As a dental assistant, you handle many elements of patient care in a dental practice. You also help dental experts perform dental procedures and act as an important part of offering chairside assistance to patients who visit the dental clinic. If you’re looking to write a professional cover letter to apply for work as a dental assistant, here’s how you can craft a cover letter that helps you get the new job.
The first step to writing your cover letter is looking at a cover letter template that can help you build your own resume. Here’s a short dental assistant cover letter sample to get you started:
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Your cover letter needs to start with an appropriate salutation. Address the letter with the hiring manager’s name rather than a generic introduction like, “To Whom It May Concern” or “Dear Hiring Manager.” Using the hiring manager’s name allows you to prove that you’re not just sending out a form letter to hundreds of different jobs. Then, you can get started writing the rest of your cover letter.
First paragraph: Introduce yourself with a hook and list your best achievements.
A hook is an important part of getting the hiring manager to keep reading past the first sentence. In this cover letter, the applicant hooks the hiring manager by indicating why she’s interested in being a dental assistant in the first place, explaining what brought her to this point and the specific job title she’s applying for.
Second paragraph: Give more information about how you’re the best fit for the job.
In the second paragraph, you want to continue building on information that shows why you’re the best person for this job. Include plenty of metrics and concrete numbers that show off your track record. Read the job description carefully to see what skills and talents to include in your professional resume and cover letter. If you have extra qualifications and experiences relevant to your job search, you can include them in bullet points below the second paragraph.
Third paragraph: Call to action
The call to action rounds out your letter more effectively. Finish the letter by again indicating that you’re the best person for the job, then including a call to action requesting that the hiring manager get back to you and schedule a job interview. In this cover letter, the applicant does this by stating, “I look forward to sitting down and talking with you.”
Yes. A cover letter is an important part of your job application. Although a dental assistant resume will show off your skills and dental assisting experience, it may not be as effective at telling the recruiter exactly why you’re the best person for the job. Just as it’s very important to use resume samples and resume templates to create your dental assistant resume, a cover letter builder is equally as important if you want to stand out among other job seekers.
Typically, you need a cover letter that’s at least half a page to about three-quarters of a page long. A cover letter that is at least half a page in length is long enough to highlight the skills the job posting is looking for. Capping the length at around three-quarters of a page ensures that a busy hiring manager reads through the entire cover letter.
Yes. You don’t need lots of previous experience to become a dental assistant. If you don’t have many years of experience working in a dental office, you can emphasize experience in similar positions, such as working for a dentist or doctor in a different role, like as a receptionist. You can also include academic, internship and volunteer experience.