Payroll admin cover letter

[POPholditdown]

I’m hoping to get some pointers on writing a cover letter, as I’ve never applied for this type of role before.

I’ve been waiting to get into an accounts/payroll based job for some time and this is one of the few that doesn’t ask for experience so I want to give it my best!

I plan to enrol in AAT next year, so getting some solid experience in would be a major plus for me.

I work in facilities atm. I have some basic finance admin exp, which has always been ad hoc in this and previous roles, but I haven’t had the chance to fully ‘understand’ the processes if that makes sense. Parts of my role are similar to what’s stated in accounts roles, it’s just instead of chasing invoices, I’m chasing jobs. Instead of raising POs, I’m raising work orders, you get the gist..

Obviously I don’t want anyone to write the whole thing for me but just some ideas on how to look ‘desirable’ to them. I’ve had a look online, most examples tend to be ‘as an experienced payroll professional’ etc, which I am not!

This job ad only asks for a generic skill set - IT and numeracy skills, data input accuracy etc. Is there anything that would stand out, to make up for the lack of experience?

I’m thinking to focus on the ‘planning to study AAT’ angle?

Or have I no hope?

Have sent you a pm

Thank you! I’ve replied

I'd address the specific skills they mention with examples, so 'I see you are looking for someone with experience of chasing invoices. I would be a great fit for this as I currently have responsibility for chasing jobs and have reduced the number of late submissions from 25% to 15' or similar, but mention results rather than just telling them it was in your job description. Highlight times you have sought out additional responsibility etc rather than just telling them which jobs you were given because they came under your remit.

Thanks dojo I’m wondering if I should clearly relate my skills/achievements to the payroll job description. I don’t want it to just seem like I’m stating irrelevant info, but at the same time I worry it might come across as patronising if I tie it in.

‘I chase jobs’ vs ‘I chase jobs, which will be similar to chasing invoices’ (Obviously it’ll be a bit more comprehensive, when I write it). I feel like the first example isn’t clear why it’s relevant, but the second example might be stating the obvious.

I always feel a bit of a tool writing cover letters, no matter which job it’s for!