Office Manager Cover Letter Example

An office manager cover letter has to convey one important feeling: “I will do everything in my power to make your working life easier.”

An office manager touches the lives of every colleague who walks through the door. When there is a vacancy in the company for an office manager, every employee has a vested interest that the hire is a good one. In a world where few of us can do our work on our own, the office manager takes on so many tasks that otherwise would monopolize days if performed individually.

Therefore, when preparing an office manager cover letter alongside your resume, bear in mind it will be read by other staff beyond the immediate hiring managers and HR team. Everyone will want you to be amazing! So your cover letter's readability will make it first thing to be assessed.

Resume.io offers expert advice and support with every cover letter preparation step. Our job-winning resources include a wide selection of occupation-specific writing guides and free cover letter examples. In addition, we offer formatting advice, plus field-tested templates and builder tools to help you create both resumes and cover letters.

This writing guide, together with the corresponding office manager cover letter example, will:

• Discuss the importance of a cover letter to convey your office management magic, making the employer want to hire you before even meeting you.
• Outline the best format for structuring a cover letter and how to optimize the impact of each part: header, greeting, introduction, body and conclusion
• Look at the psychology of why office managers are hired and what you need to say.
• Point out common mistakes you need to avoid in your office manager cover letter

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Here is exactly how you can write a cover letter that will stand out from the crowd, and help you land that interview.

So, let’s begin. What goes into making a compelling office manager cover letter?

First considerations for your office manager cover letter

What is the primary purpose?

An office manager cover letter is a medium to convey not only what you can do, but what you like doing. With such a variety of tasks coming with the territory, talking positively about your passions at work is a great way to get recruiters imagining you doing those very things in the hiring organizations.

This is how a carefully crafted cover letter can compensate for your resume's functional limitations. By design, resumes need to concisely contain as much information as possible about your experience and skills, making them relatively bereft of personality. On the other hand, a job-winning office manager cover letter can improve your chances by showing a fit between your passions, the nature of the business and where it might need your help. 

When you elaborate in this regard, make sure your cover letter supplements what is in your resume rather than repeats it verbatim. You can tell the same story in different ways, from different angles. Tell it as if you are already working for your future employer, describing situations you are likely to encounter and how you will handle them.

Secondary purpose

After conveying your passion for certain aspects of the office manager role comes the need to showcase your industry experience and understanding of the daily intricacies.

No one wants to hire an office manager who does not realize the consequences of actions or is constantly asking questions about how things work. Great office managers slot themselves into the team and work tirelessly in the background.

Of course it's ideal to cite industry experience in your office manager cover letter. But if you don't have that experience, it's still possible to show you understand the demands and have previously done something similar. Be as explicit as possible in leading the reader to that conclusion. 

Also strive to come across as an office manager who is keen to raise the bar rather than being content with maintaining the status quo. Demonstrate your awareness of what may go wrong and your willingness to tackle routine problems and the odd crisis ... even fight fires that might break out on occasion

Best format for an office manager cover letter

Concise communication and organizational skills are the staple of any office manager. So the structure of your cover letter will speak volumes about your ability to get your message across.

Your office manager cover letter should include the following components in order:

• The cover letter header
• The greeting
• The introduction
• The letter body
• The conclusion
• The signature / sign-off.

Let's take a closer look at the purpose of each one and how to optimize the impact

Cover letter header

The header of your office manager cover letter might seem like a boring topic, but some vitally important boxes need ticking here. Include your name, contact details and anything else that the employer requests. The point is to make the process of reviewing and following up on your job application as easy as possible for hiring managers. Any time spent trying to track down missing information is time they could spend instead talking to one of your competitors.

The header also gives readers a chance to pause before getting into the meat of the cover letter. White space is valuable in any document to signify something important is coming up.  

Keep in mind that the header of any application document is likely to be scanned by the employer's applicant tracking system ( ATS ), so make sure that your contact details are easy for it (and then the hiring manager) to find and "read."

The aim of the cover letter header: Get the basics right — make it simple for people to contact you and easy for the ATS to "see."

Cover letter greeting

Just as the little things matter once you are hired, getting the initial greeting right in your office manager cover letter is essential to start off on the best foot. The overall tone should reflect how you communicate, flowing from the letter's first words. Nothing should be jarring to the reader in moving smoothly on to the content that counts.

If the job application instructions mention a contact person, that is who you should you address in the cover letter greeting, preferably by name. Don’t underestimate the power of beginning any communication with a name.

Consider whether “<Ms.> <Mr.> Surname” should be preceded by the traditional “Dear” or the less formal “Greetings,” “Hello” or “Hi.” The latter options might be acceptable only if the workplace is known to be relatively casual. But since office managers typically communicate on an extensive external basis, the more formal greeting is a safer bet. Stop and think about the way your previous employers would have liked to be greeted.

If you are unable to identify your cover letter recipient by name or job title, we suggest avoiding the horribly outdated “To Whom it May Concern.” A better option is along the lines of “Dear <Company Name> Team.” At least your cover letter will seem more personalized and less like a generic copy-and-paste job.

The aim of the cover letter greeting: Reflect your ability as an office manager to assess the the appropriate communication manner and tone, and make sure that you hit the right notes.

Cover letter introduction

The introductory paragraph or sentence of your office manager cover letter should convey how you want to be remembered by colleagues after a hard week or month at the office.

What is the greatest value you bring to a team? How do you set yourself apart from other job applicants as a potentially indispensable addition to this office? 

Alongside all the apps and technology that employees use to manage themselves, there will always be a place for a human like you to help keep the office machine working smoothly. This is essential to express in your cover letter introduction. It is so easy for office staff to be sidetracked by day-ruining problems. But working with a reliable and innovative office manager can ensure that such issues are cleared up quickly.

Present yourself as an empathetic and caring colleague with a business professional’s brain. Show your keen sense for making the right decisions for the right reasons. 

The aim of the cover letter introduction: Show your potential as the solution to all of the office issues needing to be managed.

Cover letter body 

The body of your office manager cover letter should highlight examples of the major impact you’ve made on the operations of your previous employers. Being a safe pair of hands is a given for many office managers; but going over and above the call of duty puts you in a separate league. If you want a job with the best employers — where less firefighting is required —  you have to prove that you can improve things, as well as keep them running.

Talk about how you go about your daily work, the sort of projects you have taken on and the difference you have made with your decisions. We live in an era of continuous improvement, both behavioral and technological, so your cover letter needs a thread of progress running through it.

Also address the way you make things happen with other people. Your influencing and delegation skills need to be first-rate, so any potential boss will be impressed by real examples of making the impossible happen.

Successful business people don’t want to be telling people what to do all the time. To a certain extent, they simply need someone around to handle things. If you portray yourself as reliable, efficient and inventive, your next job won’t be far away.

The aim of the cover letter body: Describe where you made an impact in previous jobs — talk about projects you took on, reflect your people skills and show that you are a safe pair of hands.

Cover letter conclusion and signature

Your office manager cover letter needs a powerful ending that will resonate throughout the entire recruitment process. You've come up with some powerful arguments thus far, but what is the real kicker? If there is one reason why you deserve to get the job, what is it?

You won’t likely know the exact requirements of the role, nor can you be sure about the cultural and personality fit until the interview. So don’t be overconfident in trying to sell yourself. But it’s definitely important to finish on a positive note and say that you hope to be invited for an interview. A call to action is something that shows you are ready for the challenges that await.

Finally, conclude your letter with “Sincerely,” “Best regards,” or “Best,” above your name.

The aim of the cover letter ending: Reiterate your most uniquely compelling selling point for the specific employer, providing the right reasons to remember you throughout the recruiting process.

Writing psychology – cover letter strategies?

Certain concepts and ideas are must-haves in your office manager cover letter.

• Organizational skills. You are the most important cog in the corporate machine. So many things could go wrong if you are not on top of your game and you have to keep countless plates spinning. It is not enough to say, “I am organized.” Your cover letter has to give examples of situations where you can’t be anything but organized.
   
• People persuasion. Even with less opportunity to describe your influencing skills to the same extent as your organizational abilities, be sure to cite instances where your persuasiveness comes across.
   
• Mental resilience. Work is particularly tough when other people need things from you. Much as many of us would prefer to stay in our own little corporate bubble while quietly getting on with work, office managers have a duty of care to countless people. Being able to handle the pressure and expectation is key.
   
• Technology savvy. Not everyone is up to date with the latest technological trends. Office managers often play a training support role and hold the hands of those who are less confident. If you struggle with technology yourself, no one will want to be constantly holding your hand.

Mistakes to avoid with your office manager cover letter

Some HR professionals get carried away with the content of their cover letter and slip up in all-too-common ways. For someone who should know better, this is unforgivable. So we make no apologies for sharing some of the more obvious mistakes to avoid:

• Don’t present yourself as a savior. It is easy to say that you will come into a business and solve all of its problems. We all know that won’t happen, but if you are overly confident about your potential impact, likely everything else in your letter will be taken with a pinch of salt. Tell your story as it is — it is impressive enough.
   
• Don’t be overly friendly. The tone of your cover letter should mirror the way you speak with people at work. There has to be a professional and courteous edge to how you express yourself. Otherwise it’s not a big mental leap to being perceived as rude and unprofessional. You are there to do a job, not be everyone’s friend.
   
• Avoid exaggeration. An office manager’s job is tough in many respects, and yet some aspects are pretty mundane — things that simply need to be done well without mistakes. The volume of activity is what trips up less able office managers. So rather than exaggerate your role, it’s best to focus on reliability and dependability factors.
   
• Don’t make spelling and grammatical errors. Attention to detail is key if you are to get a wide range of internal and external associates to trust you. Overlooking spelling and grammatical errors does not give off an ideal impression.
   
• Avoid flawed design and formatting. Your office manager cover letter should look as good as it sounds. Resume.io can guide your decisions about the best cover letter fonts and other formatting details to create the best visual impression. We can make it even easier to achieve professional results by taking care of those details for you. Browse our collection of field-tested cover letter templates in four design categories, choose your favorite and customize with the builder tool .

Key takeaways for an office manager cover letter

1. Lots of people will be reading your office manager cover letter and take an interest in your hire.
2. Convey your specific passions about the role and the wider industry.
3. Consider writing about the sort of things that you would want to be remembered for.
4. Talk about organizational skills and how you get things done through others.
5. Convey that you know the important of remaining calm under pressure — mental strength is key.

With Resume.io, creating a compelling cover letter and resume is easy. Deciding on which job offer to take is the hard thing.