Human resources manager cover letter

Human Resources Manager Cover Letter (With Examples)

The job search process can be exhausting, and once you finish writing your resume and filling out your application, the last thing on your agenda is writing a cover letter.

A cover letter is a great way to allow hiring managers to get a little more insight into your personality and skills and hopefully entice them to invite you for a job interview.

This is especially valuable if you have little to no work experience or are changing careers, since a cover letter allows you to make a case for how the skills you do have will transfer to the human resources manager position.

Even if you have worked in human resources for a while and just don’t have formal management experience, a well-written cover letter can often convince hiring managers to at least give you an interview.

In this article, you’ll find what you should include in your cover letter as well as a sample cover letter.

Parts of a Human Resources Manager Cover Letter

1. Your contact information. You should usually format your cover letter as you would a formal business letter, which means you need to put your name and contact information at the top of the page. This can be a part of the letterhead design or simply typed in a column.

2. The date. Add a line break after your contact information, and then write the date you’re sending the letter, not the date you’re writing it.

3. The recipient’s information. After another line break, you need to add the recipient’s name, job title, company name, and company address. If you don’t have the person’s name and aren’t able to find it out after doing diligent research, you can leave the name off and just use their job or department title.

4. Salutation. The best salutation for a cover letter is a simple “Dear” followed by the recipient’s designation (Ms., Mr., Dr., etc.) and their last name. If you aren’t sure of their gender, you can use their first and last name without any designation.

   If you don’t know their name, you can simply use their job title, but do your best to find out who you should be writing to, even if that requires calling the company.

5. Opening paragraph. This is your opportunity to pull your readers in. Talk about your two to three most impressive and relevant accomplishments, skills, or experiences, and be sure to mention the company name and the title of the job you’re applying for.

6. Body paragraphs. This is the meat of your cover letter and should be unique to each position you apply for. Sell yourself and explain the value you’d bring to the organization in this section.

7. Closing lines. End with a call to action such as a request to talk about the position further and a note of thanks for the reader’s time and consideration. Sign off with a professional “Sincerely,” followed by your full name.

Human Resources Manager Cover Letter Opening

In your high school English class, you may have learned that you should always open your essays with a hook to get your readers’ attention. This may be a startling statistic, a quote, or a question — anything to convince them to keep reading. The same principle goes for your cover letter, although the hook should be about you and your skills.

Hiring managers often receive dozens, if not hundreds, of applications from qualified candidates that they have to sort through. They want to know what sets you apart from the rest, so telling them that right off the bat is an excellent way to convince them to keep reading.

You don’t have to get crazy creative or long-winded to do this, though. You have a unique professional story, so share what that is.

To help hiring managers keep that stack of applications straight, you should also mention the position title you’re applying for and the name of the company in your introduction.

When completed, your introductory paragraph should look something like this:

Human Resources Manager Cover Letter Body

It may be tempting to reuse the same cover letter for every position you apply to, especially if they’re all in HR, but it’s essential that you write a different one each time.

Here are some principles for crafting the body paragraphs of your cover letter.

1. Check the job description. You can’t write an effective cover letter without knowing what the company wants in a candidate.

   It’s a good idea to go through the job description before you start writing to make sure you hit the main qualifications that the company is looking for in a candidate. Use your cover letter to talk about how you’ve used and developed the skills listed in the job posting throughout your work experience.

2. Back up your claims with quantitative data. Saying that you are a great HR representative only goes so far. You need to show hiring managers why you’re such a great HR representative and why that means you’d be a great HR manager.

   For example, instead of saying that you have experience with recruiting, talk about how you personally recruited 25 people who ended up staying at the company for three years or more. This not only makes your accomplishments sound more impressive, but it also helps hiring managers understand what you’d bring to their company.

3. Talk about the reason why you’re applying for this particular position. Most of the time, being successful at a job takes a certain amount of passion for the work, but this is especially true of HR managers. Working in HR without burning out requires love for your work, and the same goes for being a manager.

   When you’re writing your cover letter, make sure you talk about why you want to be an HR manager, but beyond that, talk about why you want to be a part of the organization as a whole. Good HR managers are vital to a company’s success, so employers will want to see that you’re invested in the organization and not just the paycheck.

   To do this, research the company and talk about how its mission and values align with your own or mention an article you read about it that caused you to respect the organization.

Here is an example of some cover letter body paragraphs to use as a reference:

Human Resources Manager Cover Letter Closing Lines

Now it’s time to wrap up your cover letter and answer the reader’s question: “Now what?”

Your last paragraph should include a call to action asking to talk further about the position, your accomplishments, or the company. It should also include a note of thanks for the reader’s time and consideration.

Here’s what this will look like:

Example of a Human Resources Manager Cover Letter