With a great operations manager cover letter, you can quickly rise above the rest to prove your problem solving skills, commitment to stakeholders and business acumen. That new job can quickly be yours – if you know how to sell yourself in your operations manager cover letter.
Without an operations manager, a business would never get past the ideation phase. An operations manager oversees all the necessary steps to make a product or service a reality in the hands of a consumer.
Operations managers handle a wide range of tasks from delegating duties to designing production systems and calculating materials cost and pricing. A great operations manager is vital to the success of a company so hiring managers will be looking for the best of the best when it comes time to fill this position.
With this operations manager cover letter example plus Resume.io’s tips, tools and cover letter templates, you’re never alone on the journey to land your dream position. We’ll walk you through the steps to craft a great operations manager cover letter from start to finish.
This operations manager cover letter example along with our adaptable sample sentences will:
Before we dive further into writing the perfect cover letter, you’ll want to make sure that your resume is in top shape. Check out our operations manager resume example, plus our comprehensive guide on how to write a resume for tons of tips on creating an outstanding resume.
While most job seekers understand what a resume is, fewer are as aware of the specific rules of cover letter writing. The cover letter, sometimes called an application letter, can feel like a structureless document that the employer may not even appreciate. However, that couldn’t be further from the truth. In the following subsection, we’ll explain why your cover letter should receive just as much attention as your resume.
But first let’s look at some general guidelines for the perfect cover letter:
Your cover letter is your chance to make a personal connection with the employer by using the most relevant examples that show how you’d perform in the company’s work environment. While great writing is essential, you’ll also need professional formatting to convey your experience and mastery of the field. You can find tons of tips and advice on fonts, colors and templates in our overall guide on cover letters.
If you’re applying for an operations manager position, then this likely isn’t your first time writing a cover letter. While all your previous positions have prepared you for this moment professionally, the same isn’t necessarily true for your previous applications.
That’s because a lot of candidates see the cover letter as a chore – just one more hurdle to jump before submitting their application. But the boring, generic cover letters that result from this mindset likely don’t do the applicants any favors.
When crafted with care and reflection, a cover letter is a secret weapon. It allows you to maneuver past other candidates, even those with more years of experience, and prove to a hiring manager that it’s worth taking a shot on you.
An operations manager who name drops a lot of big companies but can’t explain how they created a successful operation might find themselves neck and neck with a young candidate who can clearly demonstrate a track-record of achievement. And once you find yourself in the interview round, it’s anyone’s game.
A great cover letter is all about maximizing your chances. With confidence, professionalism and the right tools, that perfect position can be yours.
The importance of tailoring your cover letter
One of the most common traps that even candidates for high-level positions fall into is failing to customize their cover letter for each employer they apply to. Unfortunately, a generic, one-size-fits-all cover letter just won’t cut it – especially not for an operations manager role where the position is molded to fit the company and type of production.
To truly have the best chance of getting a job interview, it is essential that you customize your cover letter with the most relevant achievements, examples, skills and even personality traits for the specific employer and position. It may take a bit of extra effort, but the time invested will pay dividends when the recruiter notices your commitment.
Understanding the elements of a good cover letter is one of the best things you can do to make sure your application checks off all the boxes and catches the eye of the hiring manager. The sections below tend to stay relatively the same regardless of the industry in which you plan to work. Here are the key components:
You can find even more details on each of these sections, plus free sample sentences, in our overall example: How to Write a Cover Letter.
Your operations manager cover letter header has two important jobs. The first is to list all the necessary identifying information in case your application floats from desk to desk. Nothing dashes your chances more than having a recruiter frustrated that they don’t know how to contact you.
Include your personal data like your name, phone number and email address. Your LinkedIn may also be important depending on the company, but be careful not to overload the header with too much information.
Your header also plays a key role in the formatting of your letter. This is one of the only sections where you’ll be able to customize the design and even add a touch of color if appropriate. For an upper level position like operations manager, you’ll want to make sure your visual presentation matches the tone of the company. A cover letter template may be able to help.
The goal of this section: Keep your name and contact information at the forefront of your document, create attractive formatting that is professional and eye-catching
Align document styles
For lower-level positions, aligning document styles is an option to make your application a bit more professional. For an operations manager, however, it’s practically a must. Aligning document styles means matching your cover letter and resume header and page layout. This simple step makes your application appear cohesive and polished and helps your documents stand out in the hiring manager’s mind.
If you don’t have the time or energy to tackle page design yourself, a resume template and corresponding cover letter template can make the process quick and easy. Just choose a style that aligns with the company’s branding and tone so as to show that you understand their needs and image. For operations managers, we recommend the Professional category of our free cover letter templates.
The greeting of your operations manager cover letter is a small but powerful section. Your most important objective here is to address the hiring manager or letter recipient by name to establish the personal connection and respectful tone that you will maintain throughout.
For most formal industries, the traditional “Dear” followed by the correct salutation and last name is the most appropriate choice. However for very modern companies with innovative work environments, you might opt for a more casual greeting or even a first name.
The goal of this section: Create a friendly and respectful tone by addressing the hiring manager by name
The importance of names and addressed greetings
As mentioned above, addressing the hiring manager by name is one of the most important elements of a customized and effective cover letter. This simple step helps show your interest in the position and that you put the time in to get to know the company before applying. In fact, science has even proven that humans have a positive reaction to hearing their own names – all the more evidence to incorporate this tip into your cover letter.
However, in large companies with large HR teams, finding the exact name of the person or people who will be responsible for evaluating your application can be downright impossible. If this is the case, there’s no need to worry. You can try using a more general greeting. “Dear Hiring Manager” is alright if you’re sure only one person will be reading. “Dear (Company Name) Hiring Team” or even “Hiring Family” can work better for large companies.
Your operations manager cover letter introduction is the first sentence or two of your cover letter. Hiring managers have very little time to evaluate each application so if your introduction isn’t top-notch there’s a good chance they won’t keep reading. Not to worry.
You can easily knock this section out of the park by using an anecdote, exciting personal statement or relevant statistic to grab attention and lead the reader right into the body of your cover letter.
The goal of this section: Avoid a generic opening and create interest with an anecdote, statistic or skill that flows into the next section
The body of your operations manager cover letter makes up the bulk of your document. Here, you’ll expand on your achievements, skills and visions as an operations manager. Since this section contains the majority of the information, you can ease the writing process by dividing it in half.
In the first section, use the STAR method to describe a Situation, the Task required of you, your Action and the positive Result that followed. Since operations manager duties can vary so widely, it’s a good idea to use the job description and research from the company website to narrow down your examples to only the most relevant and impactful for your potential employer.
In the second body paragraph, discuss your strongest skills including just a few hard skills if essential to the position. Discuss your vision or potential contribution to the company without sounding presumptuous or critical.
The goal of this section: Give short examples of your previous achievements and successes, discuss your most noteworthy strengths and the ideas you’d bring to the potential employer
Your operations manager cover letter is almost written! Before you pop open that champagne, you’ll need to wrap it up with your conclusion and signature. Express your interest and enthusiasm for the position and invite a hiring manager to get in touch in the Call to Action.
Then choose the most appropriate signature based on the tone of your greeting and your relationship with the employer. “Warm regards,” “Sincerely” or “Thank you” can all make great options.
The goal of this section: Create a positive and respectful Call to Action that leaves a hiring manager wanting to get in touch, sign off with the most appropriate signature for your potential employer
While on the job search for an operations manager job, there are a few key qualities you’ll want to convey:
Although operations managers work at the highest levels of big companies and international organizations, that doesn’t mean that every operations manager position requires years of systematic career building. In fact, small companies also need operations managers who can handle production and manage workflow. These positions can make great entry-level opportunities, especially for recent grads from MBA or other management programs.
So how can you land an entry-level operations manager position? It all comes down to proving your vision and aligning yourself with the company goals. As always, understanding the employer’s needs and the potential responsibilities is the first step to crafting a great cover letter, especially for an entry-level position. Then consider the experience you do have. What projects or achievements make you believe you’d be a great operations manager? What skills did you use for those tasks that are applicable to the new position?
You can also play your youth to your advantage. Are you a quick learner who implements new technology without hesitation? Do you take feedback well and seek out expert advice? Are you committed to innovation and taking calculated risks? These traits are essential for the modern operations manager, yet they may be missing from applicants who are set in their ways after years of experience.
Time to get specific
When you’re applying for any operations manager role, but especially an entry-level one, you’ll want to give key statistics and numbers that prove you’re able to drive results. Of course, impressive achievements should be at the top of the list, but even if you don’t have much experience you can still give details that help make your application stand out in a hiring manager’s mind.
Some sample sources of numbers for your cover letter:
For more cover letter ideas, check out these related administrative cover letter samples:
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