Explore Jobs
Find Specific Jobs
Explore Careers
Explore Professions
Best Companies
Explore Companies
Management Analysts, sometimes called Management Consultants, provide the outside perspective that many companies need.
While there are some in-house analysts, most Management Analysts are consultants — as the alternate name suggests. This means that the required skills and experience vary from client to client and project to project.
You need to be able to analyze, diagnose, and solve problems for each client. You’ll be expected to collaborate with the decision-makers and communicate with employees from entry-level to executive level. They want objective advice and your unique perspective as an outsider with industry expertise.
Clients will expect a proven record of success in their consultants — even more so than an in-house employee. While an employee can be trained, a consultant is hired specifically for the expertise they bring to the table.
So, you need to show them that you have what they need and can provide the results they are expecting.
Including a cover letter with your Management Analyst resume can help you to provide the context and insight into your unique qualifications that your resume alone may not.
Below we provide you with the information you need to write a professional, well-formatted Management Analyst cover letter. You’ll get an overview of the key elements every cover letter should include as well as a sample cover letter broken down by section.
Remember, when writing your cover letter:
Use the job description. The job description provided in the listing for the position will include all the information you need to craft your cover letter. You will typically find a brief overview of the company and its objectives, the expected qualifications and experience, and all the keywords you need to get noticed.
Quantify your achievements. Use specific metrics to quantify your achievements. Saying you helped improve morale is one thing; saying the solution you provided helped increase employee retention by 45% says a lot more.
Personalize. Every cover letter you write should be tailored to the specific position you are applying for and the company you are applying to. A generic copy-and-paste cover letter will not go unnoticed. Use the job description (see #1), research the company, and use what you learn to help you stand out as a serious candidate.
Looking for a job? These position are hiring now near you:
Header. Your header should be relatively simple: your contact information, the date of submission, the hiring manager’s information.
It can get a bit more complicated as there are some required, suggested, and optional pieces of information to include.
Required
Your name
Your phone number
Your email address
The date of submission
The hiring manager’s name
The hiring manager’s position
The company name
Suggested
Your address or your city of residence
Your LinkedIn
The company’s address
Optional
Your website
Your online portfolio with case studies
Formatting for your header will depend on the style of header you choose. Your contact information may be laid out differently than below, but the date and employer contact information should look exactly the same.
Take our sample header as an example:
Jessica Cigler
345 Executive Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90001
555-123-4567
jesscigler@email.com
linkedin.com/in/jessicaciglerJanuary 1, 2021
Jeff Floriana
Director of Operations
Catalyst, Inc.
123 Business Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90001
Greeting (Salutation). It is important that you address your cover letter to a specific person. As an outside consultant, it will look lazy and unprofessional if you reach out with the generic “Dear Sir or Madam” — which, by the way, you should never ever use. Don’t use “To Whom It May Concern” either.
If the job listing doesn’t mention a specific person, check the company website, look on LinkedIn, or call the company if all else fails.
No matter the “who,” you want your greeting to be the standard “Dear.” No “Hi,” “Hey,” how are ya? It’s unprofessional.
Opening paragraph. This is your introduction, your attention grabber. Keep it clear and simple. But make sure that you are opening strong and giving the reader a reason to keep reading.
Your opening paragraph can be the difference between the hiring manager reading your resume and your application ending up in the discard pile.
Body paragraph(s). Your cover letter should not be a regurgitation of your resume. The body of your cover letter gives you the opportunity to elaborate on your experience, provide context for your qualifications and achievements, and put your written communication skills to work.
Closing lines. How you close your cover letter matters more than you think — Those final few lines are your last defense. If your cover letter was strong enough to convince the hiring manager to read to the closing lines, you need to get them to take the next action: schedule an interview.
Sign-off. Keep it simple and keep it professional. Below the sign-off, you should include your name just as you would with any other letter. To make things easier on the hiring manager, you may want to consider including your phone number and email below your name as well.
You want to use an appropriate sign-off:
Sincerely,
Best,
Best regards,
Respectfully,
Regards,
Your application is one of the hundreds that the hiring manager is reading through. If you want to convince them to take a closer look at yours, you need an attention-grabbing opening paragraph.
Treat those first few lines of your cover letter as if they matter — spoiler alert: they DO. Those first few sentences are critical.
As with anything in your application, keep it short and to the point. Let them know which position you’re applying for and why you would make a good candidate for the job. You can express your excitement for the position or share a story, achievement, or convey your passion for your work.
Just make sure that the information you choose to share in the opening paragraph is enough to get them to keep reading.
Dear Mr. Floriana,
As a results-driven Management Analyst with eight years of experience completing in-depth operational analyses, identifying problems, and implementing solutions based on industry best practices, I am confident that I am the Management Analyst that Catalyst, Inc. needs.
Part of your job as a Management Analyst is to gather, analyze, and interpret information. Your cover letter is essentially an analysis of your candidacy for this position. Make it clear that the only solution to their problem is to hire you.
Combine the art of persuasion with your expert-level presentation skills to provide a cover letter body that convinces them to hire you.
The body of your cover letter is your best opportunity to include keywords from the job description. Many companies will use software to comb through applications for specific words and flag them to read first. Even if they don’t, the hiring manager will notice if those specific words are included.
The job listing will do a good job of listing out the required experience and expected hard skills, but they may not list out the soft skills the right candidate will possess.
It doesn’t mean the soft skills aren’t important. You want to be sure that you are weaving your abilities into your narrative.
Given the nature of the job, you will be expected to have the ability to meet tight deadlines and work well under pressure. That will be true no matter what project, company, or industry. You will also be expected to have substantial experience in the field that you want to consult in.
Soft skills Management Analysts need are:
Project management skills
After earning my MBA at Northwestern, I provided near-term and long-term solutions for small and medium-sized businesses as well as multi-million dollar international companies. Through employee interviews, observation, and data analysis, I am able to identify problem areas and tailor solutions that fit the needs of the company no matter the size.
Together we can find solutions that allow you to meet current and future objectives by measurably increasing efficiency, reducing costs, and maximizing profits.
You need someone who can see the big picture as well as the individual parts. Problems in companies of your size and age aren’t easy to identify and often go unnoticed without the unbiased outsider’s perspective someone like me can provide.
I have a unique ability to see things that others often overlook. I recently helped XYZ Industries identify a gap in training procedures that accounted for upwards of $1M in profit loss over a five-year period, something that had gone unnoticed by management and three other analysts.
Once you’ve identified the problems plaguing your client, you need to propose a solution. They know they need help — they did hire you after all. But, it doesn’t mean they will be receptive to the solutions you’re offering.
It is your job to convince them that this is the best choice for them to make. You need to inspire action. The closing lines of your cover letter are no different. Include the standard thank you and a call-to-action in addition to another attention-grabbing statement that speaks to your qualifications.
Time wasted is money lost. I can help Catalyst, Inc. meet your objectives and exceed your goals. I look forward to discussing this project and how my experience and unique skill set make me an asset you don’t want to pass up. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Jessica Cigler
jesscigler@email.com
555-123-4567
Looking for a job? These position are hiring now near you:
Jessica Cigler
345 Executive Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90001
555-123-4567
jesscigler@email.com
linkedin.com/in/jessicaciglerJanuary 1, 2021
Jeff Floriana
Director of Operations
Catalyst, Inc.
123 Business Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90001Dear Mr. Floriana,
As a results-driven Management Analyst with eight years of experience completing in-depth operational analyses, identifying problems, and implementing solutions based on industry best practices, I am confident that I am the Management Analyst that Catalyst, Inc. needs.
After earning my MBA at Northwestern, I provided near-term and long-term solutions for small and medium-sized businesses as well as multi-million dollar international companies. Through employee interviews, observation, and data analysis, I am able to identify problem areas and tailor solutions that fit the needs of the company, no matter the size.
Together we can find solutions that allow you to meet current and future objectives by measurably increasing efficiency, reducing costs, and maximizing profits.
You need someone who can see the big picture as well as the individual parts. Problems in companies of your size and age aren’t easy to identify and often go unnoticed without the unbiased outsider’s perspective someone like me can provide.
I have a unique ability to see things that others often overlook. I recently helped XYZ Industries identify a gap in training procedures that accounted for upwards of $1M in profit loss over a five-year period, something that had gone unnoticed by management and three other analysts.
Time wasted is money lost. I can help Catalyst, Inc. meet your objectives and exceed your goals. I look forward to discussing this project and how my experience and unique skill set make me an asset you don’t want to pass up. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Jessica Cigler
jesscigler@email.com
555-123-4567