Administrative Assistant Cover Letter Sample & 20+ Tips

Christian Eilers, CPRW

Career Expert

Updated 01/04/2023

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You’re about to prepare your administrative assistant cover letter.

After weeks of searching, you’ve found the clerical job of your dreams.

You’ll manage their documents and paperwork, handle phone calls and correspondence, and greet visitors with a smile from your strategically-positioned ergonomic spinning chair.

But—

To get that opportunity, you’ll need the best administrative assistant cover letter they've ever received.

Don’t stress.

This admin assistant cover letter guide will show you:

Administrative assistant cover letter examples better than 9 out of 10 other cover letters.
How to write a cover letter for admin assistants that will land you more interviews.
Tips on how to grab the recruiter’s attention on an administrative cover letter.
How to sell yourself on a cover letter for office assistant jobs to get the one you want.

Below is a sample AA cover letter made with our cover letter builder.

Want to write your cover letter fast? Use our cover letter builder. Choose from 20+ professional cover letter templates that match your resume. See actionable examples and get expert tips along the way.

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Use this cover letter template

Administrative Assistant Cover Letter for a Resume—See more cover letter templates and create your cover letter here.

Considering similar positions too? See other cover letter examples for jobs in your industry:

Want to explore your options further? See our full selection of cover letter examples for every career: Cover Letter Examples.

What’s the Best Structure for Administrative Assistant Cover Letters?

Administrative assistants perform a wide variety of clerical work spanning almost every industry. Admin assistant jobs include recordkeeping, documentation, planning events, bookeeping, and scheduling meetings, among other tasks.

You're applying to be the backbone of their company.

As such, you'll need to format your cover letter for administrative jobs correctly, just as you did on your administrative assistant resume.

It's not as hard as it sounds—

Here’s what to include on an admin assistant cover letter:

Your name and contact information.
The date of writing.
The company’s address details.
A starting greeting / salutation.
An opening, introductory statement that grabs their attention.
A short paragraph on why you’re the perfect admin assistant.
A quick paragraph on why the administrative position is perfect for you.
A closing statement that seals the deal with a call to action.
A complimentary close and your name.
A postscript (P.S.), optionally.

Here, we’re following our recommended structure on the elements of the perfect AA cover letter. To read more about the method behind our madness, see this article for the best cover letter format: What to Include in a Cover Letter?

Pro Tip: Don’t complain just yet! Though you should follow our professional cover letter structure, you’ll have freedom in the way you speak. On the administrative resume, you’ll often use fragmented sentences and phrases, but here, you can stretch a bit.

Didn’t get a chance to use our office administrative resume guide to make sure that’s done right? Now’s your chance: Administrative Assistant Resume Sample & Complete Guide

How to Address Your Administrative Cover Letter

First things first—

Whether on a first-time office assistant cover letter or an executive assistant cover letter, the heading statement gets your attention first.

(And, hopefully, will get their attention first.)

Here's how to start a cover letter for administrative jobs:

Your Details

First, add your contact info at the top of the cover letter. Must-haves include:

your full name
email address
phone number

Optional items are your mailing address, branding statement, and a LinkedIn profile URL.

Pro Tip: Don’t add the rest of your social links, profile URLs, and portfolio information with your contact details as you did on your resume, unless the administrative assistant cover letter template you choose includes an area for them.

Administrate That Date

Like on any formal letter, an administrative support cover letter should include the date of writing:

Thursday, March 15, 2018

The Company’s Details

After the date, add the addressee.

For admin assistant jobs, it’s the office or agency you are applying at. However, locate the specific name of the hiring manager or HR director to insert at the top of the company address.

This makes it more personalized and compelling.

Add the hiring manager’s name first, their department, if applicable, then the company’s name, and finally the company's address.

Here’s what a finished cover letter address area (heading) looks like:

Not addressing it correctly is just as bad as not including one at all, whether it’s on an clerical assistant cover letter or one for an executive administrative assistant. Make sure you get it right: How to Address a Cover Letter: Sample & Guide [20+ Examples]

Starting Off on the Right Foot

The company's administrative assistant will be responsible for planning, scheduling, documentation, and other preliminary aspects.

So—

Just like a good admin assistant makes all the difference in how projects progress, the cover letter opening is crucial to get right. Its top location gets the most eye time from the HR staff, and they'll either keep reading or move on.

Greeting / Salutation

You wouldn’t be the face of the office if you’d just greet your coworkers with a “hey you” as they walk in.

On administrative assistant cover letters, the same rule applies.

Finding the name of the HR head or hiring manager stops your cover letter from feeling like generic spam.

Something like “Dear Ms. Jackson,” works just perfectly, but you can also skip the formality by calling them by their first name: “Dear Jacqueline,”.

Now, what about that “Dear” part? Dear is one of the best cover letter salutations, but if you’re not satisfied with it or you can’t find a name, we’ve got other options for various scenarios: How to Start a Cover Letter: Sample & Guide [20+ Examples]

An Administrative Introductory Statement

Like the compelling summary or objective you composed for your AA resume, the opening paragraph on its counterpart cover letter should hook them immediately in a way that makes them want to read further.

There are many ways to go about this, but you won’t go wrong as long as it grabs the hiring manager’s attention and make them want to read on. Let’s look at an example of a great admin assistant cover letter opening:

As a longtime fan of Acme’s company culture and products, I was excited to see the opening for an administrative assistant. With my lengthy experience as an administrative assistant with Fancy Malls, I know I can use my skill set and knowledge to become a valuable member of the Acme team.

See that?

This one is written about the company specifically, and it gives the HR manager reading it an enticing taste as to how you would be the perfect addition to their team. This makes a great opening paragraph, and it will make them want to read more.

Pro Tip: Mention the company’s name in the cover letter body, as well. This helps to make it feel more personalized, more tailored, and they know immediately that they’re reading a dedicated cover letter.

Like I mentioned, there are other ways to go about your introductory statement, as long as they are immediately irresistible and entice them to continue. For other ideas, see: How to Write a Cover Letter for Any Job [20+ Examples]

Here's an administrative assistant cover letter sample and a matching resume.

When making a resume in our builder, drag & drop bullet points, skills, and auto-fill the boring stuff. Spell check? Check. Start building a professional resume template here for free.

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When you’re done, Zety’s resume builder will score your resume and tell you exactly how to make it better.

You + Office = Perfect Partnership

Now we get to the main event, the keynote to address - it’s time to sell yourself to them. Our HR statistics show that you're going up against a resume stack of 250 others, so yours needs to be perfect.

The odds don’t seem to be in your favor, but don’t worry. The next two areas (we suggest a paragraph for each) give you plenty of room to make your case. Though they’re opposites, these sections have a symbiotic relationship.

Why You’re Perfect for Them

You’ve hooked them with your introduction.

Now, reel them in with your admin asst. cover letter by showing them how you are the perfect fit for the office and team.

Here’s what to say on a sample admin assistant cover letter:

In my current position with Fancy Malls, I’ve had many responsibilities and achievements that would serve me well in a role at Acme. Fancy Malls has a similar business structure and product lineup to those at Acme, so I believe I would make a smooth and quick transition. On top of that, my invoice management and directory maintenance were leading performance boosters for the company, and I’m sure that I could achieve similar results at Acme, such as:

I saved $3,000 a year in office supplies after negotiating a new deal with the current supplier.

I increased sales by 7% after implementing an automatic follow-up approach using a CRM program.

See that?

With that paragraph and those quantifiable achievements, they easily see that your administrative skills and experience make you the ideal new hire for the job offered.

Not sure which of your accomplishments will sound most impressive? Use the administrative assistant job description from the job posting to tailor your achievements perfectly.

Pro Tip: Remember using keywords on your resume to ensure that it’s tailored? Add them on your admin assistant cover letter, as well. Also, ensure your cover letter is easy to read by using the perfect cover letter font!

Why They’re Perfect for You

We mentioned a symbiotic two paragraphs, so this next one is all about how they’re your ideal workplace. You told them why you’re the best possible future employee, so now let’s explain why this company is the perfect choice for you:

Obtaining the administrative assistant position at Acme would be my dream come true. I’ve long been a fan and personal user of several of your products. In fact, Acme’s unique company culture is what prompted me to seek more challenging work. Though I love being in charge of a company’s multifaceted office support, there is no other office that would make me as happy to work for. I know, should I be honored with the position, that I’d be the envy of my circle of friends!

How about that?

You praised the company and explained why they are the center of your universe - that’s hard to resist!

This works for this experienced administrative assistant cover letter sample paragraph, but it would work equally well on entry-level admin assistant cover letters.

Pro Tip: Tell a joke. Be sincere. Use an exclamation point! Display your wit. Convey your enthusiasm. Make sure that your honest interest in the position is immediately apparent.

We’ve got a wealth of tips on these two central paragraphs and on writing a cover letter that will let you stand out: Successful Cover Letter Tips and Advice

A Strong & Compelling Finish

You’re just about there.

You started off strong, and you kept that momentum going throughout. Now, don’t slack off just yet—it’s time to end it with a powerful closing statement.

Use a powerful closing sentence or paragraph to briefly sum up:

I would eagerly welcome the opportunity to discuss your current administrative objectives and show you how my successes at Fancy Malls can translate into growth for Acme.

Bring it to a satisfying end by summarizing your admin assistant cover letter and then leaving the ball in their court.

Complimentary Close

To end your cover letter, simply add a closing sentiment and your name.

Here’s how easy that is:

Sincerely,

Ann Smith

That closing sentiment is called a complimentary close, which is followed by your name to end the cover letter for administrative assistant jobs.

Pro Tip: You can be creative in your cover letter’s content, but just as with the formal header, where you addressed your cover letter, keep the closing sentiment more formal, as well.

Closing strong on a cover letter is just as critical as an attention-grabbing beginning. Read this for more examples: How to End a Cover Letter: Sample & Complete Guide [+20 Examples]

A Postscript to Seal the Deal

Hold up a sec! You said that was it!

I know, I know, but hear me out—

Adding a P.S. after your signature isn't necessary. However, it is a great hack when writing a cover letter for admin assistants.

Here's what I mean:

P.S. - I’d love the opportunity to sit down with you and go over how I can bring similar results to the 10% cost savings I achieved at Fancy Malls to the Acme office, as well.

How about that?

A P.S. at the bottom of your cover letter for administrative jobs always draws the attention of the reader, even if they don’t read the rest of it.

It’s a clever way to get one last word in edgewise and one more opportunity to win them over.

Worried you might have missed something? Double-check with our comprehensive list: What to Include in a Cover Letter?

Key Takeaway

As you can see, writing a cover letter for administrative assistants is not as tough as you thought - and nowhere near as complicated as the constant juggling you’ll perform once you get the job.

Remember to follow these key points for a successful AA cover letter:

Start with a bang - Your opening statement on your cover letter is important because it’ll determine if the office hiring manager reads on.

Show you belong together - Use the majority of the body area to show that you’re a perfect fit for the office or agency and they’re the ideal workplace for you.

Finish strong - You held their attention to the end, but use a strong ending so they’ll be sure to move on to your admin assistant resume and grant you that all-important interview.

Now just make sure you email your resume properly and prepare for your big day with some helpful interview tips!

Do you have any questions on how to write an admin assistant cover letter? Not sure how to address a cover letter, start your body paragraphs, or end your cover letter in a strong way? Get at us in the comments below, and we’ll answer your question. Thanks for reading!

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Administrative Assistant Cover Letter Sample & 20+ Tips

What’s the Best Structure for Administrative Assistant Cover Letters?