Social Work Cover Letter

A career in social work is not for the faint of heart, and that should be the heart of the matter in your cover letter when you apply as a social worker. It takes a certain kind of professional to deal with the downtrodden and vulnerable in our society while keeping public policy and advocacy regulations in mind.

As a social worker, your highest qualification is to be a human being first; and a practical advocate and decision-maker second. Without a doubt, you will be responsible for people’s lives, their families and destinies as they rely on your skills to tirelessly advocate for them. So write a social work cover letter that showcases your instincts, empathy skills and sharp decision-making skills. Also demonstrate instances in your cover letter that you are a hard-liner, that you have no qualms pounding the streets for your casework, appearing in court or coordinating with downtown folks and upscale donor foundations. In your social work cover letter, prove that you can appeal to a broad spectrum of people while maintaining the necessary focus and emotional stability on your end.

If you can, include references in your cover letter if possible. Work and field connections with other professional and organizations are essential when it comes to landing a job in the developmental and public advocacy sector. Because most non-profits, advocate groups, government-funded agencies often work in cycles or campaigns. People move around a lot post-funding and their professional strength is often measured with the last project or casework they have successfully managed to completion.

Here’s a sample social work cover letter that can help you make small changes to your own customized version.

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Social Worker Cover Letter Sample

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(Today’s Date)

Dear HR Officer,

I am Miriam Daly Coles and I have a University Degree in Public Health Management from Washington University in St. Louis. I have heard of the job opening through the offices of Ms. Shiela Burns, the Senior Director for Disability Resource Services at City Health Maternal Hospital. I have also attached her recommendation letter along with my CV. I have had the pleasure of working with Shiela for the past three years, and she has seen me work several cases under the distict’s maternal health program. I believe she is in the position to give you a field assessment of my skills as a social worker, you may call her anytime.

To begin, I have been working as a Social Worker (Official Designation: Social Work Aide II) for 5 years with the Coalition to Uplift Maternal Health (UpMaterna) a non-profit organization working to empower single-parent families and minority mothers in the Midland District. My experience has brought me to interact with single mothers with Limited English Proficiency (LEP). I provide bilingual translation for these families onsite, also via telephone and thru written documentation. I also process the necessary documentation to determine their levels of social assistance eligibility, housing and legal aid by completing forms and letters for all the referred applicants in the community.

I am a highly-driven individual with the capacity to work independently, and a keen aptitude to make well-informed decisions to expedite needed services for recipients. On a collaborative level, I am comfortable working with a team, such as organizing in-service training sessions with fellow social aide and groups, program planning, and engaging in participatory action research.

In terms of community engagement, I have good verbal communication and active listening skills, including the ability to handle a variety of people and/or emphatize with their needs and feelings as required in this line of work. I am also proficient in administrative duties and in using Microsoft Office softwares: particularly Word, PowerPoint and Excel.

I am confident enough that I have the necessary skills and experience to meet your qualifications. It would be kind of you if you could arrange an interview wherein we can further discuss the job position. You can call me at 555-6160 or email me at socialworkercv@email.org

Thank you very much.

Sincerely, 
Miriam Daly Coles

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We hope that the cover letter sample above helps you move into a new job as a social worker. If you need more help, you can go to our letter writing services page to order a custom cover letter to go with your application or find more examples of cover letters from our cover letters page.