How to Write Cover Letters for Administrators (with Tips and Examples)

Administrators help businesses and their employees stay on track by overseeing daily operations, including:

• Answering, transferring, and following up on phone calls
• Setting up appointments and meetings
• Taking and reviewing dictation
• Developing filing systems and organizing reports

When applying for an admin job, writing a cover letter is a great way of setting yourself apart. By connecting your skills to the company’s goals in a cover letter, you can show why and how you can deliver to the administrative role. 

For those with no experience, adding an administrator cover letter to your application can help recruiters see your career vision or understand the connection between seemingly unrelated roles in your resume.

In this guide, we will help you craft your own cover letter by explaining how to write an administrative cover letter. To follow along easily and get a different take on varying administration jobs, we also provided examples from business, HR, and office sectors to hone each section of a cover letter. You will also find tips and a template at the end to serve as inspiration when composing your own administrative cover letter.

The following is an example of an Administrative Coordinator cover letter for an applicant who was formerly an Event Planner. The applicant describes related administrative skills that the company would expect from candidates who may need to travel. 

✏️ Address the hiring manager

In the header of your administrator cover letter, include your details:

• Full name 
• Phone number
• Email 

Next, include the recipient’s details either in the header or in the body of your cover letter:

• Recipient's full name
• Company name
• Company address

After the header, start with a polite “Dear” salutation to address your cover letter. Follow with the recipient’s name or “Hiring Manager”. Avoid outdated or impersonal addresses (e.g. Dear Sir/Madam, To Whomever It May Concern) which can discourage recruiters from reading your administrative cover letter. Your cover letter should also include the date of writing, which precedes the recipient’s details.

✏️ Engage the reader with a self-introduction & opening

Introduce your cover letter with a quick summary of your reason for applying. State who you are, what roles you’ve been in, and which relevant skills you possess. To hook the recruiter, you can include a motivational interest in your administrator cover letter (e.g. from personal experiences, life stories, career aspirations, and upbringing background).

The following is a sample of a business administrator cover letter introduction:

✏️ Outline your skills & qualifications

The body paragraphs of your cover letter should explain why your skills apply to the administration role. Detail how the skills you’ve acquired in previous administrative or related roles can drive results for the desired role and company. Include necessary qualifications and credentials in your cover letter to show your mastery of relevant software.

The following is an example body paragraph for an HR administrator position:

✏️ End your administrator cover letter with an invitation

At the end of your administrator cover letter, thank the recruiter for reviewing your application. Follow up with an interview invitation or show your interest in an in-person meetup.

The following is an example of a call to action for an office administrator cover letter:

✏️ Sign off in a professional manner

Sign off your administrator cover letter with "Sincerely" and your full name. If you’re emailing a cover letter, you can create a professional signature by adding contact details and links to online profiles or portfolios, for instance:

💡 Highlight administrator skills

Recruiters in administration may use applicant tracking systems (ATS) systems to find keyword-relevant cover letters and resumes. While you should read job descriptions to brainstorm keywords that best fit the role and company, here are a few to kickstart your administrator cover letter writing:

• Customer service
• Dictation
• Communication
• Organization
• Time management
• Bookkeeping
• Confidentiality
• Data Entry
• Problem-solving
• Inventory management

💡 Present achievements using bullet points

One of the dilemmas in writing a cover letter is keeping it within a page, while ensuring you have your main points covered. To create a succinct and specific administrative cover letter, use bullet points to present your achievements. By using a bullet point format, you can keep your cover letter more focused by highlighting impactful experiences and skills for each achievement. As a result, you help recruiters spend less time scanning your cover letter.

If you are having a hard time thinking of how to present your achievements in an administrator cover letter, we have provided some examples below. Preferably, support your achievements with quantifiable results or metrics, like this:

💡 End with a compelling call to action

Encourage recruiters to interview you for the administrative job. Further your call to action by restating the importance of your skills to the role in your cover letter. You can also point to what you hope to accomplish with the company or mention a particular area of interest that prompted you to apply (e.g. workplace culture, company accolades in a field, team diversity, etc.).

💡 Highlight your personality 

Whether you’re a fresh grad or someone with no experience, writing a good cover letter can help recruiters understand your training potential for the role. Read the job description, highlight your unique approach to the job, and incorporate soft skills that would be helpful for the administration position. For instance, do you provide stellar customer service? Or are you a fast-paced and meticulous multitasker? 

You can also call attention to your interests by referring to past volunteer work, internships, educational programs, or extracurricular activities in your cover letter. An example could be a front desk volunteer role where you answered phone calls or a business course proposal project. If you learned any relevant software from school courses, include your knowledge of them in your administrative cover letter.

💡 Proofread your administrator cover letter

Administrative jobs require precision, especially when coordinating multiple tasks that can affect the timeline of a company. Show your attention to detail by removing any grammatical, spelling and numerical errors from your cover letter. 

You should also use a professional and legible font throughout your application (e.g. Times New Roman, Calibri, Arial, etc.). Headers can range from 14-20 pt and body type should be set at 11-12 pt. 

We have provided a basic cover letter template for an administrative clerk job below. Depending on the administrator job you're applying for, fill in and modify sections to create your own cover letter.

--- Originally written by Flora Lai ---