Bank Manager Cover Letter Example

If you want a job as a bank manager, you could just mass-mail 50 resumes to 50 banks, sit back and wait for the calls to roll in. But wouldn’t your approach be more effective if it were a little more personalized? Like if you included a thoughtful, targeted, tailored bank manager cover letter with each application? That’s where our expertise comes in. 

Here at Resume.io, we have everything you need to boost your job search. With 180+ cover letter examples for job titles in every industry, we are here to help you impress the bank manager and land that interview.

The following cover letter example and writing guide will tell you everything you need to know about how to write the critical one-page letter. Getting it right could be the difference between a hire and a rejection letter. Specifically, we will be looking at:

• How to choose the best cover letter format and what paragraphs the cover letter should include
• How to maximize the effect of each cover letter paragraph (header, greeting, intro, body and conclusion)
• What approach to take when writing your cover letter.

Best format for a bank manager cover letter

To format a bank manager cover letter properly, you need to think about structure, layout and design. 

The structure is the “skeleton” – the framework, outline, blueprint. The ancient Egyptians didn’t just start building pyramids without any plan and hope they would turn out all right.

A bank manager cover letter sample should be one page only – 400 words max, and every word has to count. Here are the six components you need:

• The cover letter header
• The greeting / salutation
• The cover letter intro
• The middle paragraphs (body of the letter)
• The ending paragraph of your cover letter (conclusion and call-to-action)

Check out the free cover letter sample below for a reference point when starting your own.

Before we get into what all the words need to say, let’s think about how the page needs to look. These are issues of design and layout, and they are critical to proper cover letter format.

You need to choose an attractive, readable, professional cover letter font, and you need a font size between 10 and 12 points. Any smaller than that and the recruiter has to reach for a magnifying glass; any larger and it looks like you’re writing a “Mother Goose” book.

All text should be aligned left, not justified from margin to margin. And speaking of margins, allow for at least one inch of blank space on the left, right, top and bottom of your letter. A cover letter should never look “squeezed,” like you’re trying to force 15 gallons of stuff into a 10-gallon bag. 

Make your paragraphs of more or less equal length. Do not indent them, but do add a space between them. Avoid big blocks of unbroken text, which are daunting to read. Strive for visual balance, meaning your text is more or less centered on the page. You don’t want a bunch of text at the top and nothing at the bottom. 

Page designers have a saying: “White space is your friend.” This means that you need a certain amount of space on your page that contains nothing at all. This gives the eye and the brain a break, and it’s essential for good design. Find even more formatting tips in our comprehensive cover letter guide.

Cover letter header: How to reach me

The cover letter header, which used to be called a letterhead, is a thoughtfully designed element at the top of your page that provides all your contact info: 

• Name
• Occupation
• Mailing address
• Phone number
• Email address

You already have all this information memorized, so this will be the easiest part of the letter to write. But it’s the most challenging to design, because it should provide a sort of visual “wow factor” to your letter. Good headers include creative use of typography, layout and perhaps an accent color. 

Again, don’t wing it – use a field-tested header, like the one on our cover letter sample, that is a proven success. 

Cover letter greeting: Dear Mr. What’s-His-Name

The cover letter greeting is a three-word salutation (“Dear Mr. Sachs”) that many cover letter writers manage to botch completely.

“To Whom It May Concern” is among the most common fails, followed by “Dear Sir or Madam.” 

The purpose of a cover letter is to establish a personal connection with a hiring manager. So if at all possible, you need to find out that person’s name. If no name is provided in the job listing, do your best to learn it anyway. If all else fails, pick up the phone, call the company and ask. 

People like to read their own names, and you’re more likely to get a response from a letter addressed to an individual than from one addressed to an entire company.

If it’s impossible to find out the name of the hiring manager, then you might have to get a bit creative. “Dear Hiring Manager,” “Greetings Citibank hiring team” or the like will sometimes be your best option. But try to make this an option of last resort. See the greeting of our bank manager cover letter example below.

Bank manager cover letter introduction

It’s time to start writing. Your first paragraph, the cover letter introduction, must provide an irresistible hook that compels the reader to keep reading.

As the name implies, here you must find a way to introduce yourself, but you don’t need to say “Hello, my name is …” because your name already appears at the top and bottom of your letter. 

What you do want here is an intriguing opener that both identifies the job you’re seeking and suggests why you would be the ideal candidate. If you have years of experience as a bank manager, that’s a great start. But whatever your leading qualification is, open with that. You can flesh it out in the paragraphs that follow. Below you’ll find the introduction from our cover letter sample.

Cover letter middle part (body): Deliver the goods

The middle paragraphs of cover letters must do the heavy lifting, building a bulletproof case that you are the right person for the job.

Again, work experience is key, so expand on what you’ve done for other employers. Don’t just mention where you’ve worked in the past, but be specific, using facts and figures, about what you accomplished in past jobs. Try to include one anecdote about a major challenge you once faced on the job and how you resolved it to everyone’s satisfaction.

Here you can also pivot toward talking about the future: what you’d like to achieve in the future, and how this relates specifically to the company you’re targeting. Mention the company’s name, and anything relevant you know about it, to demonstrate that you aren’t just mass-mailing a copy-pasted cover letter to all potential employers. Here’s the body section from our cover letter example.

How to close a bank manager cover letter (conclusion and sign-off)

In the cover letter conclusion, the last paragraph, you must politely suggest that some response would be greatly appreciated. This is known as a “call to action” – it’s like you’re playing tennis and you’ve served the ball, but now the other person has to hit it back.

You might say that you’re eagerly anticipating a reply, that you’re always available for an interview, or even that you’d like to call this person in a week or two to discuss this opportunity further. Don’t be arrogant or presumptuous, but do plant the thought in your correspondent’s head that s/he should do something as a result of this letter, and not just lay it aside. Check out the conclusion from our cover letter example below.

Close with “Sincerely,” “Cordially,” “Best regards” or another appropriate phrase. Add a return after this and then type your full name. See our cover letter sample for an idea of how to format the conclusion.

Bank manager cover letter with no experience

Are you new to the world of finance? If you are looking to change careers or this is your first job, your cover letter is more important than ever. You need to make a big impression with this document. Now, since you have no experience to speak of, you'll need to figure out other talking points. Here are some of the things you may want to cover: 

• Education. What education do you have? What did you learn during your degree that is applicable here? Have you got any additional training under your belt?
• Future goals. Where do you see yourself in five years? What plans do you have for your professional future? How does this role play into that strategy?
• Voluntary work. Have you volunteered at a financial company? Maybe you have some experience in the third sector. If so, what did the experience teach you.
• Company knowledge. What do you know about this bank, in particular? What has drawn you to the job? Are there areas you believe you could help here?

Key takeaways for a bank manager cover letter

1. Start with a great foundation that includes all the cover letter ingredients you need and none that you don’t.
2. Always try to address your letter to a specific person in order to make a personal pitch.
3. Avoid design errors by starting with a cover letter sample where all the design is already done.
4. Be sure to proofread your cover letter before you press that "send" button.