Operations Manager cover letter example

With a great operations manager cover letter, you can quickly rise above the rest to prove your problem solving skills, commitment to stakeholders and business acumen. That new job can quickly be yours – if you know how to sell yourself in your operations manager cover letter.

Without an operations manager, a business would never get past the ideation phase. An operations manager oversees all the necessary steps to make a product or service a reality in the hands of a consumer. 

Operations managers handle a wide range of tasks from delegating duties to designing production systems and calculating materials cost and pricing. A great operations manager is vital to the success of a company so hiring managers will be looking for the best of the best when it comes time to fill this position.

With this operations manager cover letter example plus Resume.io’s tips, tools and cover letter templates, you’re never alone on the journey to land your dream position. We’ll walk you through the steps to craft a great operations manager cover letter from start to finish.

This operations manager cover letter example along with our adaptable sample sentences will:

• Show you how a well-crafted cover letter can significantly boost your chances of landing the position
• Offer free examples, samples and templates to simplify the writing process
• Explore tips and tricks to land an operations manager job even with no experience
• Help you avoid the biggest cover letter mistakes and catch a recruiter’s attention

Operations manager cover letter sample and purpose

Primary purpose

While most job seekers understand what a resume is, fewer are as aware of the specific rules of cover letter writing. The cover letter, sometimes called an application letter, can feel like a structureless document that the employer may not even appreciate. However, that couldn’t be further from the truth. In the following subsection, we’ll explain why your cover letter should receive just as much attention as your resume.

But first let’s look at some general guidelines for the perfect cover letter:

Your cover letter is your chance to make a personal connection with the employer by using the most relevant examples that show how you’d perform in the company’s work environment. While great writing is essential, you’ll also need professional formatting to convey your experience and mastery of the field. You can find tons of tips and advice on fonts, colors and templates in our overall guide on cover letters.

Secondary purpose

If you’re applying for an operations manager position, then this likely isn’t your first time writing a cover letter. While all your previous positions have prepared you for this moment professionally, the same isn’t necessarily true for your previous applications. 

That’s because a lot of candidates see the cover letter as a chore – just one more hurdle to jump before submitting their application. But the boring, generic cover letters that result from this mindset likely don’t do the applicants any favors. 

When crafted with care and reflection, a cover letter is a secret weapon. It allows you to maneuver past other candidates, even those with more years of experience, and prove to a hiring manager that it’s worth taking a shot on you. 

An operations manager who name drops a lot of big companies but can’t explain how they created a successful operation might find themselves neck and neck with a young candidate who can clearly demonstrate a track-record of achievement. And once you find yourself in the interview round, it’s anyone’s game.

A great cover letter is all about maximizing your chances. With confidence, professionalism and the right tools, that perfect position can be yours.

Best format for an operations manager cover letter

Understanding the elements of a good cover letter is one of the best things you can do to make sure your application checks off all the boxes and catches the eye of the hiring manager. The sections below tend to stay relatively the same regardless of the industry in which you plan to work. Here are the key components:

• 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)

You can find even more details on each of these sections, plus free sample sentences, in our overall example: How to Write a Cover Letter.

Cover letter header

Your operations manager cover letter header has two important jobs. The first is to list all the necessary identifying information in case your application floats from desk to desk. Nothing dashes your chances more than having a recruiter frustrated that they don’t know how to contact you. 

Include your personal data like your name, phone number and email address. Your LinkedIn may also be important depending on the company, but be careful not to overload the header with too much information.

Your header also plays a key role in the formatting of your letter. This is one of the only sections where you’ll be able to customize the design and even add a touch of color if appropriate. For an upper level position like operations manager, you’ll want to make sure your visual presentation matches the tone of the company. A cover letter template may be able to help.

The goal of this section: Keep your name and contact information at the forefront of your document, create attractive formatting that is professional and eye-catching

Cover letter greeting

The greeting of your operations manager cover letter is a small but powerful section. Your most important objective here is to address the hiring manager or letter recipient by name to establish the personal connection and respectful tone that you will maintain throughout.  

For most formal industries, the traditional “Dear” followed by the correct salutation and last name is the most appropriate choice. However for very modern companies with innovative work environments, you might opt for a more casual greeting or even a first name.

The goal of this section: Create a friendly and respectful tone by addressing the hiring manager by name

Cover letter introduction

Your operations manager cover letter introduction is the first sentence or two of your cover letter. Hiring managers have very little time to evaluate each application so if your introduction isn’t top-notch there’s a good chance they won’t keep reading. Not to worry.

You can easily knock this section out of the park by using an anecdote, exciting personal statement or relevant statistic to grab attention and lead the reader right into the body of your cover letter.

The goal of this section: Avoid a generic opening and create interest with an anecdote, statistic or skill that flows into the next section

Cover letter body

The body of your operations manager cover letter makes up the bulk of your document. Here,  you’ll expand on your achievements, skills and visions as an operations manager. Since this section contains the majority of the information, you can ease the writing process by dividing it in half.

In the first section, use the STAR method to describe a Situation, the Task required of you, your Action and the positive Result that followed. Since operations manager duties can vary so widely, it’s a good idea to use the job description and research from the company website to narrow down your examples to only the most relevant and impactful for your potential employer.

In the second body paragraph, discuss your strongest skills including just a few hard skills if essential to the position. Discuss your vision or potential contribution to the company without sounding presumptuous or critical.

The goal of this section: Give short examples of your previous achievements and successes, discuss your most noteworthy strengths and the ideas you’d bring to the potential employer

How to close an operations manager cover letter (conclusion and sign-off)

Your operations manager cover letter is almost written! Before you pop open that champagne, you’ll need to wrap it up with your conclusion and signature. Express your interest and enthusiasm for the position and invite a hiring manager to get in touch in the Call to Action.  

Then choose the most appropriate signature based on the tone of your greeting and your relationship with the employer. “Warm regards,” “Sincerely” or “Thank you” can all make great options.

The goal of this section: Create a positive and respectful Call to Action that leaves a hiring manager wanting to get in touch, sign off with the most appropriate signature for your potential employer

Entry level operations manager cover letter – tools and strategies

While on the job search for an operations manager job, there are a few key qualities you’ll want to convey:

• Management skills: Motivation, negotiation, conflict resolution and time management – being able to manage processes and the people behind them are at the core of this position. Give examples that show how you lead with authority while still considering your teams’ needs.
• Communication skills: You’ll be dealing with multiple departments within the company – if not all of them. The ability to stay organized and communicate clearly and professionally are musts. Show off your communication skills through error-free writing, strong action verbs and easy-to-understand examples.
• Business administration skills: While in some companies the operations manager is the day-to-day person running things on the ground, other positions require a wide view and the ability to correctly document production, deal with HR policies and manage business operations. Make sure to get an indication of what type of position you’re applying for before writing your cover letter.
• Hard skills: Budgeting, scrum, six sigma, regulatory compliance: your hard skills make it all happen. While they shouldn’t be the focus of your cover letter, examples that show how you incorporate essential knowledge along with soft skills will be a plus on any operations manager cover letter.

How to land an entry-level operations manager position

Although operations managers work at the highest levels of big companies and international organizations, that doesn’t mean that every operations manager position requires years of systematic career building. In fact, small companies also need operations managers who can handle production and manage workflow. These positions can make great entry-level opportunities, especially for recent grads from MBA or other management programs.

So how can you land an entry-level operations manager position? It all comes down to proving your vision and aligning yourself with the company goals. As always, understanding the employer’s needs and the potential responsibilities is the first step to crafting a great cover letter, especially for an entry-level position. Then consider the experience you do have. What projects or achievements make you believe you’d be a great operations manager? What skills did you use for those tasks that are applicable to the new position?

You can also play your youth to your advantage. Are you a quick learner who implements new technology without hesitation? Do you take feedback well and seek out expert advice? Are you committed to innovation and taking calculated risks? These traits are essential for the modern operations manager, yet they may be missing from applicants who are set in their ways after years of experience.

Common mistakes in an Operations Manager cover letter 

1. Not understanding the company needs: The operations manager role covers a wide variety of skills and can look completely different depending on the company. Your cover letter could not only miss the mark but actually decrease your chances of landing the position if it’s not written with the employer’s specific needs in mind.
2. Too much focus on hard skills: Don’t get us wrong – hard skills are a necessary component of the job. But they’re not everything. Make sure your cover letter sounds like a human wrote it, with confidence and leadership abilities that will set you apart from other candidates with the same technical skills.
3. Grammar and spelling mistakes: Nothing makes you look unprofessional faster than poor grammar and typos. How can a company trust you’ll communicate professionally if you can’t even do it on your cover letter? Luckily these little errors don’t have to ruin everything. Make sure to use spell check or ask a friend to proofread your application.
4. Poor formatting: Believe it or not, visual presentation often counts just as much as good writing. Your header and pay layout are the first impression a hiring manager will have of you so make sure they are professional and aligned with the company’s image and branding.

Key takeaways

1. Your cover letter should expand on the key experiences and achievements of your resume, not just rehash everything you’ve ever done.
2. A thoughtful, customized cover letter is one of the best things you can do to increase your chances of landing the position. Make sure to include one as part of a great application.
3. Follow the trusted cover letter structure and make sure to address the letter recipient by name in your cover letter greeting if at all possible.
4. A great cover letter starts with understanding the company’s needs. Give concrete examples of your achievements with numbers and statistics that will make a hiring manager take notice.
5. Don’t overlook professional formatting. A matching resume template and cover letter template can help you create a great layout in just a few clicks.

For more cover letter ideas, check out these related administrative cover letter samples:

• Administrative cover letter example
• Administrative officer cover letter sample
• Office administrator cover letter example
• Office manager cover letter sample
• Sales manager cover letter example

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