An outstanding case manager cover letter is an essential job application component for anyone in that field seeking employment. Resume.io is the right place to learn in detail everything you need to know about how to prepare one.
Our resources include more than 180 occupation-specific writing guides and corresponding cover letter examples. Here's what we'll discuss in this writing guide, backed by case manager cover letter examples :
Case managers used to be commonly called “case workers.” Today's commonly used occupation name emphasizes their overall management role meeting the needs of clients and patients in various medical, family-related and social work settings.
Case managers coordinate and facilitate wide-ranging approaches to achieving and maintaining well-being for the physically or mentally ill, the elderly, people challenged by substance abuse, clients in the correctional system, families and children, and other clients. They may be social workers, nurses, counselors, physical therapists, speech therapists or specialists in other fields.
The work of a case manager typically includes:
Case managers earn an average hour wage of $18.45 per hour, according to Payscale.com. Another leading source of salary info, Glassdoor.com, says case managers in the U.S. earn an average annual salary of $43,072.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), which provides extensive occupational information on both salaries and job outlook, does not rank case managers separately, but it provides useful information on employment expectations for all kinds of social workers. And the outlook is very good.
What is the job outlook for social workers?
According to the BLS, overall employment of social workers of all kinds in the U.S. is expected to grow by 12% from 2020 through 2030 — much faster than the projected average for all occupations, which is 8%.
Projected job growth for social work occupations 2020 to 2030
For more inspiration and ideas, take a look at these writing guides and cover letter examples:
For job applications in any field, including case managers, a cover letter is an essential companion to a resume. If you apply for a case manager job by sending only one document, you’ve sent just 50% of what you needed to send.
Surveys of hiring managers have found that the failure to include a cover letter is among the top 10 reasons job candidates are rejected. Why take the chance?
Some people feel that a two application documents are overkill, since they both address many of the same issues, including work experience, education and job skills. But a resume is basically an impersonal collection of lists (of jobs, schools and skills). It’s not addressed to anyone, it normally doesn’t use the word “I” or “you,” and it doesn’t offer the opportunity to speak to how your contributions could benefit the company or organization you’re targeting.
A cover letter, on the other hand, is a professional but personal approach to a hiring manager — like a handshake, a human greeting, a “hello” from afar. A cover letter enables you to showcase your personality, passion, warmth and likability. A cover letter is a way of establishing a personal connection with an individual whose help you need.
Although in rare cases an employer will request that you refrain from sending more than one document, you should always include a cover letter unless you’re specifically asked not to.
The best format for a case manager cover letter is one that follows a solid structure and is easy to read. This means the cover letter should be one page only, a maximum of 400 words, and it should be contain the following elements:
This cover letter format is the tried and tested approach, yet each cover letter is a highly individualized document. So, the goal for each cover letter section or paragraph should be to maximize its effectiveness in showcasing your professionalism and personality.
Below is a case manager cover letter example that you can customize for the position and hiring organization:
Dear Mrs. Brooker,
As a licensed clinical social worker and case manager, I have worked in both residential and care home settings, with a deep understanding of the needs of patients with dementia. This has entailed working with nursing teams to coordinate 200+ personal treatment plans.
While my bachelor’s degree in healthcare and Certified Case Manager certification were achieved 10 years ago, I still draw on many healthcare management fundamentals when helping those under my care. The simplest wisdom is often the most effective choice when it comes to making someone with dementia feel comfortable. A predictable routine, warm kindness and limitless patience go a long way.
In my previous roles, I coordinated care in homes with 15 to 70 residents, and managed countless health priorities alongside the less pleasant end-of-life care considerations. Dementia is a debilitating illness, and I am used to handling communication with friends and relatives in a compassionate and attentive manner.
Communication skills are paramount in charting a course through this disease. Starting in the early stages, it has often fallen to me to guide both patients and loved ones while still in a residential home setting. I am a scholar of the latest treatment options, and a passionate believer in patient advocacy instead of rigid loyalty to an impersonal process.
After my previous employer was forced to close its care home due to budget restrictions, I collected over 50 patient and staff referrals to share with a prospective employer. I would be glad to take you through some of the highlights during an interview.
Sincerely,
Sydney Banks
Let’s take a look at each of these components in detail, along with some cover letter writing samples to illustrate.
The cover letter header is an attractively designed section that contains the job applicant’s name, occupation, address, phone number and email.
The reasons for this are obvious, so that the employer knows how to reach you if interested. But notice that the header also plays an important design role — it makes the page look more eye-catching, more interesting and more professional.
Give your application documents a matching look
If you inspect your kitchen drawers, you probably have several mismatched forks, knives and spoons you’ve somehow collected over the years. But if you go into a store and buy a brand-new set of flatware, they’ll all match.
How did this happen, and why didn’t the designers of your gleaming new silverware throw in a few white plastic sporks for variety? Because they were making a matching set! And you need to do the same when designing a cover letter.
You want to use the same fonts, font sizes, formatting styles and header styles in your resume and cover letter, like they were made to go together. This shows your attention to detail and your understanding of the importance of coherent design.
Goal of the cover letter header: Distinguish yourself from other job applicants by attracting visual attention and making it easy for impressed recruiters to get in touch.
“Dear Mr. XXX,” or “Dear Ms. ZZZ,” is the traditional, time-honored wayof writing a business letter greeting, also known as a salutation. And there’s no need to reinvent the wheel here, because this approach is never wrong.
If you happen to know the person you’re writing to, it may be acceptable to use a first name or a more informal greeting, like “Hello Henry,” or “Greetings Maria.” But beware of being too casual in a letter where you’re asking for a job.
Often you will find yourself responding to a job listing that doesn’t tell you the name of the hiring manager. In such cases, it’s best to do whatever you can to find out who the appropriate person is. If your online sleuthing can’t answer this question, it’s always an option to simply call the company and ask.
People like to read their own names, and they’re more likely to respond to an email that addresses them by name rather than one addressed to an entire company or department. It also shows your professionalism, attention to detail and interest in this company if you’ve gone to the trouble of finding out who’s processing the job applications.
But if you’re told to simply address your job application to the Humans Relations Dept., you might have no choice but to go with something like “Dear Human Relations Team.”
Goal of the cover letter greeting: Start off on a professional note while making a direct personal connection with the hiring manager.
Here’s the greeting from our case manager cover letter sample.
Dear Mrs. Brooker,
The opening paragraph of your case manager cover letter should make an attention-getting opening statement about the job you’re seeking and about why you would make an excellent candidate.
If you have 10 years of experience as a working case manager, you’re golden — just say so. For instance: “After 10 years of experience as a case manager for the Illinois Department of Human Services, advising and serving some of the neediest people in the state, I’d like to offer Northwestern Memorial my expertise in filling a similar role for your patients.”
Goal of the cover letter introduction: Capture the hiring manager's attention with a compelling preview of your qualifications that motivates further reading.
Below is another introduction idea from our case manager cover letter sample.
As a licensed clinical social worker and case manager, I have worked in both residential and care home settings, with a deep understanding of the needs of patients with dementia. This has entailed working with nursing teams to coordinate 200+ personal treatment plans.
The central two to four paragraphs, comprising the middle part of your cover letter, should make a slam-dunk case that you are the right person for this job.
Again, experience is king, so if you’re an experienced case manager, lead with that. In addition to naming some of the places you’ve worked, be specific about what you actually did at those jobs, using facts and figures wherever possible.
Consider telling a story. Use an anecdote or two to recount a challenge you once faced, the action you took to resolve it, and the satisfactory result you achieved.
You may have no experience as a case manager — perhaps you’re just finishing college, you’re changing careers or you’re looking to move up from a related field. If so, identify the experience that best qualifies you for the job, whether it’s your pending degree or your work in a similar field.
Try to say something about the company you’re targeting. Mention it by name and say something about why you want to work there, or about how you believe you could resolve challenges that you know it’s facing. This shows that you’re not just sending out cover letters at random to 50 employers, but you’re really interested in this specific employer.
Goal of the cover letter body: Illustrate how this employer would benefit from your commitment to excellence as a case manager.
Our case manager cover letter sample illustrates what you might include in the middle part.
While my bachelor’s degree in healthcare and Certified Case Manager certification were achieved 10 years ago, I still draw on many healthcare management fundamentals when helping those under my care. The simplest wisdom is often the most effective choice when it comes to making someone with dementia feel comfortable. A predictable routine, warm kindness and limitless patience go a long way.
In my previous roles, I coordinated care in homes with 15 to 70 residents, and managed countless health priorities alongside the less pleasant end-of-life care considerations. Dementia is a debilitating illness, and I am used to handling communication with friends and relatives in a compassionate and attentive manner.
Communication skills are paramount in charting a course through this disease. Starting in the early stages, it has often fallen to me to guide both patients and loved ones while still in a residential home setting. I am a scholar of the latest treatment options, and a passionate believer in patient advocacy instead of rigid loyalty to an impersonal process.
You can conclude your cover letter with a summary and a thank-you, but it should also contain some kind of call to action. For example, you might say you’re always reachable using the contact info provided and you’re looking forward to a reply. Perhaps indicate that you’re available anytime for a formal interview or even a quick phone call.
The idea is to plant the thought that the reader should take some action as a result of your letter and not just lay it aside.
Aim of the cover letter closing: End on a positive, self-assured note with a call to action that encourages recruiters to respond.
Below is the closing section of our case manager cover letter example.
After my previous employer was forced to close its care home due to budget restrictions, I collected over 50 patient and staff referrals to share with a prospective employer. I would be glad to take you through some of the highlights during an interview.
Let’s not overthink this one.
Sincerely,
Sydney Banks
That’s all you need. You can choose a sign-off other than “Sincerely” if you like, such as "Best regards," or "Best," as long as it’s appropriate for a business letter.
In a printed cover letter that you intend to mail or hand-deliver, an actual signature is needed above your name, but this is not necessary in electronic communication.
You could scribble the perfect case manager cover letter on a napkin and just mail that in. But we wouldn’t recommend it.
As any good chef will tell you, presentation matters. Your letter needs to look as good as it reads. And that means following some basic design and formatting rules:
Case managers for needy people tend to have a long suit in empathy. And while it’s not exactly the same thing, you need to tap your ability to get inside someone else’s skin when writing your cover letter.
Put yourself in the shoes of the person you’re writing to. What does this hiring manager care about? Your cover letter recipients are primarily concerned about the needs of their organization and clients. They are not primarily concerned about your needs.
Always remember that you’re not trying to convince recruiters that you deserve a job. You’re trying to convince them that you can make their organization stronger, streamline their processes, reduce their costs and achieve better outcomes for their clients.
Carefully consider the tone you use in your cover letter. It should convey confidence and competence, highlighting your empathy for the clients you want to serve. It should never sound arrogant or presumptuous, as if you’re the best case manager ever since the dinosaurs walked the earth, and they’d be fools not to hire you.
Strike a personal note, too, with the reader — friendly but professional, upstanding, employable. Remember that nobody wants to hire somebody they don’t like. Be warm and personable, yet also find a way to humbly emphasize the excellent skills you bring to the job.
People who write cover letters often make common errors. And people who receive cover letters have seen them all.
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