant, I was rewarded with best student employee of the year in 2019 and 2020.
To further demonstrate my achievements, allow me to highlight some bullet points from the resume:
- Handled financial and administrative matters for four different projects
- Planned and organised activities for students and staff
- Created 20+ documents to keep records of university project plans
I believe myself to be a compassionate and timely person. I have never missed any deadlines on any projects, and I am keen to help others in need. I believe my current achievements and personality traits allow me to demonstrate the essential qualities of an excellent administrative assistant. I believe that I can bring high values to the team and stay committed to the company.
I look forward to speaking to you more about the position. Feel free to check the enclosed resume. If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Yours sincerely,
Joel J. Moore
What to put in an administrative assistant cover letter
Follow these steps to ace your application letter for administrative assistant:
1. Cover Letter Header
A cover letter header is an important part of the layout, includes: name and contact information, date, etc.
Begin with your contact details and you can add links to your websites such as LinkedIn and CakeResume.
2. Salutation (with the recipient's name)
Greeting the hiring manager by their name can help make a good first impression on your administrative assistant cover letter.
Example:
- Dear [hiring manager’s name],
- Dear hiring manager,
(if you cannot find the name of the hiring manager)
3. Opening
In this section, state the reasons why you are writing an administrative assistant cover letter for this particular company and a short line of your most relevant work experience for the role.
The opening includes:
- Greeting
- Self-introduction
- The purpose of the letter
Example of opening for an executive administrative assistant cover letter:
Please accept the enclosed cover letter for the executive administrative assistant at company X. After a careful read-through of the job description. I am thrilled to tell you that I consider this position a good fit for me since I have three years of experience as an office administrative assistant.
Example of opening for an entry-level administrative assistant cover letter:
I humbly present myself as a long-term fan of Y inc. I was excited to see a job opening for an entry-level administrative assistant because I was an intern for the sister company Z as an administrative assistant for six months.
4. Qualifications
In this section, you can elaborate on why you are applying to be an administrative assistant. It’s a good opportunity to show your understanding of the company and whether your values are aligned with the company.
The qualifications section includes:
- Skills
- Work experience
- Academic experience
- Achievements
Example of qualifications section on a dental administrative assistant cover letter:
I have an Associate Degree in Dental Assistant from Boston Technical college in 2017. Additionally, I have recently obtained a certificate as a dental assistant, which testifies my knowledge and skills as a dental assistant.
Example of qualifications section on a legal administrative assistant cover letter:
I am comfortable with computer use and software such as Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel. As a previous administrative assistant, I possess skills in office management and detail orientation.
5. Motivation
In the main part of your cover letter for administrative assistant, you can demonstrate the qualities and skills required for the job you’re applying for.
💡 Tip: Simply list the most relevant achievements and work experience as examples to help you stand out from the competition.
Example of an executive administrative assistant cover letter:
From my four years of experience as an executive assistant, I learned the importance of patience. Furthermore, I became skilled at time management, scheduling meetings and preparing agendas for the executives. I have developed resilience for setbacks and be adaptable to work around sudden changes. I believe my best value to any executives is my problem-solving ability and the ability to maintain calm in a crisis.
Example of an office assistant cover letter:
My previous experience at X company and y company make me feel competent to execute daily duties as an office assistant. I handled four projects at the same time. Therefore, I developed the ability to work under pressure and in a fast-paced environment. I believe these qualifications can be an encouraging asset as an office assistant. I pride myself on my communication skills and qualifications.
6. Additional Information
Adding additional information such as special training, certification, portfolio, personal projects, volunteer work, and family background is similar to adding a cherry on top of a cake. It can strengthen your profile on the application letter for administrative position.
Example of an entry-level administrative assistant cover letter:
Additionally, I was a volunteer as a community staff for the X community center as an events organizer. I believe the organization skill I gained from this experience is helpful for the role.
7. Closing
In the last part of your administrative assistant cover letter, you can thank the hiring manager for spending time reading the cover letter. Mention additional materials such as a portfolio or relevant certificates.
Example of closing statements:
- Thank you for considering my application letter for office assistant. I look forward to hearing back from you.
- My resume and portfolio are attached. If you have any additional questions, please contact me via email.
8. Sign-Off & Signature
Close your administrative cover letter by signing your full name at the end.
How to write a good cover letter for administrative assistants
- Use keywords for specific skills or qualifications for an easy-read.
- Read the job description carefully before applying for the role.
- Highlight your relevant skills and experience by quantifying the experience (numbers, time, percentages).
- Always double check your cover letter for the administrative assistant job before submission.
- Your administrative assistant cover letter should have concise, consistent, and clear formatting. For example, you can keep the paragraphs short or choose a professional font.
Extra tips for 5 different administrative professionals
Executive assistant cover letter
As an executive assistant, your responsibility is to coordinate between executives of different companies. Focus on qualities such as managing calendars, work under pressure, and problem-solving.
Office assistant cover letter
An office assistant often deals with various clerical tasks. As such, emphasizing your skills in phone duty, mail management, and online management can help you get noticed.
Personal assistant cover letter
The PA career, fortunately, follows a steady progression. You can demonstrate this by listing the best achievements from your former PA roles and how this career progression contributes to the prospective job.
Secretary cover letter
A secretary is often the face of the company. Most employers look for stability on a secretary’s resume. Therefore, prioritizing skills such as resilience and commitment on your secretary cover letter can benefit you.
Administrative assistant cover letter with no experience
If you are an administrative assistant without experience, don’t be frightened! You can still demonstrate competencies by showing transferable skills and achievements from other qualifications. Make sure to make a good motivation statement as your motivation can remind them why you’re best for the position.
How to send an administrative assistant cover letter by email
After completing your administrative cover letter, your final step is to send the administrative cover letter via email.
There are two ways to do this:
1. Send as an attachment
You can save the administrative cover letter as a PDF or a Word document and send it as an attachment. The advantages of using an email attachment are that it keeps the administrative assistant cover letter format in touch. Also, it is the most common approach recruiters adopt because the document can be sent around from one manager to the next.
2. Send as the body of the email
On certain occasions, employers do not accept an administrative assistant cover letter in pdf. In these circumstances, paste your administrative cover letter into the email message. Remember to use simple font and formatting, as it can get messed up in the email formatting. Keep the email message tidy and short.
--- Originally written by Diana Shih ---
With the intention of helping job seekers to fully display their value, CakeResume creates an accessible free resume/CV/biodata builder, for users to build highly-customized resumes. Having a compelling resume is just like a piece of cake!
