Administrative Assistant Cover Letter | Examples & Tips
An administrative assistant cover letter is a concise 1-page business letter of 300–400 words that you submit with a resume. It should illustrate how well your office skills and experience align with the type of administrative support that a specific office needs. Cover letters for administrative assistant roles also showcase your business writing skills.
Each administrative assistant cover letter should be tailored to the employer, industry, and the keywords from the job posting (e.g., “MS Office” or “data entry”) so that you’re more likely to be contacted for an interview.
The guidelines, example, and template below will help you craft a compelling cover letter for an administrative assistant position that you can adapt for different opportunities.
- Review the job description, list of duties, and job requirements to find the hard skills (e.g., Microsoft Access) and soft skills (e.g., problem solving) that the role would entail.
- For each skill that you already have, copy/paste the keyword into a blank document.
- Below each keyword, type 2–4 bullet points about when and where you demonstrated the skill. Bonus points if you can link the skill to a measurable accomplishment (e.g., recognition from a supervisor or reduced wait times in a phone queue or reception area).
You can then use these brainstorming notes to decide what details your body paragraphs will include.
Administrative assistant cover letter format
A cover letter for administrative assistant work includes the same components as the standard cover letter format but with details about your previous office experience and the office skills that the role requires.
- A heading with your name, city and state, email address, phone number, and (optional) link to your LinkedIn profile
- The date you’re applying for the office position (e.g., “March 31, 2025”)
- A salutation to address your cover letter your cover letter to the manager or team (e.g., “Dear Jan Levinson” or “Dear Recruiting Team”)
- Introduction paragraph to start your cover letter with the name of the role, why you’re drawn to this company, and a claim about your main qualifications (e.g., “My previous success maintaining CRM records and liaising between clients and executives has prepared me to thrive in this role”)
- 1–2 body paragraphs that elaborate on the main office skills that will help you deliver impeccable support (e.g., a body paragraph for each skill with 2–3 examples of when you demonstrated the skill at other offices or in similar contexts)
- Conclusion paragraph to end the cover letter with your enthusiasm for the role, a recap of your qualifications, and an invitation to contact you for an interview
- Complimentary close (e.g., “Sincerely”) and your full name
For example, if the posting repeatedly says “customer support” or “Microsoft 365” your letter should say that and not “customer service” or “MS 365.” Be mindful of different synonyms for the same skills so that your application is ATS friendly.
Administrative assistant cover letter example
In this fictitious example, an experienced administrative assistant, who is applying for a job at a graphic design firm, has created a cover letter to showcase his experience with the required office skills in a similar office environment.
Ryan Novak
Scranton, PA | (272) 333-2222 | [email protected]
April 2, 2025
Dear Arista Team:
I am excited to apply for the administrative assistant position at Arista Print because I admire your organization’s creative and innovative designs. For the last three years, I’ve provided impeccable administrative support for Scranton University’s Office of Public Relations. With a proven track record of strong organization and communication skills, I’m confident that I can provide seamless operations for Arista staff and clientele.
My ability to stay organized and prioritize tasks has been instrumental to my success as an administrative assistant. At Scranton University, I consistently maintained up-to-date records of office supplies and a detailed calendar of staff meetings, community events, and marketing deadlines, ensuring that no detail was overlooked. Leveraging my proficiency in MS 365, I also organized logistics for meetings with multiple stakeholders, which included drafting and sending meeting invitations, arranging catering, keeping detailed minutes, and corresponding with attendees. I was also instrumental in migrating our archives and media library to SharePoint, which improved office workflows so that our creative staff could focus on writing more copy and improving the university’s online visibility. I’m confident that I can deliver an organized and seamless experience for Arista’s clients and designers.
Providing excellent customer service is also at the heart of my professional values. I know firsthand how important written and verbal communication are in a deadline-driven, customer-focused environment. At the Office of Public Relations, I consistently greeted guests with warmth and professionalism and quickly resolved inquiries with accuracy and ease. My reputation for strong communication resulted in an employee of the month award and an employee spotlight feature in a university-wide newsletter for faculty and staff. As your administrative assistant, I would cultivate a welcoming environment that leads to repeat business and produce the highest-quality correspondence so that your meetings and projects run smoothly.
I would be delighted to apply my administrative skills toward Arista’s ongoing success. If you’re seeking a strong communicator and organized assistant with experience in the marketing industry, I’m available for an interview at your earliest convenience. Thank you for considering my application.
Sincerely,
Ryan Novak
Cover letter for administrative assistant template
To help you start writing your own cover letter, QuillBot offers an administrative assistant cover letter template, which you can customize with details about how your office skills align with the job requirements. The template shows where to add your contact information, a greeting, an introduction, body paragraphs, a conclusion, and a complimentary close.
Have you tried backwards proofreading? It works like this. Start with the last sentence and move backwards through the draft until you reach the beginning. You’re more likely to notice typos when you read the sentences out of order.
Then, run your cover letter through the QuillBot Grammar Checker to find and fix any typos you may have missed.
Frequently asked questions about administrative assistant cover letters
- Is an executive assistant cover letter the same as an administrative assistant cover letter?
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An executive assistant cover letter is similar to an administrative assistant cover letter, but executive assistant skills are usually more specialized. For either role, focus your cover letter on the skills from the job posting that you’ve demonstrated.
Executive assistants support high-level executives, and the cover letter needs to show experience with the type of support that the executive needs (e.g., writing reports, organizing shareholder meetings, managing CRM databases, or editing presentations).
An administrative assistant usually supports a team or a whole office in a more general way. An administrative assistant cover letter usually needs to show your success with basic office technology—such as Outlook, Word, or Excel.
Any cover letter you write for an office job should be error free. The QuillBot Grammar Checker is a quick and painless way to proofread for typos.
- What does a cover letter for an administrative assistant with no experience include?
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A cover letter for an administrative assistant with no experience includes transferable skills (e.g., problem-solving) or evidence of when you demonstrated the required skills in other contexts (e.g., using MS Office as a student or volunteer).
In the body paragraphs of your administrative assistant cover letter, describe a few examples of when you were successful with the hard skills (e.g., Excel) and soft skills (e.g., communication) from the job posting.
Your cover letter and resume also need to be free of error. QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker will help you find and fix errors.
- What skills should an administrative assistant cover letter include?
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The skills that an administrative assistant cover letter should include are the hard skills (e.g., MS Word) and the soft skills (e.g., attention to detail) that are listed in the job posting. Some common administrative assistant skills include:
- Organization and time management
- Word processing (e.g., Google Docs, MS Word)
- Communication platforms (e.g., Slack, Teams, Zoom)
- CRM tools (e.g., Salesforce)
- Written communication (e.g., memos and reports)
- Database management systems (e.g., MS Access)
Your administrative assistant cover letter also needs to have concise wording and powerful action verbs. Have you tried QuillBot’s free paraphrasing tool? It can instantly show you some different ways to describe your skills.
- Is an administrative assistant cover letter necessary?
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Yes, an administrative assistant cover letter is necessary in most cases. The purpose of a cover letter for these roles is to show that you can produce accurate and error free reports, emails, memos, and other workplace documents.
Hiring managers for these roles also want to see evidence of when you’ve used the required skills. For example, if the job posting asks for Excel experience, your cover letter should describe your success with making and maintaining spreadsheets.
Always check the job posting and the online application portal to find out if a cover letter is necessary. If you’re unsure, write an administrative assistant cover letter to be on the safe side.
Make sure your cover letters are free of error, too! The QuillBot Grammar Checker will help you do just that.
