A virtual assistant can be a savior for a busy professional in so many industries. Once the preserve of the high-flying entrepreneur, a (virtual) personal assistant is now popular for a wide range of professionals. If they organize work streams and lines of communication in the right way, they can be the glue that holds everything together.
While many of the activities may be the same as a normal personal assistant such as booking travel (yes, that is a thing again), managing customer communications, booking accommodation, arranging meetings, and managing social media, virtual assistants can also easily and unobtrusively take part in virtual meetings (taking notes) and be present in all sorts of virtual events to represent their boss.
The flexible nature of the work is unsurprisingly attractive, and many young professionals are seeing this as a way into the work of work. Building relationships in this way is a fantastic entry-level opportunity into their dream industry and they don’t even need to risk a move away from their home city to achieve it.
While a virtual assistant resume should cover the practical matters of their career experience, the cover letter is much more concerned with their personality and approach to work. Telling a couple of stories about the biggest achievements in your career will go a long way to persuading a potential hiring manager to have a chat with you.
In this virtual assistant cover letter example and writing guide, we look at:
- Selecting the best cover letter format for the role in question
- Making the most of each cover letter paragraph (header, greeting, intro, body and conclusion)
- Which content to include in your cover letter
- Mistakes to avoid with your virtual assistant cover letter
Check out Resume.io’s library of hundreds of free cover letter samples for even more writing advice and adaptable examples.
Best format for a virtual assistant cover letter
The format of a virtual assistant cover letter should follow the traditional norms. Virtual assistants should be experts in the etiquette of correspondence, so getting this wrong would not look good. Structure the cover letter with the following sections:
- The cover letter header
- The greeting / salutation
- The cover letter intro
- The middle paragraphs (body of the letter)
- The ending paragraph of your cover letter (conclusion and call-to-action)
Every section can carry various career stories, but there should be a flow to the cover letter that conveys consistency, reliability, and efficiency. If these threads run through the cover letter, your potential future boss will know that a potential future interview will be similar.
The virtual assistant cover letter should be customized to the precise requirements of the role. Have a look at the job description and consider the likely activity of your future hiring manager. This requires a fair bit of research, but you really need to put yourself in their position. What will they need from you and how can your past shine a light on your potential to deliver the best possible service? Do not send the same cover letter to everyone – you only get one chance. Make the most of it.
The Resume.io comprehensive cover letter guide shares more about the general intricacies of writing a cover letter – from font sizes to format options. You might also find that our virtual assistant cover letter example below gives you some ideas:
Virtual assistant role
Dear Ms. Pannock,
I can promise you that there will be nothing virtual about my assistance. I am currently looking for a third client to fill my schedule and my other two clients can attest to how I make a very real difference. We might not sit at the same desk, but I will seek to make your working process smoother and ensure that your clients are blissfully happy.
As a former customer service representative and administration manager, I understand the importance of timely communication and faultless organization. I am used to working with marketing professionals and enclose a portfolio of graphic design work that I created. I enjoy giving my clients space to channel their creativity, but I also revel in being an outlet whenever I can. Sometimes you just need someone to listen without judgment.
I appreciate the thought that went into your role description and can say that I already do 95 percent of the tasks for my other clients including scheduling, social media management, competitor research, and customer support. There are certain synergies to be enjoyed when you work for an industry-specific client base, so I will hit the ground running. My involvement can flex with your needs, but for me it is vital to get to know each other well first. The first couple of weeks will follow a structured introductory path that will set us up for success.
I am proficient in all forms of marketing software, am constantly updating my knowledge with virtual training sessions and seek to use technology to transform how I do things.
Having visited your social media platforms, I am excited about the possibility of a (virtual) meeting and look forward to getting to know you a little better.
Sincerely,
Heather Clearwater
Have a look at some other administrative cover letter examples and get inspired:
- Customer Service Representative cover letter sample
- Administrative Assistant cover letter sample
- Receptionist cover letter sample
- Office Administrator cover letter sample
- Office Assistant cover letter sample
- Office Manager cover letter sample
- Personal Assistant cover letter sample
- Administrative Officer cover letter sample
- Call Center cover letter sample
- Administrative cover letter sample
- Front Desk Receptionist cover letter sample
- Secretary cover letter sample
Cover letter header
The cover letter header can be likened to a presentation that you have prepared for a management meeting or a social media post to impress some sales prospects. It has to look the part to persuade someone to read the words that follow.
There are many different designs that you can choose, but in terms of the information required it is relatively simple. Include your full name, email address and mobile number at the top of the cover letter. This information will be repeated from your resume, but you never quite know when a hiring manager may decide to send that interview invite.
Candidates should not include their full postal address as there are privacy and data protection issues – the town and state will be fine, but even that is not required. In terms of the employer “inside address” – this is an outdated convention that only the most formal of employers will expect. In the age of remote working and multiple it is also hard to ascertain exactly where the hiring manager is based. Our advice would be to omit it.
Cover letter greeting
Respecting the formality of communication is crucial for a professional virtual assistant, so keep the style of greeting on your cover letter formal. You might wish to strike up a friendly connection with your future boss at an interview, but refrain from using their first name at this early stage. A “Dear Mr/Mrs/Ms Surname” cannot be faulted.
As the role is such a personal one, you should really try everything to find out the name of your future boss and address the letter to them. You can look at the job description or even call the company to find out. An impersonal “to whom it may concern” will almost certainly find your resume in the trash folder. You need to take the time to investigate certain things.
Dear Ms. Pannock,
Cover letter introduction
The cover letter introduction allows a virtual assistant to get into the detail of their most impressive stories. Start with only the most relevant tales and make sure that you show how your participation makes a difference to the situation rather than simply being a participant.
Share the context of each situation and quantify your contribution. How much was the sale worth when you prepared the winning presentation? What was the value of negotiations that you assisted? How many times have you led a work team meeting? Let your future employer know the scale of your experience.
The introduction should also shine a light onto how you like to go about your daily work. You will undoubtedly have a close relationship with your boss, so be honest in terms of how you approach your work. Sharing your personality upfront in this way will ensure the best possible chance of a fit. If you open up in your cover letter, they will open up at the interview.
View the introduction from our adaptable virtual assistant cover letter sample:
I can promise you that there will be nothing virtual about my assistance. I am currently looking for a third client to fill my schedule and my other two clients can attest to how I make a very real difference. We might not sit at the same desk, but I will seek to make your working process smoother and ensure that your clients are blissfully happy.
Cover letter middle part (body)
The middle part (or body) of a virtual assistant cover letter should offer reassurance that you are a safe pair of hands, details about your mastery of all the required technology and details of how you handle difficult situations, manage complex processes, and communicate with a vast array of stakeholders. This is nothing groundbreaking, but it is essential to the role, and it should make an appearance in the middle of the cover letter.
Detail your hard and soft skills in equal measure and share them in the context of the situations you have come up against. A list of skills in your cover letter will convince no one. You would be better served to pick 2-3 top skills and expand on how they helped you to make your difference to your previous bosses. Influence through evidence.
As a former customer service representative and administration manager, I understand the importance of timely communication and faultless organization. I am used to working with marketing professionals and enclose a portfolio of graphic design work that I created. I enjoy giving my clients space to channel their creativity, but I also revel in being an outlet whenever I can. Sometimes you just need someone to listen without judgment.
I appreciate the thought that went into your role description and can say that I already do 95 percent of the tasks for my other clients including scheduling, social media management, competitor research, and customer support. There are certain synergies to be enjoyed when you work for an industry-specific client base, so I will hit the ground running. My involvement can flex with your needs, but for me it is vital to get to know each other well first. The first couple of weeks will follow a structured introductory path that will set us up for success.
I am proficient in all forms of marketing software, am constantly updating my knowledge with virtual training sessions and seek to use technology to transform how I do things.
One great way of packaging a career story is the STAR method. Let the hiring manager know about the Situation that you were presented with and what the Task comprised. Explain your Actions and the ensuing Results. This needn’t take up much space and can easily be expanded upon when you get to the interview stages.
How to close a virtual assistant cover letter (conclusion and sign-off)
The conclusion of a virtual assistant cover letter should end on one last confident note that you can do everything that will be expected of you - and much more.
It is then customary (and even expected) to mention that you are looking forward to the possibility of finding out more during an interview. Come across as enthusiastic rather than expectant. If you have given the hiring manager enough reasons to be interested in your candidature, they should be hovering over the send button on your interview invite as they finish the last sentence. Create the impression that you are in demand.
The conclusion of our virtual assistant cover letter sample below offers a great example:
Having visited your social media platforms, I am excited about the possibility of a (virtual) meeting and look forward to getting to know you a little better.
Sincerely,
Heather Clearwater
Basic mistakes in a virtual assistant cover letter (and how to avoid them)
There are few jobs where mistakes are less welcome than a virtual assistant. So much of your work reflects the professionalism of your boss, so your attention to detail will need to be on point – every minute of every day. Here are three simple mistakes to rectify – don’t let them slip past your radar in the rush to send the cover letter out:
- Spelling and grammar mistakes: Impeccable writing skills are a must for any virtual assistant, so make sure that you use an online grammar checker and maybe also ask a friend to proofread the letter to make sure that it sounds like you.
- Formatting errors: Every piece of communication should be well formatted. Happily, you can use a cover letter template from our selection and avoid any unseen issues.
- Too conversational: You might want to write to your future boss as if you are starting off a conversation with them. While this will give your cover letter a warm and friendly tone, you should err on the side of professionalism for these early exchanges. You can warm up a little once you have got to know them a bit better.
Key takeaways
- Research your future boss well – what sort of assistance will they need?
- Share your career story with a mix of accomplishments, skills and personality
- Show enthusiasm for the role and be keen to find out more about it
- Check out our virtual assistant cover letter sample and other guides
