project manager covering letter uk

• Project manager cover letter example

A compelling project manager cover letter is often the sole difference between being overlooked and winning the role.

Recruiters will spend a few seconds looking at it before deciding whether your CV is worth a read, or headed straight to their trash folder.

Thankfully, by creating a punchy cover letter which pinpoints why you’re the best hire for the role, you can guarantee your CV will be read every time.

So, to help you grab the attention of recruiters, I’ve put together this project manager cover letter example and 7-step writing guide.

Here’s what I’ll cover:

Guide contents

How to write a cover letter for your CV

• What to include in a project manager cover letter

Project manager cover letter example

The project manager cover letter example above provides a snappy overview of the candidate’s core project management abilities and key selling points. It gives a good overview of why they’d be suitable for the role, whilst still remaining short enough to hold a busy recruiter’s attention.

While every cover letter will vary, this should give you a good idea of the length you need to aim for and what type of content you could include.

Breakdown of a good cover letter

The image below details the 7 core steps of  writing an effective cover letter.

Write the cover letter in the body of your email/message

Many candidates add their cover letter as an attachment to an email, but more often than not, this actually means it gets ignored.

When busy recruiters see two separate documents attached, they’ll be tempted to save time and skip straight to the CV.

So, to ensure that you don’t miss out on a great opportunity to connect with employers, always write your cover letter in the body of your email, with your project manager CV attached.

Quick tip:  Job advertisements on major boards receive hundreds of applications, making it near impossible   to stand out. Therefore, it’s always preferable to send your application directly to the recruiter or hiring manager’s inbox, if you can find their email.

Write a compelling subject line

If you send your application via email, you can also take advantage of having the opportunity to write a subject line.

A crafty subject line gives you another opportunity to grab the recruiter’s attention and entice them to open your email.

Ultimately, recruiters are looking for a candidate who can get the job done – so why not give them that in your subject line?

Provide a short and snappy summary of your project management experience and skills which relate directly to the job you’re applying for, for example:

• Infrastructure project manager with experience managing £8m+ budgets
• Digital project manager with 5 years experience within software development industry
• 1st class Business Management Graduate studying towards foundation PRINCE2

Address the recruiter/employer by name

If you can, it’s best to address the recruiter by name. It’s far more friendly and personable, and also shows that you’ve done your research.

This isn’t always possible, though. If you can’t find a name, just head your cover letter with a polite yet friendly opening, such as  “Hi'”,  rather than the traditional “Dear Sir or Madam”.

So, how do you find the appropriate name?

If the recruiter’s name and contact details aren’t listed in the job advertisement (make sure to check the very bottom of the ad), you’ll need to do some digging:

• If the advertisement lists the name of a recruitment agency, head to their website and locate the job advertisement. More often than not, it’ll state who is recruiting for the role, but if not, you could get in touch and ask for the appropriate email.
• If you know the name of the specific company which is hiring, head to their website and locate a ‘meet the team’ type page. If you can find an employee with a HR or recruitment title, they’re your best bet. If not, look for a senior/head project manager or company director and send your email to them.
• As a last resort, you can also try out LinkedIn. Type the name of the company into the search bar, click through to their page and scan the list of employees for a recruiter, HR manager or senior/head project manager. 

Write in a friendly but professional tone

The overall tone of your cover letter can seriously impact the perception that recruiters gain of you.

If you sound overly formal, your cover letter will lack personality. On the flip side, if your tone is too casual, it might look like you’re not serious about the role.

Aim for a comfortable middle ground, with a friendly yet professional approach. A polite opening line, such as,  “I hope you’re well” , is a good example of this.

Quick tip: Use our partner’s CV builder to create a winning CV in minutes with professional templates and pre-written content for every industry. Project managers require good attention to detail, meaning spelling and grammar mistakes are a huge red flag to recruiters!

Check out our CV examples.

Highlight your most relevant skills

The key to enticing recruiters to open your CV is to show them how capable you are of carrying out the role.

The best way to do this is to seamlessly showcase how your project management skills and experience match the requirements listed in the role advertisement.

So, if the job description listed risk management and cost control as essential requirements, you’d give examples of how you’ve used these skills in previous roles.

If possible, you’d also prove the impact you’ve made using these skills, by sharing a quantified result or achievement, for example, “ Identified a 5-year cost saving of £4m”.

Keep it brief

Unless a job description specifically says otherwise, it’s best to keep your cover letter short and snappy.

Busy recruiters don’t have to read pages and pages of information, so you need to get your key selling points out there quickly.

By sticking to a length of 4-8 punchy sentences, you’ll hook their attention and leave them feeling keen to find out more.

Just make sure that each and every sentence you add is relevant to the employer and proves your ability to carry out the role.

Sign off professionally

Finish off your cover letter with a friendly but professional sign-off, such as “Regards” or a simple “ Thank you “.

Underneath, write down your name and contact details – a mobile phone number and email address would be ideal.

Lastly, use formatting tools to add an extra touch of professionalism to your signature.

What to include in your project manager cover letter

While your cover letter will vary depending on your project management niche and experience, you should generally aim to include the following information:

Who you’ve worked for and your niche –  Project management roles can vary massively, so recruiters will be keen to know what type of industries and environments you’ve had exposure to. Round up your work experience to date, whether that’s 2-years experience of digital project management in the retail industry or 10-years of pharmacy transformation project management experience.

Skills and specialisms  – Whether you’re highly experienced in risk management, planning, cost management or team leadership, it’s important to showcase your project management skills and specialisms. This should also include technology and software knowledge, if applicable. Make sure to tailor these to the job requirements.

Size and scale of projects  – Metrics are extremely important in project management, so make sure to highlight the size and scale of the most relevant projects you’ve managed, using hard facts and figures. This might be the size of budgets managed, the number of people or locations affected by projects or the number of people or teams lead.

Impact of your projects  – It’s vital to demonstrate the value and impact you could bring to the employer by incorporating a few key achievements /results. This might costs saved or revenue generated, for example,  “Delivered project 2 months ahead of planned stakeholder expectations”  or  “Achieved ongoing yearly savings of £2m”.

Your project manager cover letter for your CV

Ultimately, your project manager cover letter should build rapport with recruiters and demonstrate, in just a few sentences, why you’d be a great fit for the role.

By doing this, you’ll leave them feeling eager to open your CV and call you in for an interview.

Remember to keep the target role in mind at all times and put forward a high-level overview of your most relevant skills, specialisms and achievements.

Good luck with your job search!

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Project Manager Cover Letter: Example and Tips

Cover letters are an opportunity to showcase your experiences and accomplishments as a project manager, and share your professional goals.

Cover letters are often the first thing that hiring managers see in your application. Though some might argue that cover letters are obsolete, employers still use cover letters to learn more about candidates. Plus, it can indicate that you’re serious about the job, and give yourself another chance to convey who you are. It’s a good idea to take them seriously, especially if a job application asks for one.

For a project management position , a cover letter can be an opportunity to expand on the skills, motivations, and past successes you have under your belt that didn’t fit into your resume. Let’s take a look at what that might look like.

Project manager cover letter example

Reading through a sample cover letter can be a good way to jog your creativity and inspire your own.

Here's the cover letter in text format:

October 4, 2021

Harland Sanders

123 Animal St

Chicago, IL 60290

Dear Mr. Harland Sanders,

My name is George Lee, and I am excited to be applying to the Junior Project Manager position at Animax. I am currently a Project Coordinator at Square Paws, where I have supported several projects successfully to completion. I have long admired Animax’s work to improve animal adoption processes and would be delighted to contribute my skills to the team.

At Square Paws, I oversaw multiple aspects of running numerous projects. I worked closely with the project manager to develop project schedules, ensure team members had the resources they needed to complete their tasks, and coordinated communication with stakeholders on project updates. I am particularly proud of a project to roll out a feature on our app that users could use to book appointments with veterinarians. As a complex project that involved multiple stakeholders, it was important to be mindful of the details and listen continuously to feedback from users. My efforts to coordinate an early feedback system in a trial period led to the discovery of several bugs and pain points that we fixed for the launch. We were able to reduce customer concerns by 80% and ultimately completed the project under budget by $3,000.

I have long been familiar with animal adoption centers and believe wholeheartedly in Animax’s mission. I have volunteered consistently at animal shelters since high school and am familiar with their processes. In college, I took several courses that I believe can be useful to the project manager role, including zoology and business administration. Working as a project manager in this field will allow me to expand my knowledge of the industry, and assist in my ultimate goal to make the world a more livable place for shelter animals.

I believe that my past experience, skillset, and passions make me a strong candidate for Animax’s team. I hope to hear from you soon. Thank you for your time.

(123)456-7890

How to write a good project manager cover letter

1. start with your qualifications..

Hiring managers might be inundated with job applications. You’ll want to give the hiring manager a reason to keep reading right away by stating your qualifications in the introductory paragraph. State who you are, and what relevant experience you bring in opening your cover letter.

What if I haven’t worked as a project manager before?

Even if you haven’t held the title of project manager before, chances are you’ve done some elements of project management. Have you led meetings, assembled a team, or helped improve a process on your team? Those are project management skills. If you’re still hoping to build out your project management skills, you can consider applying to more entry-level project management jobs like project coordinator or assistant project manager. Learn more about how to become a project manager .

2. Tailor each cover letter to the job.

Templates or old cover letters you’ve used in the past can help get your cover letter started. But don’t forget to tailor them specifically to each job. Companies like to see that you’re genuinely interested in the job and company, and that you’ve done your research.

Look over the job description to see what kinds of qualities and skills the organization is looking for. If you’re applying to a large organization, think about what keywords an automated system might scan for. In project management roles, these might include Agile, mitigation, change management, or risk management. The job description is usually a good way to gauge what qualities and skills might be keywords.

Read more: How to Address a Cover Letter

3. Think beyond your resume.

A cover letter can be a place to expand on your resume , and then some. You can elaborate on one or more of your accomplishments, but don’t simply rehash what your resume already says.

Think about what you can include that showcases your value beyond the accomplishments listed in your resume. How can you connect the cover letter to your personal experiences, or your personal story? What made you interested in this field? What in particular excites you about the job or company, and why? How does this job fit into your goals for the future? Your cover letter should both connect your experiences to the qualities the company is looking for, and show why you, as a person, are good for the job.

Read more: 12 Project Management Interview Questions and How to Answer Them

4. Use numbers. 

Concrete numbers can help illustrate your success in past jobs. If you worked on projects, what metrics made them successful? Did customer satisfaction improve by a percentage, or did you complete the project under budget? 

5. Proofread.

Project management is a profession that demands big-picture understanding and a keen awareness of the details. Make sure your cover letter is formatted correctly and free of spelling and grammatical errors. If you can, have a trusted friend or colleague look through your cover letter to catch anything you may have missed.

Need more structure in your job search process? Try creating a job search plan. Learn what they are in the video below.

Getting started in project management

When starting a cover letter, you might consider pulling up a template or past cover letter you’ve used and tweaking it until it feels right. You might also start by making a list of qualities the job description asks for, and building your letter around those.

Need a refresher on project management concepts? Online courses can help you review the basics, or get you up to speed with the latest project management practices. If you're looking for a place to start, take a look at the Google Project Management: Professional Certificate. The first week is free.

Related articles

How to Become a Project Manager: 5 Steps

Project Manager Career Path: From Entry-Level to VP

11 Key Project Management Skills

What Is a Project Manager? A Career Guide

What Does a Project Coordinator Do?

11 Interviewing Skills to Benefit Your Career

This content has been made available for informational purposes only. Learners are advised to conduct additional research to ensure that courses and other credentials pursued meet their personal, professional, and financial goals.

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