When you work in maintenance and repair, there are likely a lot of nuances to your work experience. While a CV might detail your general abilities, it is only in the maintenance and repair cover letter that you have the opportunity to show your suitability for each individual role in more detail.
Because the challenges of each maintenance role will vary wildly, it is essential that the cover letter should be carefully tailored. Study the job description and match the most important parts of the position with your specific experience.
Put yourself in the place of the hiring manager. How can you persuade them that you are the person for this job? How do you construct a winning cover letter?
Maintenance and repair full text-only cover letter example
Dear Mrs. Green,
I am writing to apply for the position of Maintenance Technician at Bruntwood, as advertised on Indeed.co.uk. With my extensive experience in maintenance and repair roles and my knowledge of Bruntwood's commitment to maintaining high-quality office spaces, I am confident that I would be a valuable asset to your team.
As a Maintenance Technician at CBRE for the past five years, I have developed a strong skill set in conducting routine maintenance, repairs, and refurbishments across a diverse portfolio of commercial properties. I have consistently demonstrated my ability to diagnose and resolve issues quickly and efficiently, minimising downtime and ensuring tenant satisfaction. In my current role, I have been praised for my proactive approach to maintenance, which has resulted in a 30% reduction in reactive repairs.
I am particularly impressed by Bruntwood's dedication to creating thriving, sustainable communities within their properties. I share this commitment to sustainability and have implemented several eco-friendly initiatives in my current role, such as introducing energy-efficient lighting and water-saving measures. These initiatives have not only reduced environmental impact but have also resulted in significant cost savings for the company.
In addition to my technical skills, I am a strong communicator and enjoy working collaboratively with colleagues and stakeholders. I have experience liaising with tenants, contractors, and suppliers to ensure smooth operations and have consistently received positive feedback for my friendly and professional approach.
I am excited about the opportunity to bring my skills and experience to Bruntwood and contribute to the company's success. Thank you for considering my application. I look forward to the possibility of discussing my qualifications in more detail at an interview.
Sincerely,
Kyle Parker
Sections of a maintenance and repair cover letter
You will literally be in charge of keeping things in good working order for your new employer, so create a solid and persuasive structure for your cover letter.
- Cover Letter Header: List your full name, email, and mobile number. Share them here as well as on your CV – make it easy to invite you to an interview.
- Greeting: Find the name of the hiring manager from the job description or begin with a warm “Dear Company team”.
- Introduction: Share why you want the job and give your most relevant example of why you would be a great choice. Go with the big guns to begin with.
- Body: Pick two or three stories from your career that fit best with your future activity. Consider using bullet points to simplify some of your key achievements.
- Conclusion: Leave them with one last piece of motivation. Why you want the job is important when you are doing something so physically demanding.
- Signature: Sign off professionally and courteously.
Aim for a concise, one-page cover letter that acts as a companion to your CV. Start the stories that you wish to continue during an interview.
Need more inspiration? View our other related cover letter examples from the education sector:
For more general information and details that cover every section, view our article on how to write a cover letter.
The maintenance cover letter should start with an introduction that gets straight to the value that your handyman skills will bring to the employer.
Introduction of a maintenance and repair cover letter
When you start a cover letter for a maintenance and repair role, start with a story that addresses one of the key issues that you will face in the role. Make sure that it is a repair job that not all your competition will be able to handle with ease.
Share any unusual skills that you have and show the employer how you can solve problems when maintenance jobs go wrong. Things don’t always go smoothly, after all.
Dear Mr. Giles,
Having carried out maintenance within an agricultural environment, I am well versed in a wide range of farmyard machinery. My previous employer was one of the biggest dairies in the state, so I am also familiar with milking equipment. I hold all the relevant certifications and am used to upholding the highest quality standards.
Hi, I am Simon.
I want to work at your farm. I like cows and love drinking milk. I have lots of experience in fixing things and am sure that your farm stuff won’t be that hard to maintain. My previous employer said that he didn’t want me to leave, but I don’t like to stay in one place for too long.
Remember that the hiring manager has never met you. They have no choice but to trust the words that you are choosing to share with them, so do your best to assuage their concerns in those first few lines.
Qualify your stories with industry-related facts if you can. Your maintenance experience needs to match with the specific demands of the job (or you at least need to show that your skills are readily transferable).
Maintenance and repair cover letter body
In the body of your cover letter, follow this formula:
- Highlight your skills and experience.
- Show how you're a perfect fit for the repair job.
- Finish with a conclusion that ends with a reason to invite you to interview.
- Include a call to action that instills a sense of urgency.
First body paragraph - Your suitability for the role (skills & experience)
Showcase your key skills, including them within the career stories that you share.
Here’s how to create a job winning narrative:
- Highlight your education: Maintenance skills are always advancing.
- Emphasise your focus on quality: Tell the hiring manager how you ensure that every job is carried out to the highest standard,
- Technology awareness: Technology is central to any maintenance role – show just how you keep on top of the latest solutions.
- Team player: Every maintenance person will have to work with a wide range of people across the employer – you need to be able to understand issues and work with others to find the best possible solutions.
- Skilled worker: Your manual skills are what set you apart. Share an example of a particularly difficult project. Impress them with your ability.
- Proactive: You need to be the sort of person that jumps on problems while they are small. Solve the small stuff early to save yourself time and effort along the line.
“Visit the site or employer facility in advance, if possible. If you are in a position to write the maintenance and repair cover letter with first-hand knowledge of your future workplace, you will truly be able to tailor the application.”
Second body paragraph(s) - Alignment with the organisation
Make sure that your career story fits with the sort of work that you will be doing. While you might have one standard CV, the maintenance and repair cover letter offers the chance to truly tailor the application.
Consider the culture of the company that you are joining. What is their attitude to customer service? What is their reputation in the market? Write the cover letter as if you are already an employee – sound like you are one of them.
Use the cover letter format to make a logical and compelling case.
As a Maintenance Technician at CBRE for the past five years, I have developed a strong skill set in conducting routine maintenance, repairs, and refurbishments across a diverse portfolio of commercial properties. I have consistently demonstrated my ability to diagnose and resolve issues quickly and efficiently, minimising downtime and ensuring tenant satisfaction. In my current role, I have been praised for my proactive approach to maintenance, which has resulted in a 30% reduction in reactive repairs.
I am particularly impressed by Bruntwood's dedication to creating thriving, sustainable communities within their properties. I share this commitment to sustainability and have implemented several eco-friendly initiatives in my current role, such as introducing energy-efficient lighting and water-saving measures. These initiatives have not only reduced environmental impact but have also resulted in significant cost savings for the company.
In addition to my technical skills, I am a strong communicator and enjoy working collaboratively with colleagues and stakeholders. I have experience liaising with tenants, contractors, and suppliers to ensure smooth operations and have consistently received positive feedback for my friendly and professional approach.
Call to action & conclusion – Finish off strong
The call to action is where you need to show that you believe in your hype. You know that you are the person for the job and you would love to find out more about it. The job description can only tell you so much. Say that you are looking forward to finding out more during a potential interview.
Such a power move is not uncommon at the end of the cover letter, so its absence will be noted. If you end on a weak expression of hope, the hiring manager won’t think much of your application. Do you not want the job? Maintenance work is tough – they will want to take on someone who is passionate and who has some energy about them. Make sure that your final paragraph offers a sense of that energy.
Ideally, add an electronic signature if you are sending a PDF (you should). The personal touch is important when you work with a wide range of people.
I am excited about the opportunity to bring my skills and experience to Bruntwood and contribute to the company's success. Thank you for considering my application. I look forward to the possibility of discussing my qualifications in more detail at an interview.
Sincerely,
Kyle Parker
How to write a maintenance and repair cover letter with no experience
Plenty of people get a maintenance job with no prior experience. If you have some manual labour or construction experience this is often a route into a maintenance and repair role. Here are a few things to bear in mind if you have no experience:
- Highlight transferable skills: You may not have done the role, but which of your skills might be transferable?
- Showcase project management: Maintenance roles often require you to handle multiple jobs at once. How good are you at managing your time and efforts?
- Tell the hiring manager about your why: Offer some thoughts as to why this job is the right one for you. What are your motivations?
If you include enough semi-relevant experience, you will often get the chance to explore further at an interview. Attitude and passion are key if you have no experience.
Consider the ATS
The Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is software for filtering applications.
Your application will be sorted alongside many others and ranked for suitability. The ATS is a general repository for all CVs and cover letters, but it can also help with initial selections (often by looking for certain keywords within your cover letter)
Example (for maintenance and repair):
- Thermographic inspection skills
- Precision welding
- Hydraulic systems maintenance
- Machinery servicing
Key takeaway
Hopefully you are on the way to creating a cover letter that highlights your relevant skills and experiences.
If you write a cover letter that makes you feel proud of your career achievements, the hiring manager won’t fail to be impressed. If your cover letter leaves you cold, ask yourself what you could change to make it that bit more exciting?
Try our cover letter builder to help inspire you. Playing around with the cover letter content is the best way to find the optimal outcome.
