Office Administrator cover letter example

Office administrators are the hub of the modern office. They have a million and one tasks that will influence the success of their colleagues, but their own success comes in how they undertake these tasks. Doing a sloppy job will lead to countless unintended consequences, so having the right attitude is a crucial attribute of the best office administrators. It is hard to show how you go the extra mile in a resume, so that is where the office administrator cover letter comes in.

An office administrator cover letter can outline all the personal traits that set you apart from those who simply come to work to do the bare minimum and offer little added value. In this guide and the corresponding cover letter examples, we will explore the following topics:

• How the format of a cover letter can influence a hiring manager
• How to tell your career story in the intro, middle part and conclusion
• What qualities a hiring manager looks for and which mistakes to avoid
• How to write an office administrator cover letter with no experience.

Best format for an office administrator cover letter

Office administrators are masters of effective communication. They do not waste words and understand how to mobilize impactful language. It would therefore be expected that their cover letter would be an explosive exposé of their value. You have 300-400 words to share how you influence the success of those around you.

How you structure a cover letter will dictate much of your success. The accepted format of an office administrator cover letter looks like this:

• Cover letter header
• Greeting / salutation
• Cover letter intro
• Middle paragraphs (body of the letter)
• Ending paragraph of your cover letter

This cover letter guide brings together a series of tips and guidance for office administrators, but it is well worth looking at more general job search writing advice in our comprehensive cover letter example guide. Office administrators can take inspiration from a wide range of industries, so do some background reading before you put pen to paper. This office administrator cover letter sample may offer some ideas when you come to sit down and write your story:

Cover letter header

The header of an office administrator cover letter should contain the essential elements of how to contact them, presented in an efficient and professional manner. Keep the design minimal and the fonts small. Whatever you do, double check for mistakes.

In terms of which contact information to include, a full name, contact email and mobile phone are expected. Make sure that the email has a sensible format. You might be checked out on social media, but there is no work-related reason to include the details of your social accounts. You don't have to add your full home address. There are data protection issues here - you can share it at the offer stage. Also, there is no requirement to add the inside address of the employer - much as you might wish to d things by the book. Check out the header from our cover letter sample for more ideas on getting started.

Goal of the cover letter header: Put the hiring manager’s mind at rest by including your contact details at the top of the cover letter. They will want to move on to more important things, so let them see it is there and then forget about it.

Cover letter greeting

Communicating in an appropriately formal tone is important for an office administrator who has to deal with a wide range of colleagues, suppliers and partners. Addressing the cover letter greeting correctly shows that you value convention.

If at all possible, find out to whom the cover letter should be addressed. It will likely be read by a range of people, but choose either your direct hiring manager or the HR representative whose name is likely on the job description. Either is fine, but make sure that you have spelled their names correctly.

If you do now know to whom the cover letter should be addressed, a “Dear Company Team” greeting is both warm and professional. Avoid the cold and impersonal “To Whom It May Concern,” if possible. That demonstrates a total lack of interest in the role.

Goal of letter greeting: Start on the right foot and address the letter to the right person. Everyone appreciates reading their name, so start the office administrator cover letter on a personal note. 

Cover letter introduction

The introduction should typically set out your relevant career experience, so if you have worked in a similar industry, you should mention it. Offices in different industries work differently – find commonalities with your previous experience wherever possible.

Personality is critical for an office administrator who needs to coax and cajole others into getting things done. While the scale of your achievements will speak to this ability, it doesn’t hurt to include a couple of adjectives in the cover letter to illuminate how you motivate those around you. See our cover letter sample below.

Goal of the cover letter intro: Jump in with how you would impact your colleagues around you. Work out what your specific employer needs from you and mention it in the first paragraph.

Cover letter middle part (body)

The middle part of an office administrator cover letter is difficult to write. You have so many different tasks that it is hard to pick which ones to highlight. If you have written a comprehensive resume, you should have a wide choice. The best way to approach this is to choose those examples that had the biggest impact on the bottom line of the business and on those around you. 

It is vital that you do not talk about the more mundane aspects of the role. Pick examples that not many of your competitors will be able to share. Top candidates should give off the impression that they have long mastered all the basics and spend their time finessing the finer details of the role. Relationships with colleagues, suppliers and partners are at the heart of this value, so make sure that you name drop where possible.

Goal of the body of your cover letter: The examples that you choose to share will dictate whether a hiring manager considers you for an interview. They have to stand out from the pack or you will not make the grade. 

How to close an office administrator cover letter (conclusion and sign-off)

An office administrator’s job is never finished. There are always more projects that they could be involved in and finer operational details to be ironed out. Their cover letter should be a non-stop account of the astounding value that they can add to their next employer and there is no reason for them to slow down in the final paragraph.

Include one last tale of administrative excellence before you move to the final task: you need to show a curiosity to find out more about the role. Saying that you are looking forward to the opportunity of an interview (in hope rather than expectation) is the last part of an effective cover letter. You want the hiring manager to send the interview invite right away – you have made a good case for yourself, so why not?

Goal of the ending: Share one last example and give the sense that there are many more stories that you wish you could have mentioned. Say that you are looking forward to meeting in a sales-like call-to-action. 

Basic mistakes in an office administrator application letter (and how to avoid them)

There is no room for errors in office administration. Every small mistake has the potential to snowball and the knock-on effects to others cannot always be predicted. Here are the three most basic errors that may seem are obvious, but they are surprisingly easy to overlook:

1. Grammatical and spelling errors: Any employer would reasonably expect that you would check the letter carefully for grammar and spelling errors. Use an online checker such as Grammarly and take great care checking every letter as each one will (hopefully) be different.
2. Don’t pack the letter with keywords: Do not worry that you have not covered every part of the job description in the cover letter (your resume should do that) and don’t attempt to keyword-stuff the cover letter to give yourself a better chance with the ATS system. Your letter will seem unnatural, forced and frankly illegible.
3. Keep it formal: While the culture of employers will vary, a job application is a formal process, so keep the register of your language on the formal side. If you get to the interview and you understand that the hiring manager has a more relaxed attitude, that is the time when you can seek to fit in a little better.

Key takeaways

1. Show off your most effective administration skills by telling the stories that made a difference to your colleagues and to your past employer’s bottom line.
2. Think about the very specific demands of the role in question and only talk about the most relevant parts of your experience.
3. Follow the cover letter writing protocol of introduction, middle part and conclusion. Quantify your achievements with context where possible.
4. Check our office administrator cover letter sample for more ideas on creating an effective page layout.

If the office administrator cover letter guide was useful, please do have a look at some administrative cover letter examples:

• Receptionist cover letter sample
• Administrative assistant cover letter example