Discover how to craft a compelling Project Manager cover letter that showcases your skills, personality, and understanding of project management knowledge. Learn about the vital elements to include, how to emphasize your soft skills, and the importance of customizing your cover letter to each company and position.

Key Insights

  • A well-written Project Manager cover letter should demonstrate your project management knowledge, particularly your understanding of PMI’s Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK).
  • The cover letter should also include verbs that demonstrate your soft skills, like "led," "communicated," or "inspired," which give your accomplishments more depth.
  • It's essential to maintain an enthusiastic tone in your cover letter and use the active voice to convey your leadership skills effectively.
  • In writing a strong Project Manager cover letter, researching the company with the open position plays a crucial role to ensure you include relevant details and tailor your cover letter appropriately.
  • Your cover letter should tell a story about your journey as a Project Manager, depicting how you've solved critical problems or grown throughout your career.
  • For entry-level Project Managers, creativity is key. If you have less formal work experience, find ways to talk about how you've developed project management skills in other ways, such as through leadership in a college or volunteer organization.

A Project Manager cover letter is an opportunity to tell a story about your journey as a Project Manager. Written communication skills are important for a Project Manager. Your cover letter should be expertly written and compelling enough to get you an interview. 

How to Write a Project Manager Cover Letter

Thing #1 Demonstrate Project Management Knowledge

There is a defined body of knowledge in the field of Project Management. Understanding PMI’s Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) is necessary for professional Project Managers. You can demonstrate your knowledge by including key PMBOK phrases and any Project Management courses you may have taken. 

Thing #2 Sprinkle in your Soft Skills

A Project Manager cover letter should include a lot of soft skills and language. You can accomplish this by choosing verbs that demonstrate soft skills, such as “led,” “communicated,” or “inspired,” 

It’s much more effective to communicate about your soft skills by using them as verbs for your accomplishments. This will give every sentence of your cover letter extra depth. 

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Thing #3 Be Enthusiastic

The tone of your Project Manager cover letter should demonstrate your style and personality as a Project Manager. Project Managers are go-getters. Use an enthusiastic tone in your Project Manager cover letter. Don’t be overly formal, be passionate instead. 

Choose a lot of action words to tell a story about your leadership skills. A Project Manager cover letter needs to be written in the active voice. This will set a dynamic tone that catches the reader’s attention. 

Thing #4 Research the Company

A strong Project Manager cover letter will include details about the company offering the job. Research is an important step in writing a Project Manager cover letter. 

Be sure to do significant research about the company with the open Project Manager position. You’ll want to include relevant details and tailor your cover letter to relevant experience and knowledge. 

Thing #5 Tell a Story

People respond to the narrative, and your Project Manager cover letter is an opportunity to tell your project management story. Project Managers are problem solvers, and your cover letter should reflect this. Tell a story of how you solved a critical problem on a project or how you’ve grown over your career as a Project Manager. 

5 Project Manager Cover Letter Tips

Tip #1 Customize Your Letter for Each Company

You should have a basic Project Manager cover letter that can be customized for each company and job application. Consider doing an idea dump of all the experience you have and then pick and choose which ones seem most relevant to the position.

Remember that you’ll be doing research on the company before you start writing. Use the relevant information you’ve gathered about the company or position to make your Project Manager cover letter more personalized.

Tip #2 Entry Level Project Managers Should be Creative

Entry-level Project Managers might need to be a little more creative. If you have less formal work experience, figure out ways to talk about how you've developed project management skills in other ways. For example, if you were a leader in a college or volunteer organization, then you could use that project management experience in your cover letter to convey your experience beyond the workplace. 

Tip #3 Dont Repeat Your Resume

Your Project Manager cover letter is your chance to communicate things that don’t fit into the limited space of your resume. You should already have a fully developed Project Manager resume when you begin writing your cover letter. Use your Project Manager resume as a guide to know which critical information still needs to be communicated. 

Tip #4 Describe the Value You Offer the Company

Ultimately, hiring you is a business decision. Use your Project Manager cover letter as a chance to show your worth to potential employers and clients. One easy way to do this is by including concrete information about how your project management skills have benefited other clients and companies. 

Tip #5 Show Off your Industry Knowledge

Your Project Manager cover letter should be customized to each application. One way to do that is to focus on industry specifics. Include any relevant training, knowledge, or experience you have in the particular industry.