You’ve proven your abilities as a great doer, your colleagues look up to you, and you’ve already served as a trainer, mentor, and informal leader — now it’s time to make things formal and move up to a supervisory position.
That may seem like a big deal, but it’s definitely achievable: All you need is an up-to-date resume and cover letter to best present yourself to potential employers, even if you’re aiming for an internal position.
To that end, we’ve prepared a sample cover letter for a management position along with some useful writing tips.
Supervisor cover letter sample (Word version)
Download this sample (.docx)
Example of a cover letter for a management position (text version)
Dear Ellen James,
My name is Nicole Hartman and I am writing to express my strong interest in applying for the 2nd Shift Manufacturing Supervisor position at your company. I have over 3 years of experience in the automotive manufacturing industry and have been successful in many leadership roles. I believe I am the ideal candidate for this position.
Currently, I work at Automag Industries as a Line Leader on the second shift. My job is to supervise the other employees on my line, provide them with training and mentorship, and ensure production quotas are met. I am also responsible for recording breaks and lunches, training new employees, and conducting quality checks. In addition, I am responsible for my own production. I am proud that my line has always met or exceeded 100% quota, and has been accident-free for over a year.
My line employees rate my performance as “outstanding” or “excellent” on their annual evaluations. I have low turnover and I am very proud that many of the employees who started working for me have also become line leaders.
Not only do I work in manufacturing, but I’m also a student at the University of Washington, currently completing my Bachelor’s in Manufacturing Management, so I’m especially excited about the opportunity to take the next step into a management role.
If you have time next week, I would be happy to arrange an interview. I will be reaching out again via email to see if we can arrange something. I look forward to learning more about your company and seeing how I can help you.
Sincerely,
Nicole Hartman
Cover letter for applying for a managerial position in the same company
For many people, this is their first time applying for a management position at their current employer. If you’re looking for an internal position, there are a few extra steps you need to take. First, get permission from your current department head before applying. This is a matter of professionalism.
Then, when you write your cover letter, briefly mention that you have been approved for the position, to avoid any conflicts or unpleasant surprises.
Hello, Mindy.
I would like to apply for the Customer Care Supervisor position which was recently advertised on the internal recruitment portal.
As many of you know, I have been with Acme Inc. for 4 years, starting as a Support Agent in training and being promoted to Customer Success Manager in October 2022. In my current role, I have maintained a 97% CSAT score across the 10 enterprise accounts I am responsible for and secured a 25% increase in subscription renewals in 2023 through strategic customer relationship management and upselling.
My current role also requires me to interview new agents, score candidates and participate in training. Last year, I helped onboard 5 new agents to the team, working for a company with good KPIs, and trained them on policies, handling sensitive client information and problem-solving strategies. I also created 5 new training manuals that are now being used by all agents. I also advocated for the adoption of Clickup and Power Platform to automate some of the repetitive workflows. This suggestion was accepted by John Marlows, Head of Customer Relations, and is currently being implemented.
The job posting states they are looking for candidates with a positive attitude, strong leadership skills and a digital-first mindset. I believe I meet all of these criteria and my manager has encouraged me to apply. Would it be possible for us to schedule a meeting this week (please confirm my availability) to further discuss the possibility of moving into this role?
Thank you very much.
Silas pint
Letter of intent for supervisor position
A letter of intent, also known as a letter of interest, is a bit different from a regular letter: It’s written not in response to an open position, but to formally inquire a recruiter or company leader about possible employment.
Hello Base Warehouse team.
Your career website states that spontaneous applications are welcome, but I wanted to know if you are looking for additional warehouse help for the 2024 holiday season.
My name is Danny Penn and I am currently working as an Operations Supervisor at Anda Warehouse on a temporary contract until December 2024, so I am looking for a new position early. My key experience includes:
- Shift planning and task management for 15 warehouse staff
- Onboarding new employees and training them on operating lifting equipment
- Monitor fire extinguisher service operations and ensure compliance
Since assuming this role in June 2021, he has been able to increase the average speed of inbound freight processing by 20% by improving procedures for receiving, sorting, storing and distributing goods. He also advocated for the implementation of RFID tags on all shipments and trained his team on how to use the scanners and properly record data to improve processing accuracy and avoid lost inventory.
For more details about my skills and work experience, please see my attached resume. I am also happy to provide a letter of recommendation from my current supervisor, Jim Sanders, Warehouse Manager at Anda.
Even if you’re not considering hiring at this time, we’d love to stay in touch.
The best,
Danny Penn
How to write a cover letter for a management position
Whether you’re writing a cover letter for an internal transfer, a new position, or if you’re applying to change jobs to a new employer, you should follow the basics of proper cover letter formatting.
- Use a three section format: introduction, body, and concluding paragraphs.
- Aim for 3-4 paragraphs total on one page.
- Use a professional cover letter font and keep letter spacing between 1 and 1.15.
- Use “Center Align” to make your text look neater
- Please leave two spaces after each paragraph
If you want to avoid all these stylistic mistakes, try our free cover letter generator that will automatically apply all the formatting best practices to your text. Speaking of which, here’s how to craft a compelling story in your boss’ cover letter.
Explain your skills in context
What if this is your first time applying for a supervisory role? Remember, even if you’ve never worked in the position before, the skills you have and the experience you’ve had will likely help you succeed as a supervisor.
Perhaps you have strong organizational skills and have handled a variety of administrative tasks, similarly training new employees or informally leading team projects – highlight this in your cover letter with simple examples.
In the sample above, the candidate mentions how he contributed to interviewing new talent, developing new standard operating procedures, and introducing technological innovations. Demonstrate your suitability by providing some personal examples of contributions beyond your current job role.
Pro Tip:
No matter what type of management position you’re applying for, the job requires you to follow instructions and complete tasks. In your cover letter, you should be specific about your ability to communicate with a variety of people and inspire others.
Debi Duma Helen
HR Consultant & Career Strategist
LinkedIn
Focus on results
The key to proving your abilities as a manager is to show that you can deliver results. Focus on details like quotas, productivity metrics, team attendance, low turnover, accuracy, quality, etc. Quantify your accomplishments, if possible. Limit management tasks to those that demonstrate you have mastered the required skills.
For example, you can write it as follows:
As a senior warehouse manager, I was responsible for ensuring high order fulfillment accuracy. I helped some of the junior staff to better understand the labeling process, which resulted in a 15% increase in order fulfillment accuracy within a month.
Prove you can lead
Managers need to command respect, motivate their employees to be productive, and guide their team members in pursuing their career goals. In other words, managers need to demonstrate a variety of leadership skills.
These include strong empathy, good communication skills, and the ability to provide coaching. Include examples of how you have applied these soft skills in the workplace.
For example, you can state the following:
Developed strong trusting relationships with colleagues and facilitated cross-departmental collaboration with facility operators to ensure prompt response to spare part requests by facility team.
Edit your letter carefully
Your boss needs attention to detail and flawless results. The first place you can show you have these abilities is in your cover letter. Double-check your writing and correct any mistakes you find. Then, have a friend read it over to make sure it communicates your ideas clearly and accurately.
Final tip: Be attractive and professional
Your entire application should be compelling, easy to read, and attention-grabbing – it will make your application memorable and show that you are serious about the supervisory position. Use a professional cover letter template to ensure an attractive format and layout and exude professionalism.
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Elena has been working on content at Freesumes since 2017. She works closely with copywriters, designers and invited career experts to ensure that all content meets our highest editorial standards. She has written over 200 career-related articles, including resume writing, career advice…
