Since cleaning jobs come in all shapes and sizes, a generic application approach is unlikely to land you the best ones. But a sparkling cleaning job cover letter to compliment your resume can make a crucial difference.
As a leading international provider of job search advice and support, Resume.io can help you target such a letter from your shiniest angles. Our resources include more than 180 occupation-specific writing guides and corresponding cover letter examples.
In this guide, paired with a cleaning job cover letter example, we will:
- Explain the purpose of a cover letter in relation to the cleaning job market
- Discuss the best format for a cleaning job cover letter
- Provide writing tips to optimize the impact of each cover letter part: header, greeting, introduction, body and conclusion
- Highlight the psychological factors you can use to win over recruiters and hiring managers
- Caution against common cover letter mistakes
Why you need a cleaning job cover letter
Cleaning work may not seem like the most glamorous of jobs, but it can be a great foot in the door to the working world or a way to earn some extra cash. These days the necessity for deep cleaning is widespread, sometimes with life-or-death implications. While many industries have suffered through the pandemic, commercial cleaning services have seen an uptick in demand, particularly if they can provide safety and disinfecting services.
On the downside, with many people working from home, the need for office cleaners has been reduced and residential cleaners may find that many clients have not wanted people inside their homes — even to clean them. Widespread access to vaccines marked a turning point, with the demand for cleaning services expected to rebound.
The market for professional cleaning services is expected to have a compound annual growth rate of 6 percent from 2021-26, according to a ResearchAndMarkets.com report.
Anyone wanting to take advantage of these relatively bright cleaning job prospects needs the kind of distinguishing edge that a cover letter can provide.
If you are searching for related roles in the same Hospitality & Catering industry, then check out these other resume samples for the same industry:
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- Restaurant cover letter sample
- Waitress cover letter sample
- Chef cover letter sample
- Bartender cover letter sample
- Starbucks cover letter sample
- Server cover letter sample
- Hotel Receptionist cover letter sample
- Travel Agent cover letter sample
- Restaurant Manager cover letter sample
- McDonald's cover letter sample
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What is a cover letter?
It is a one-page document that introduces yourself and explains why you are a great candidate for the job.
But isn’t that what your resume does? Why write a cover letter for a cleaning job when you’ve already spent a lot of time and effort detailing your work experience there? It may seem to be repetitive, but it’s not. Your cleaning job letter should do the following:
- To expand upon the information in your resume
- To express your personality using a professional, but friendly, tone
- To make a personal connection with the hiring manager.
You may think that a cover letter is unnecessary, but hiring managers commonly read cover letters for the following reasons, according to the Muse:
- If you are a qualified applicant
- If they are considering moving you to the next step of the hiring process
- If they are debating whether you should be offered an interview
- If your resumes raised questions.
Your cover letter can tip the scales in your favor if it is well-written and offers insights into your work style and achievements. Imagine a hiring manager is trying to choose between two candidates to offer an interview. Their experience levels are similar, but one has written a cover letter with an anecdote that highlights his work ethic and understanding of the particular position, while the other has simply restated the information within her resume. Who do you think has a better chance of advancing to the interview? A customized cover letter can make all the difference!
Best format for a cleaning job cover letter
In cleaning jobs, you will find that you develop an order to your work that leads to efficiency. The best format for a cleaning job cover letter is no different. There’s no big secret to what it should contain. Your goal is to engage and impress your prospective employer in an efficient manner.
Our cover letter examples will follow the same basic structure:
- Cover letter header
- Greeting
- Introduction
- Body of the letter
- Conclusion
- Signature.
![How to write a cover letter - expert guide [2024]](https://s3.resume.io/cdn-cgi/image/width=256,height=236,fit=cover,format=auto/uploads/blog_post/featured_image/314/How-to-Write-a-Cover-Letter-Expert-Guide.PNG)
Below you will find a cleaning job cover letter sample that you can use for inspiration and basic writing material:
Dear Mrs. Dean,
As a domestic Cleaner, you hope for an abundance of praise and an absence of complaints. Last year I only received one complaint out of over 200 jobs. It was a billing error from the head office. Otherwise, my customer satisfaction record was immaculate.
My domestic cleaning experience encompasses both regular and ad-hoc jobs, from one-bedroom flats to seven-bedroom houses. While my all-around skills — including carpet cleaning and appliances — allow me to complete a clean independently, most of my work has been as part of a team. My colleagues describe me as meticulous, reliable and efficient.
I deputized for the district manager on a number of occasions and was the client-facing lead cleaner on 100+ jobs, so I understand the commercial demands from both perspectives. You have to do the best possible job in the least possible time while optimizing the use of both equipment and materials. My long-term clients were happy to pay 25% over the average price for my team’s services and we got the jobs done in 30% less time.
My biggest project over the past two years was as a specialist end-of-tenancy cleaner for a housing group. My team of three was cleaning five apartments a week at the height of activity, and we won a national competition for our delivery standards.
My organizational skills are superb. With a smaller-scale previous employer, I was responsible for procurement and supply of cleaning materials and equipment, so I understand the importance of stock management and forecasting. We did not lose a single hour because of missing equipment over the whole year.
I would value the chance of an interview to take you through a portfolio of my most challenging cleans. Nothing is off-limits and everything has a solution.
Sincerely,
Heather Woolstone
Cover letter header
If you are of a certain age, you were probably taught to type your name and contact information, plus the name and address of the company and person to whom you were writing and the date of the letter. Times have changed, but don’t give in to the temptation to leave out the header since you most likely will be attaching your cleaning job cover letter to an email. Your application materials may get printed out and passed from one desk to another. In that process, a piece may get separated from your file. If that piece has your name and contact information on it, it will be easy for hiring managers to put your application back together If not, it’s likely to end up in the trash and your file will be missing your cover letter.
If you are emailing, no need to waste space on snail mail addresses; you are better served by using those lines to improve the body of your letter. On the chance that you are mailing a letter, your header should follow the same guidelines.
Remember that you want the hiring manager to be able to pick up the phone and plug in your number quickly. That means you should display your phone number and email prominently. You may even consider using color so your header stands out more. Take a look at our cover letter samples to give you inspiration.
Goal of the cover letter header: Distinguish yourself from other cleaning job candidates by displaying your name and contact information in a prominent and visually attractive manner.
Cover letter greeting
Also known as a salutation, this is the “Dear Xxxxxx,” part of your cleaning job cover letter — an important start. People like to be addressed by name; it gives you an instant connection and connecting is one of the main goals of your letter. One area to take extra care is with gender. If you are not sure whether the recruiter is male or female, default to using their full name.or example: “Dear Terry King.”
Career coach and author Martin Yate suggests several different ways to address the hiring manager in your cleaning job cover letter – all of them begin with “Dear.” If you cannot find the name of the hiring manager or your application is going to a hiring committee, you may say “Dear [name of employer] Hiring Committee,”. Absolutely do not fall back on the old-fashioned and stilted “To Whom It May Concern.”
Here are five ways to find out to whom you should address your cover letter:
- Look on the company’s website
- Make a phone call to the company (and ask for the correct spelling of the person’s name)
- Search online on LinkedIn or an industry website
- Read the job listing to see if contact information is included
- Research who you would be reporting to and use that person’s name.
Goal of the cover letter greeting: Establish a connection with the employer in a manner that’s professional but personable and direct.
Cover letter introduction
You may think of your cover letter introduction as your hook. This is where you grab the hiring manager’s attention with an interesting line or two. You can choose to craft a statement of your biggest achievement, a relevant bit of information, or an anecdote that tells why you are a quality candidate. The main idea is to keep them reading!
Remember that this is a job application, so keep it professional; but a little personality can go a long way toward intriguing the hiring manager enough to read on.
My roommates love me because I love cleaning!
I am writing to apply for your cleaning job.
Goal of the cover letter introduction: Intrigue the reader enough to learn more about your strongly matched cleaning job qualifications.
Here’s the introduction from our cleaning job cover letter sample.
Dear Mrs. Dean,
As a domestic Cleaner, you hope for an abundance of praise and an absence of complaints. Last year I only received one complaint out of over 200 jobs. It was a billing error from the head office. Otherwise, my customer satisfaction record was immaculate.
Cover letter middle paragraphs (body of the letter)
The body of your cover letter takes up the bulk of your 400-word document. It is where you explain why you want the cleaning job and the skills you have that will make you an excellent employee.
You need to customize your letter
Cleaners work in a wide variety of environments and circumstances. If you are applying to work alone cleaning office buildings after hours, you will want to highlight your ability to get the job done unsupervised, your trustworthiness, and your desire for solitude. If, however, you will be part of a cleaning crew that works closely together day after day, you need to be a team player who can get along with different personalities.
Furthermore, cleaning jobs at school buildings are very different from cleaning jobs at hotels and house cleaning differs from commercial cleaning.
Make sure your anecdotes, achievements, and the skills you mention match the job for which you are applying.
You have two or three paragraphs to convince the hiring manager not only that you can do the work, but that you understand the challenges of a job that can be physically demanding. The STAR method can help you if you need a clear structure for your body paragraphs. First, describe a situation and the task necessary to cope with it. Then, tell what action you took and the results you achieved. CAR simplifies this model into “Context, Action, Result.”
If you have direct experience with cleaning, make sure you detail it. The commercial cleaning industry offers many services so be specific about your experience. If you have worked at a company that specializes in deep cleaning or the use of eco-friendly products, say so. Your knowledge adds value to your candidacy.
Goal of the cover letter body: Suggest how this employer would benefit from your cleaning expertise and experience.
Our cleaning job cover letter sample illustrates what you might include in the middle part:
My domestic cleaning experience encompasses both regular and ad-hoc jobs, from one-bedroom flats to seven-bedroom houses. While my all-around skills — including carpet cleaning and appliances — allow me to complete a clean independently, most of my work has been as part of a team. My colleagues describe me as meticulous, reliable and efficient.
I deputized for the district manager on a number of occasions and was the client-facing lead cleaner on 100+ jobs, so I understand the commercial demands from both perspectives. You have to do the best possible job in the least possible time while optimizing the use of both equipment and materials. My long-term clients were happy to pay 25% over the average price for my team’s services and we got the jobs done in 30% less time.
My biggest project over the past two years was as a specialist end-of-tenancy cleaner for a housing group. My team of three was cleaning five apartments a week at the height of activity, and we won a national competition for our delivery standards.
My organizational skills are superb. With a smaller-scale previous employer, I was responsible for procurement and supply of cleaning materials and equipment, so I understand the importance of stock management and forecasting. We did not lose a single hour because of missing equipment over the whole year.
How to end your cover letter (conclusion and sign-off)
You’ve detailed why you are the best candidate for the cleaning job, now you have to wrap up. In your cover letter conclusion, you must show that you are eager for next steps by including a call to action. Your goal, of course, is to get an interview, so let the hiring manager know that. Remind them how excited you are about the position and let them know you would love to hear from them. Repeat your contact information if space allows.
Finally, add your signature with a closing salutation such as “Sincerely” or “Best Regards.”
Goal of the cover letter closing: End on a positive note with a call to action that puts some onus on the employer to follow up.
Below is the closing section of our sample cleaning job cover letter.
I would value the chance of an interview to take you through a portfolio of my most challenging cleans. Nothing is off-limits and everything has a solution.
Sincerely,
Heather Woolstone
Cleaning job cover letter with no experience
So you have never had a cleaning job before, or maybe you have never had any job before. How do you write a cover letter? Never fear! You have job skills that are transferable from your previous experience in school or in other positions.
Here are the skills you should focus on if you have no experience:
- Ability to work independently
- Time management
- Physical fitness
- Good at following directions
- Punctuality and reliability
- Trustworthiness
- Attention to detail
Think of ways to illustration these personality traits and skills through your academic or life achievements. Hiring managers for entry-level jobs are looking for employees who are willing to learn and who will show up on time and have a good attitude.
We recommend you check out our guides and cover letter examples and choose ones that may give you more guidance on writing your cleaning job cover letter. Here are some related hospitality & catering cover letter samples:
Writing psychology: how to write a cover letter when you are not a writer
Consider asking friends or colleagues how they would describe you and incorporate those strong words in your cover letter. If you know a strong writer, consider having them write a cover letter sample paragraph for you. Feel free to Google synonyms to avoid repeating the same words too many times.
Creative Circle’s “5 Writing Tips for Non-writers” suggests writing for short attention spans, or in your case, busy hiring managers. Keep your sentences and paragraphs short. Get to the point and get out. It also suggests writing the way you talk. That is a great place to start, but remember that you need to strike a slightly more formal tone.
Use a blend of emotional appeal and hard facts to impress hiring managers. Feel free to explain why you want the job. You don’t want to tug on their heartstrings, however. Making people feel guilty or exhibiting desperation is not the best approach. Instead, focus on your value to the hiring manager.
Put yourself in the shoes of the person reading your cover letter. One of your cleaning crews is short a staff member. You need to find a replacement quickly. You’re looking for someone who is eager to work at a cleaning job, who can get along with others on the crew, and who understands the physical demands.
Write a cover letter sample that shows that you fulfill those requirements and then adapt it to each job.
Your achievements may not be directly related to a cleaning job, but should show off a job skill that is transferable to a cleaning job.
Read the cover letter example text to give you an idea of an approach you can take: When I was the manager of a casual dining restaurant, I noticed we were using more lettuce than other sites. I reviewed our procedures and decided we could chop heads of lettuce more frequently since chopped lettuce goes bad faster. I was able to achieve a 20% savings by altering this process.
Basic mistakes in a cleaning job cover letter (and how to avoid them)
Here are some mistakes that will signal to hiring managers that you are not the right person for the job:
- You make typos and grammatical errors. You need to be attentive to details and these will show that you are not.
- Your cover letter contains formatting mistakes. Errors here make you look sloppy and sloppy is the opposite of what a hiring manager is looking for in a cleaner.
- You use a different style for your resume and cover letter. Keep it consistent. A common visual style not only looks neater, but will help prevent your materials from getting separated as they are passed from hand to hand. With Resume.io you can choose a cover letter sample and know that we have a corresponding resume style.
- You don’t customize your letter for each job. Hiring managers want to know that you are not mass-emailing for every job out there. They want you to want to work for their company and to know that you understand the responsibilities of their particular cleaning job, so if your letter sounds exactly like a cover letter sample, you are unlikely to move forward in the process.
- You talk about why you need the job instead of what you can do for the company. Remember that hiring managers have a problem they need solved; they are not trying to solve your problems.
One way to avoid these mistakes is to have someone else read your cover letter example and give you feedback. The publishing world has editors for a reason: It’s almost impossible to find all the errors in your own work.
Getting another set of eyes on your cleaning job cover letter could be the difference between earning the interview or having a hiring manager hit the delete button.
Alternatively, find a cover letter builder that has a spell-check function.
Key takeaways
- Your cleaning job cover letter offers you the opportunity to demonstrate that you will be a valuable worker, even if you have not had a cleaning job – or any other job – before.
- Start out with a personal touch by addressing the hiring manager by name if possible.
- Use both an emotional appeal and factual information to further your connection to the hiring manager.
- Match the design of your cover letter to your resume for consistency and make sure you proofread!
- Take advantage of professional resume and cover letter tools and advice to help you avoid some of these pitfalls and get the tone just right.
Now you’re ready to create your professional cleaning job cover letter and land that job. Resume.io makes the process easy with an expertly designed cover letter builder tool and cover letter templates to help you craft the perfect cover letter in just minutes!
