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At some point, every successful business will start splitting into multiple departments, operating in multiple locations, or expanding to reach new clients. In these instances, to avoid chaos and stay as efficient as possible, businesses often hire operations specialists to manage and optimize workflow. This position requires an organized, strategic leader, who knows about whatever industry they’re working in.
Luckily, if you want to apply to become an operations specialist, there are ways you can improve your chances of landing a career.
Typically, one of the most effective ways to increase your chances of being hired is to include a professional cover letter that highlights your relevant skills and qualifications. As a prospective operations specialist, your cover letter can allow you to outline your most impressive achievements and demonstrate why you have the skills to handle optimizing a business’ most crucial employees and departments.
In this article, we’ll discuss what makes an operations specialist’s cover letter successful, as well as provide professional tips and examples.
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As a prospective operations specialist, you’ll want to convey your experience working in managerial positions, maintaining an organized workplace, and thinking outside the box to implement beneficial and strategic policies.
Typically, employers will require a relevant Associate’s or Bachelor’s Degree, but will also value experience in the field. After all, their business will rely upon a skilled operations specialist for an improved, optimized, and organized workplace.
Luckily, a well-written cover letter allows you to outline your qualifications by briefly explaining why you’re the right person for the position.
Remember, you should do your best to include as many relevant details as possible, while also keeping your letter fairly brief. To keep your letter focused and highlight your most important qualifications, here are some traits to keep in mind:
Organization and time management. Adept organizational and time management skills are not only useful for the position but are also critical traits that all hiring managers will be looking for. Therefore, your cover letter should partially focus on your ability to invent and maintain organized workspaces.
Creativity and problem-solving. Optimizing a business requires out-of-the-box thinking that can solve complex problems. For instance, if there are problems with employee performance, a skilled operations specialist can find a creative way to improve performance without breaking the budget.
Communication. Working with multiple departments, employees, and supervisors requires adept communication skills. After all, employers don’t want information to get lost or delivered ineffectively.
Leadership and management. Implementing the policies, protocols, and operations that will optimize a business requires confident leadership and management. With that in mind, operations specialists need to know how to lead by example and manage the many departments and employees they’ll be dealing with.
Industry knowledge. For skilled operations specialists, knowing the details of the type of business they’ll be managing is a crucial part of the optimization process. For example, an operations specialist who has spent their entire life in the food industry will have a much easier time applying to other food industry businesses rather than a crocheting business.
Structurally speaking, your letter also requires a few vital components. After all, wowing a potential employer isn’t very useful if they don’t know how to contact you. In general, your letter should include:
Your contact information
The company’s contact information
An introduction, body paragraph, and conclusion (typically 3 small paragraphs)
Letter formatting (e.g. Beginning with Dear “[hiring manager’s name]” and concluding with Sincerely, “[your name]”)
First and foremost, any professional cover letter should include your contact information at the top of the page, and properly address the potential employer. Not only is this formatting standard for any type of cover letter, but more importantly, it also ensures that your employer will have your information. Here is an example of how to properly address your letter:
Sarah Lee
103 Cotton Rd.
Salem, NC, 12345March 20th, 2021
James Kmetz
Human Resources Director
CandleCo.
65 Park St.
Salem, NC, 12345Dear Mr. Kmetz,
Remember that while addressing your letter properly is an important part of leaving a professional first impression, it's arguably more important to open strong with an eye-catching introduction. Unfortunately, the average employer spends less than 10 seconds reading your application, which means that leaving a memorable first impression is vital.
In the case of an operations specialist application, showcasing your most valuable experience managing departments, implementing beneficial ideas, or maintaining an exceptionally organized workspace can be a worthwhile way to start your cover letter. For instance, if you can think of a time you effectively streamlined a business in a way that increased sales or decreased costs, you could kick off your letter with one of those examples.
Here’s an example of an eye-catching introduction:
As the Operations Specialist who implemented innovative and streamlined policy changes to decrease Wickwork’s general expenses by over 26%, I find the prospect of working for CandleCo. exciting and befitting. Overall, not only do I have the skills to succeed in a leadership role at your company, but I’m also highly motivated by the idea of working to further organize departments and collaborate with other staff members to provide successful results.
Stating a meaningful accomplishment in your opening paragraph shows the employer that you have the hard skills to succeed in your field. However, remember that even if you’re fresh out of college and have a lackluster amount of experience, you should still try to start with a noteworthy accomplishment related to your education, or any internships you’ve attended.
Now that you’ve pinpointed your most impressive accomplishment and used it to reel the employer in, it’s important to outline why you’re that highly qualified candidate they’re looking for. As an operations specialist, employers will want to see that you have experience providing tangible and worthwhile results. After all, you’ll be playing a crucial role in the furthered success of their growing business.
With this in mind, it can be especially useful to do some research on the employer you’re applying to, so you can use the information you find to further express your interest in the position.
However, do keep in mind that even though you’ll want to be thorough, you’ll also want to make your letter brief so you can retain the employer’s attention. For instance, you might want to include a few bullet notes that list your accomplishments, so the information is easy for the employer to digest.
Here is an example of an effective body paragraph:
With over 11 years of experience working as an Operations Specialist for 3 different candle companies, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Business from Salem University, I believe I have what it takes to succeed at your company. My specialization in cutting costs for recyclable glass and expertise in efficient soy wax usage makes me fully equipped to effectively streamline CandleCo.’s eco-friendly business model.
Overall, here are a few examples of my accomplishments:
Decreased general expenses for Wickwork and General Candle by 26 and 22 percent respectively
Experience organizing departments to operate more quickly and effectively
Perfected a method of supplying and melting soy wax that can reduce costs by up to 30%
Extensive organizational skills, with knowledge of Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Spreadsheets
A good body paragraph certainly puts you on track to land an interview, so with that in mind, it’s important to end your cover letter strong by using your words to mobilize them. After all, you want them to contact you!
Here’s a good example of how to end your cover letter:
If you’re looking for a highly experienced and exceptional Operations Specialist, my accomplishments clearly outline my capabilities. Therefore, I hope you will consider my application, and I look forward to hearing back from you. You can reach me at (222) 222-2222, or slee@mail.com.
Best Regards,
Sarah Lee
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When you put everything together, it looks a little like this:
Sarah Lee
103 Cotton Rd.
Salem, NC, 12345March 20th, 2021
James Kmetz
Human Resources Director
CandleCo.
65 Park St.
Salem, NC, 12345Dear Mr. Kmetz,
As the Operations Specialist who implemented innovative and streamlined policy changes to decrease Wickwork’s general expenses by over 26%, I find the prospect of working for CandleCo. exciting and befitting. Overall, not only do I have the skills to succeed in a leadership role at your company, but I’m also highly motivated by the idea of working to further organize departments and collaborate with other staff members to provide successful results.
With over 11 years of experience working as an Operations Specialist for 3 different candle companies, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Business from Salem University, I believe I have what it takes to succeed at your company. My specialization in cutting costs for recyclable glass and expertise in efficient soy wax usage makes me fully equipped to effectively streamline CandleCo.’s eco-friendly business model.
Overall, here are a few examples of my accomplishments:
Decreased general expenses for Wickwork and General Candle by 26 and 22 percent respectively
Experience organizing departments to operate more quickly and effectively
Perfected a method of supplying and melting soy wax that can reduce costs by up to 30%
Extensive organizational skills, with knowledge of Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Spreadsheets
If you’re looking for a highly experienced and exceptional Operations Specialist, my accomplishments clearly outline my capabilities. Therefore, I hope you will consider my application, and I look forward to hearing back from you. You can reach me at (222) 222-2222, or slee@mail.com.
Best Regards,
Sarah Lee
Though writing a competitive cover letter can feel overwhelming, here are some additional tips to aid your writing:
Use your experience. Showcasing your experience is one of the best tools you have to impress an employer. Don’t shy away from any experience you’ve had that makes you appear skilled, qualified, and knowledgeable.
Keep it brief. Though it might be tempting to bombard the employer with reasons why you’d be a great employee, this generally isn’t the best idea. Instead, highlight only your most relevant and valuable achievements, and try to keep your letter under 250 words. After all, employers are busy people and don’t have endless time to read your cover letter.
Have industry knowledge. For operations specialists, industry knowledge is a critical part of providing successful results. For instance, just because you’re an expert in managing computer businesses, that doesn’t mean you’d be able to succeed at managing farming departments. Ensure that you’re experienced, or at least thoroughly research the type of company you’re applying to.
Be detailed. When you mention your achievements and experiences, these caveats will be much more effective when supported by specific measurements, numbers, or statistics. For example, instead of saying, “I streamlined the departments”, the employer will be more drawn to: “My efforts to streamline the departments decreased upkeep costs by 18%”.