As a support worker, you’ve chosen a valuable career in which you often help and guidance to those in need. You are the backbone holding together families or individuals in need. With your communication skills and empathy, you may think the task of writing a support worker cover letter would be a breeze, but getting the attention of hiring managers and patting yourself on the back without bragging are very specific skills.
Your cover letter content will vary depending on the environment in which you choose to work, but the bottom line is that you must convey to hiring managers how you can make the lives of everyone you support easier as you help them run their lives more smoothly.
In this cover letter guide, along with the corresponding support worker cover letter examples, we’ll cover the following topics to help you write the best cover letter possible:
- 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
- What mistakes to avoid when writing your support worker cover letter.
Let’s get started by outlining each part of your cover letter and what it should include.
Looking for even more resources to write a great cover letter? Check out Resume.io’s dozens of free cover letter examples complete with sample sentences and tips.
If you’re looking for additional inspiration for cover letter writing, you can check out our related support personnel cover letter examples:
Best format for a support worker cover letter example
The best format for a support worker cover letter will contain many of the sections found in other examples. Your communication skills will be a top consideration in your job application, so you need to make sure the language and organization of your letter are impeccable.
The format of your letter should include the following elements:
- 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 need to present an efficient, yet compassionate and flexible persona. No wasted time; no wasted words, but clear, honest communication. The idea of your support worker cover letter is to show off how you manage multiple client needs as well as communicate with case managers and others who act as service providers to your clients.
For more general advice on writing a cover letter, head over to Resume.io’s comprehensive cover letter guide. Below you will find specific advice on how to maximize the effectiveness of each specific letter paragraph and section.
This support worker cover letter example is a good foundation to develop your own professional application:
Dear Mrs. Winkerton,
Having spent seven years working in elderly care settings where most residents suffer with dementia, I understand that a support worker needs to do far more than satisfy their basic human needs. I am sensitive to the situation of each individual and their families.
My previous employer ran three care homes in Seattle, all with 100+ residents, 80% of whom had complex mental health needs. I was a lead support worker for dementia care and helped to train the wider team in identifying the right levels of support for our patients.
I am a trustworthy and able colleague and am studying in night school towards a degree in nursing. Putting my patients first is always my priority and understanding more about the theoretical aspects of medical care is helping me to become a better support worker. I mainly worked morning and afternoon shifts and have experience of managing all aspects of care home provision, including:
- Facilitating daily patient nutrition and care routines
- Managing resident documentation and health records
- Coordinating critical and end-of-life care arrangements
- Communicating with families and educating where required
I understand that the role at Oak Lodge offers an opportunity for a flexible work schedule, which is particularly of interest as the care needs of my elderly parents sometimes vary. I am available at short notice as I only live fifteen minutes away and am always happy to help with urgent staffing shortages.
I would welcome the opportunity to visit your care home for an interview to understand the nature of the role. One of my friend’s parents is a resident and she speaks incredibly highly of the standards that you set.
Sincerely,
Theresa Kalpan
Cover letter header
The header of your support worker cover letter certainly does not have to be the extended, formal version necessary in the dark ages before email, when responding to a letter required a typewriter, envelope, stamp, and the recipient’s home address.
If you are of a certain age, you were probably taught that the correct format for a letter was 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 that doesn’t mean you should leave out the header. You will probably be attaching your support worker 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.
The aim of the cover letter header: Efficiently present your contact information in an eye-catching manner so that hiring managers can easily get a hold of you to schedule that all-important interview.
Cover letter greeting
You will be greeting clients and co-workers throughout the day and your support worker cover letter greeting is a great place to show that you know how to do that with the appropriate tone. Use your greeting or salutation as an example of your friendly yet professional personality.
The first point to remember is that 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 with which 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, for example: “Dear Parker Smythe.”
Career coach and author Martin Yate suggests several different ways to address the hiring manager in your support worker cover letter – all of them begin with “Dear” as does our cover letter example above. 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 and their preferred title)
- 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.
The purpose of the letter greeting / salutation: You can’t smile in a cover letter, but you can start off with a friendly impression so recruiters know you are a welcoming person.
Cover letter introduction
You’ve already shaken hands with the recruiter, now you have to keep their interest up. That’s why your cover letter introduction is so important. You have a few sentences to pique a hiring manager’s interest and give them an idea of what’s to come.
The goal of your support worker cover letter is to answer the question, “Why am I the right person for the job?” With your introduction, you should jump right into describing the experience and successes you have that will intrigue hiring managers and keep them reading. As a support worker, you probably have a great story of success with a particular client; use that. It tells a lot about how you interact with clients and the services you provide. Carefully look over the job listing to discover what problems the agency is trying to solve by hiring you. Then, give an example of how you have already solved that problem and achieved great results.
The introduction should say, “I’m supportive and here’s how.”
The aim of the cover letter intro: Grab their attention by highlighting your most important message is. Make sure that it fits with the requirements of the role.
Check out the attention-grabber in our support worker cover letter example below.
Dear Mrs. Winkerton,
Having spent seven years working in elderly care settings where most residents suffer with dementia, I understand that a support worker needs to do far more than satisfy their basic human needs. I am sensitive to the situation of each individual and their families.
Cover letter middle part (body)
The body, or middle part, of your support worker cover letter gives you some room to expand on your career and inject a bit of personality. You may choose to focus attention on several achievements with a bullet-pointed list that includes data or evidence of your hard work.
Take a deeper dive into what makes you the right fit for this particular job. (That’s why you need to personalize your support worker cover letter for each position.) If you’re having a tough time organizing your thoughts, consider asking yourself the following questions to guide you:
- How do I successfully juggle multiple clients?
- What type of environment do I foster?
- How do I build and maintain relationships with clients and other service providers?
- What is my work style?
- What high-level talents do I bring to the workplace?
- Why do I choose to do this work?
Use these questions to help you bring out the qualities hiring managers seek.
The purpose of the body of your cover letter: Give the hiring manager information to envision how you enhance the lives of your clients and help them become more independent.
The cover letter example text below will give you some ideas for writing this section:
My previous employer ran three care homes in Seattle, all with 100+ residents, 80% of whom had complex mental health needs. I was a lead support worker for dementia care and helped to train the wider team in identifying the right levels of support for our patients.
I am a trustworthy and able colleague and am studying in night school towards a degree in nursing. Putting my patients first is always my priority and understanding more about the theoretical aspects of medical care is helping me to become a better support worker. I mainly worked morning and afternoon shifts and have experience of managing all aspects of care home provision, including:
- Facilitating daily patient nutrition and care routines
- Managing resident documentation and health records
- Coordinating critical and end-of-life care arrangements
- Communicating with families and educating where required
I understand that the role at Oak Lodge offers an opportunity for a flexible work schedule, which is particularly of interest as the care needs of my elderly parents sometimes vary. I am available at short notice as I only live fifteen minutes away and am always happy to help with urgent staffing shortages.
How to close a support worker cover letter (conclusion and sign-off)
You’ve wowed them with your personality and experience, now you have to close your support worker cover letter with confidence and style. Your role requires empathy and excellent communication, so use those attributes to explain once again why you are the right person for the job.
Then, try to leave them with an anecdote or work experience that will leave them wanting more -- during your interview of course.
Wrap up with a suggestion for an interview. Our cover letter sample uses the sentence, “I would welcome the opportunity to visit your care home for an interview to understand the nature of the role.” You can lift that directly or write one that flows better with your writing style. Make sure, however, that you mention the interview you are eager to schedule.
The aim of this part: Leave your future employer wanting to know more and let them know you are ready for an interview.
I would welcome the opportunity to visit your care home for an interview to understand the nature of the role. One of my friend’s parents is a resident and she speaks incredibly highly of the standards that you set.
Sincerely,
Theresa Kalpan
Support worker cover letter with no experience
You have to start somewhere. If you don’t have any experience as a support worker, how do you write a cover letter that demonstrates you would be great at the job? With these helpful tips and our cover letter example text, you’re already well on your way.
Your first task is to consider the jobs you have had and how the skills you used translate into the attributes necessary for a support worker. Can you demonstrate great listening skills? How about empathy or organization that will allow you to juggle several clients and their needs?
Showing that you have the basic job skills of reliability, time management, and professionalism will go a long way toward getting you an entry-level position. Make sure you clearly demonstrate how the skills you used in your previous positions will help you in your desired support worker role. If you are entering the job market for the first time, use any positions of responsibility you have held in your community (such as volunteer work), school or extracurricular activities.
Writing psychology: how to impress in your cover letter
Striking the right tone in your support worker cover letter can make the difference between getting that interview and having your application land in the circular file. You want to keep it professional, but also impress upon hiring managers that you are the right candidate.
How do you do that without veering into bragging? Stick with the facts, backed up by hard data. Add one or two well-placed, strong adjectives that describe your workplace personality.
If your support worker cover letter can accomplish the following, you are much more likely to land an interview:
- Prove that you know how to communicate with people in a variety of situations and roles
- Demonstrate your knowledge of your field
- Include a sentence or two about your work philosophy
- Explain why you want this job
Being a support worker requires many different skills; focus not only on the ones mentioned in the job listing, but also on the ones you can show a record of excellence in. If your communication skills keep everyone on track, tell how that will benefit your new clients and coworkers. If you are great at coordinating the various services your clients require, give an example of a particularly tricky situation you resolved.
Write a cover letter sample that shows that you fulfill general requirements for a support worker and then adapt it to each job.
Why? First, it lets your prospective employer know you thought carefully about the position they have open. Second, it gives you a boost in clearing the Applicant Tracking System (ATS) hurdle.
The ATS recruitment software is a tool used by human resources to scan your data into their systems and then rank applications. When you apply online with your resume and cover letter, the ATS is searching for keywords or phrases that match each open position. By personalizing your cover letter, you give yourself a better chance of reaching the eyes of a human being.
Here are more pointers to ensure your cover letter supports your application:
- Match the format and design to that of your resume. The documents together are a complete package and they should look like one.
- Use your unique voice in your writing. While you want to remain professional, you don’t want to sound stilted. Google synonyms are great, but only if you are choosing words you really use.
- Keep it free of grammar and spelling mistakes: Typos and overly complicated grammar give the impression you don’t have great communication skills. You can quickly fix these errors by asking a friend to proofread your letter or using an online cover letter builder with a spell-check function.
- Be brief. If your story needs too much explanation to make sense, choose a different one. Big blocks of type are hard to read. Keep your paragraphs short and consider using an easily digestible bullet list.
Key takeaways for a support worker cover letter
- Give hiring managers an idea of the atmosphere you project in your support role
- Use stories that clearly demonstrate the skills your future employer seeks
- Illustrate your workplace personality with one or two strong adjectives
- Match the design of your cover letter to your resume for consistency and make sure you proofread or choose an online cover letter tool with a spell check function.
- Try a one of our ready-made and carefully market-researched cover letter templates and simply start writing. Well, the clicking part is easy, but we hope that we have given you some ideas to help with the writing.
