When applying for a job at the PA, you should use every tool at your disposal to make the strongest case for yourself. The first and most important step should be a current and compelling personal assistant resume, but don’t neglect the icing on the cake – a personal assistant cover letter.
Cover letters are not always required by an employer, but, if possible, we highly recommend including one in your job application. Many hiring managers still use them to distinguish between the most enthusiastic and qualified candidates, and are a perfect way to showcase your writing skills and personality before an interview.
Here we give you a step-by-step guide to writing a cover letter for a personal assistant, with a sample PA cover letter for download.
A step-by-step guide to writing a cover letter from the Authority
A cover letter for personal assistant jobs can be thought of as an extended version of the PA personal statement on your resume. As with the personal statement, a cover letter will highlight your relevant skills, experience and character traits that are perfect for a job at PA! But it’s also an opportunity to show your enthusiasm for the specific job and company, and explain why you’d be a perfect fit.
In the simplest terms, your PA cover letter should tell the hiring manager:
- WHO you and Why You are applying for this position
- your previous Working Experience And the skills idea
- specific challenges and accomplishments in your career and How your skills and personality played a part in them
- What those skills and personality traits will be like for the benefit of the potential employer
It is recommended to keep the document to around one page and use the active voice to make your writing more powerful. Sentences in the active voice describe a subject performing an action on an object, while the passive voice describes an object on which an action is performed by the subject. For example, the active sentence “I increased the company’s efficiency by 30%” It is much more direct and punchy than the passive version: “The efficiency of the company was increased by 30%”.
Let’s look in detail at each part of your personal assistant cover letter:
1. Introduction
This is the ‘who and why’ of the piece. Keep it short and sweet, but show your interest in the job and the company.
Maybe you’re applying because you respect the company’s commitment to sustainability, or you’re a lifelong fan of their products and would love to be part of the team. Whatever it is, be honest about your reasons. In our example of a cover letter from the Authority, the candidate applies to a travel company, and emphasizes his love of traveling as part of the reason for his interest in the position.
If you know the hiring manager’s name, address the letter to him to give an extra personal touch, but be sure to do your research and adjust the level of formality to the company culture.
2. Work experience, qualifications and skills
Always remember the purpose of your letter, so when you list past jobs, focus on the ones that will make the hiring manager stand up and take notice. For a personal assistant cover letter, this will of course be any previous PA roles, but if you’re new to the PA role, it could be staff assistant, office assistant, or even customer service roles that showcase your people skills.
Regardless of the depth of your experience as a Palestinian Authority, the important thing in this section is to link all the roles and skills involved in the question at hand: Why are you the best person for this job in PA?
This is also an opportunity to note any relevant authority or authority qualifications you have.
3. Challenges and achievements
At this point, your impressive list of previous employers and skill set has caught the hiring manager’s attention, but if you leave it at that, their answer will simply be “so what?”
There are some personal assistants out there with similar credentials who do a decent job. You need to show a new employer that you have done a great job and will do the same for them. So how do you do it?
A simple formula to perform is:
- Describe a challenge you encountered at work
- How did you use your skills and personality traits to overcome this?
- What was the result and how did it benefit the business?
Try to find two or three of these achievements that highlight your adaptability to different challenges. Don’t be shy about taking credit for your achievements – use ‘I’, not ‘we’. While it’s important to show that you work well with others, taking ownership of your successes shows your confidence and pride in doing a good job.
4. Benefits for the potential employer
Now that you’ve shown proof of the value you can offer to the company or person you’ll be helping, all that’s left to do is circle back to the opening points of your letter—why you want this PA job, and why you’re the best person for the job. Write it to the hiring manager in a punchy summary to leave them with the most important points clear in mind.
It’s great practice to make tracking as easy as possible. Let them know when you are available to talk, or even suggest a day and time. Another tip is to have someone you trust proofread your cover letter before sending. Since the letter is an example of your writing skill level, you want to be sure you’ve cleaned up any typos, grammar mistakes, or confusing sentences.
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Download our personal assistant cover letter example to see all these points put into practice. For more advice on starting your career as a personal assistant, read our ultimate guide.
If you haven’t done so yet, register with us to start your PA job search!
