Custodian Cover Letter Examples
By Mustafa Tarabya, founder of CVBooster · Published · Updated
A cover letter for a custodian is read by a head custodian, a facilities supervisor or a district operations manager who has buildings to open tomorrow morning whether the night shift is fully staffed or not. Before they look at your resume they want four answers: which shift you can work, what kind of building you have cleaned, which floor care and equipment you can run without supervision, and whether you can be trusted with keys, alarm codes and a building full of other people's things.
Most custodian cover letters answer none of it. They say the applicant is hardworking, reliable and takes pride in their work, which every supervisor has read on the letter of someone who stopped showing up in week three. The letters that get a call name the building type, the square footage or rooms covered on a shift, the machines they run, the chemical safety training they have and the shift they want. Below are three custodian cover letter examples, from a first custodial job to a lead custodian applying to run a school building, with a note on every paragraph explaining why it is there.
Complete custodian cover letters, annotated
First custodial job
An applicant with two years of closing shifts at a fast food restaurant, applying for a night custodian opening at a public school district.
Dear Mr Alvarez,
I am applying for the night custodian position at Pine Ridge Elementary posted on the district website. For the last two years I have worked closing shifts at a busy fast food restaurant, where I was one of two people trusted to finish the deep clean and lock up the building after the managers left.
The opening ties restaurant closing work to the job straight away and adds the one fact a school cares about most: this person was already trusted to lock up alone.
Closing meant sweeping and mopping the dining room and kitchen, degreasing the fryer area, cleaning and restocking restrooms, emptying every trash and recycling bin and taking it to the dumpster, and filling out the closing checklist before the alarm was set. I learned to use the right chemical for each surface, read the safety data sheets in our binder and keep the mop water and the restroom tools separate.
Real cleaning tasks in the order a custodian does them, plus chemical safety and keeping restroom tools separate, which tells a supervisor the habits are already there.
I have not run a floor scrubber or a burnisher yet, and I know school floor care is a bigger job than a restaurant dining room. I learn equipment quickly and would welcome training on it. I am available for the 3 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. shift your posting lists, and I can pass a background check and fingerprinting.
The gap is named honestly, followed by the shift from the posting and the background check, which answers the questions a district asks of every new hire.
Thank you for considering my application. I would be glad to meet at the school and walk through the building with you.
A walk through of the building is a natural next step for a custodial job and shows the applicant wants to see the actual work.
Sincerely, Marcus Hill
Five years in, moving to a college campus
A school custodian with five years on a middle school day shift, applying for a custodian role in residence halls and academic buildings at a state university.
Dear Ms Whitaker,
I am writing to apply for the custodian position with Facilities Services at Eastern State University. I have worked for five years as a day custodian at Lincoln Middle School, a two story building with 800 students, where I am responsible for two hallways, sixteen classrooms, the gym and four sets of restrooms.
Years, building type, square footage and exactly what the area covers. A campus supervisor can picture the workload immediately and compare it with their own routes.
My daily work covers restrooms, classrooms and hallways, spill and illness cleanup under bloodborne pathogen procedures, and setup and teardown for assemblies, sports and evening events. I run an auto scrubber and a propane burnisher, and every summer I strip and refinish the tile floors and extract the carpet in my area. I also log work orders in our facilities system when I find a leak, a broken fixture or a lock that does not latch.
Day to day tasks, safety procedures, event setups and named equipment, then summer floor work. Work orders show the applicant reports problems instead of walking past them.
I am interested in the university because residence halls and lecture buildings run on a different rhythm, with move in, finals and summer conferences, and I would like to learn that schedule. I have current training in hazard communication and bloodborne pathogens, and I am comfortable working on my own across several buildings.
The applicant explains why the move makes sense and names the campus calendar correctly, which proves they have thought about how the job changes.
I would welcome the chance to discuss the role. Thank you for your time.
A short close. Custodial supervisors hire on the walk through and the interview, so the letter does not need to oversell.
Sincerely, Rosa Delgado
Lead custodian applying for head custodian
A lead night custodian with twelve years in a high school, applying to be head custodian of a newly opened high school in the same region.
Dear Dr Simmons,
I am applying for the head custodian position at the new Ridgeview High School. I have twelve years of custodial experience, the last four as lead night custodian at Central High School, where I assign the work for a crew of seven custodians covering a three story building with about two thousand students.
Years, current title, crew size and building size in two sentences. A principal hiring a head custodian needs to see scale and supervision first.
As lead I build the nightly cleaning routes, inspect areas against our checklist, order supplies within a set budget and train every new custodian on floor equipment, chemical safety and the building's lockup and alarm procedures. I schedule the summer floor program across the whole building so the stripping, refinishing and carpet extraction finish before teachers return, and I work with the district maintenance team on work orders that need a trade.
Supervision, inspection, supplies, training and the summer floor program are what a head custodian is actually judged on. Naming them proves the applicant knows the job.
A new building needs its routines written from the start, and that is the part of this job I would enjoy most. I would set up the cleaning schedule, the equipment care log and the event setup process with your principal, and keep the building ready for evening and weekend use by the community.
The applicant addresses the new building directly and offers a plan for the first months, which is what a principal opening a school is worried about.
I would welcome the chance to walk the building with you and talk about how you want it run. Thank you for considering my application.
Offering a building walk keeps the close practical and puts the conversation where custodial work is judged, inside the building.
Respectfully, George Patterson
What each paragraph has to do
Open with the shift, the building and the trust
Name the position and the building, then the shift you can work, then one sign that you have been trusted with a building before, such as closing alone, holding keys or setting the alarm. Supervisors fill shifts, so a letter that does not mention availability leaves the most important question open.
- The exact position title and building or campus.
- Day, evening or night shift, and weekend availability.
- Keys, alarm codes or lockup responsibility you have held.
- Background check or fingerprinting you can pass.
Show the workload and the equipment
In the middle paragraph, give the size of your area in rooms or square feet and list the equipment you run on your own. Then add the safety training you hold. A custodian cover letter example with numbers and machine names reads as experience, not as a list of adjectives.
- Restrooms, classrooms, offices, hallways and gyms covered on a shift.
- Auto scrubbers, burnishers, carpet extractors and wet vacuums.
- Stripping and refinishing floors, carpet extraction, summer projects.
- Hazard communication, safety data sheets and bloodborne pathogen training.
Close with a building walk
If the posting asks for something you have not done, such as floor stripping or event setups, say so and show you are ready to learn it. Close with an offer to meet at the building. Many supervisors show candidates the routes before hiring, and offering first shows you want to see the real work.
Opening lines that fit your situation
You have no custodial job title yet: For two years I closed a busy restaurant, cleaning the kitchen, dining room and restrooms and locking up the building after the managers left.
It turns non custodial work into cleaning experience and trust with keys in one sentence.
You are applying to a school district: I keep sixteen classrooms, two hallways and the gym ready for 800 middle school students every day and set up the building for evening events.
Room counts and the school setting show the supervisor exactly what workload you already handle.
Floor care is your strength: Each summer I strip and refinish the tile floors and extract the carpet in my area, running an auto scrubber and a propane burnisher year round.
Floor care skills are the hardest to train, so naming the equipment and tasks moves you up the list.
You were referred by someone on the crew: Linda Torres, a custodian on your night crew at Westside High, told me you are hiring for a second shift position and suggested I apply.
A named referral from inside the crew tells the supervisor someone they trust has vouched for you.
Phrases to cut
Instead of: I am a hard worker.
I clean sixteen classrooms, two hallways, four sets of restrooms and the gym on every shift, and my area passes the weekly inspection.
Instead of: I take pride in my work.
I report every leak, broken fixture and loose lock through a work order the same shift I find it.
Instead of: I am reliable and trustworthy.
I was one of two staff trusted to close the building alone, set the alarm and hold a set of keys.
Instead of: I have cleaning experience.
I run an auto scrubber and a burnisher and strip and refinish tile floors every summer.
Mistakes that cost interviews
- Leaving out the shift you can work, when shift coverage is often the reason the job is open.
- Writing only adjectives like hardworking and reliable, with no rooms, square footage or equipment.
- Not mentioning chemical safety, safety data sheets or bloodborne pathogen training when the building is a school or hospital.
- Sending the same letter to a school, an office building and a hospital, which clean to different standards and schedules.
- Ignoring the background check or fingerprinting requirement that school districts list in the posting.
- Making the letter longer than the job needs. A custodian cover letter of three or four short paragraphs is enough.
Frequently asked questions
What should a cover letter for a custodian include?
The position and building, the shift you can work, the type and size of buildings you have cleaned, the equipment you run on your own, any safety training such as hazard communication or bloodborne pathogens, and a sign that you have been trusted with keys or lockup. Close with an offer to meet at the building.
How do I write a custodian cover letter with no experience?
Use any job where you cleaned, closed or locked up, such as restaurant closing shifts, retail, warehouse or hotel work. Describe the actual tasks, the chemicals and safety rules you followed and any time you were trusted to close alone. Name the equipment you have not used yet and say you want training on it.
Is a school custodian cover letter different from other custodial letters?
Yes, in its emphasis. A school wants to know you can work around students, set up for events, follow illness and bloodborne pathogen procedures and pass fingerprinting and a background check. Mention summer floor projects too, because schools do most stripping, refinishing and carpet extraction while the building is empty.
Should a custodian cover letter mention the shift I want?
Yes, in the first paragraph. Custodial jobs are usually posted for a specific shift, and a supervisor filling a night shift will skip letters that do not say the applicant can work it. If you are flexible, say so, and mention weekend availability if the building hosts events.
How long should a cover letter for a custodian job be?
Three or four short paragraphs, well under one page. Supervisors read applications between rounds of the building, so lead with the shift and building, then your workload and equipment, then any gap, then a close offering a building walk. Every custodian cover letter example on this page fits that length.
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