Damaris Villalobos Lead Powered Industrial Truck Operator Joliet, 60435, United States [email protected] · (815) 555-0167
12 September 2026
Mr. Chidi Okonjo Warehouse Manager Kankakee Cold Chain Kankakee, United States
Application for Forklift Operator, Kankakee Cold Chain
Dear Mr. Okonjo,
I am applying for the Forklift Operator post at Kankakee Cold Chain. So you can place me quickly, I have been evaluated on stand-up reach, order picker to 32 feet, sit-down counterbalance in both electric and propane, and wire-guided turret truck in very narrow aisle, along with carton clamp, slip sheet push-pull and single-double handler attachments. I have run all of them in ambient, in a 34 degree cooler and in a minus 10 freezer, and my most recent employer evaluation was in April 2026.
Over six years I have made roughly 41,000 pallet moves with no recordable incident, no rack strike and one product damage claim. On the pick side I average 172 cases an hour against a 150 standard at 99.7% accuracy in 42-inch aisles at nine rack levels. For the last two years I have also been the in-house trainer and evaluator at my site, where I trained and evaluated 96 operators and rebuilt the refresher schedule; site rack strikes went from 31 a year to 6 after we redesigned the traffic plan and segregated pedestrians at four blind corners.
Your posting mentions a freezer pick module and slip-sheeted inbound from two food manufacturers. Both are work I have done, and the slip sheet side is where new operators usually cause damage, so that is where I would want to start. If the site would find it useful, I am happy to help keep the operator evaluation records current alongside my own picking.
I know that powered industrial truck certification is issued by the employer under OSHA 29 CFR 1910.178(l) and does not transfer between sites, so I would expect to complete your own training and evaluation before I drive anything. My prior training records are available and should shorten that. I can start on third shift with two weeks' notice. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely, Damaris Villalobos
Summary
A forklift operator cover letter names the truck types and attachments you have been evaluated on, the environments and heights you work in, and your incident record. This guide gives you a full adaptable letter, the OSHA rule that explains why your certification does not travel with you, and the closing line that shortens a warehouse manager's decision.
Forklift Operator cover letter examples by experience level
A forklift operator cover letter is a one-page letter telling a warehouse manager which trucks you can be put on, how high and how heavy you work, and what your damage record looks like.
Most letters here open with "OSHA certified forklift operator seeking a position". A shift manager reads that twenty times a week, and it is imprecise as well as empty: under federal rules the employer certifies the operator, not OSHA, and the paperwork belongs to the site that issued it. Your advantage is being the letter that knows this.
Guide to a forklift operator cover letter
This guide and the corresponding forklift operator cover letter example will cover:
- How to structure the letter, paragraph by paragraph
- Why truck types and attachments belong in the first three sentences
- Why "OSHA certified" is imprecise, and the sentence that replaces it
- What counts as evidence when your job is measured in cases and damage
How to write a forklift operator cover letter
| Paragraph | Its job | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Opening | The post, the trucks and attachments, the environments | 3 to 4 sentences |
| Evidence | Rate, accuracy, volume, incident and damage record | 3 to 4 sentences |
| Fit | Something specific about their site and what you would take on | 3 sentences |
| Close | The evaluation offer, availability, thank you | 2 to 3 sentences |
Lead with the trucks, then the height, then the record
Three facts decide whether a warehouse manager reads your second paragraph: which trucks, how high, how much damage. Write them in that order. "Evaluated on stand-up reach, order picker to 32 feet, sit-down counterbalance in electric and propane, and wire-guided turret in very narrow aisle" answers the first two. "Six years, no recordable incidents, no rack strikes, one damage claim" answers the third.
Add the environment if it is unusual: freezer, cooler and yard experience each rule you in for jobs other applicants cannot take.
A forklift operator cover letter example you can adapt
Dear Mr. Okonjo,
I am applying for the Forklift Operator post at Kankakee Cold Chain. So you can place me quickly, I have been evaluated on stand-up reach, order picker to 32 feet, sit-down counterbalance in both electric and propane, and wire-guided turret truck in very narrow aisle, along with carton clamp, slip sheet push-pull and single-double handler attachments. I have run all of them in ambient, in a 34 degree cooler and in a minus 10 freezer, and my most recent employer evaluation was in April 2026.
Over six years I have made roughly 41,000 pallet moves with no recordable incident, no rack strike and one product damage claim. On the pick side I average 172 cases an hour against a 150 standard at 99.7% accuracy in 42-inch aisles at nine rack levels. For the last two years I have also been the in-house trainer and evaluator at my site, where I trained and evaluated 96 operators and rebuilt the refresher schedule; site rack strikes went from 31 a year to 6 after we redesigned the traffic plan and segregated pedestrians at four blind corners.
Your posting mentions a freezer pick module and slip-sheeted inbound from two food manufacturers. Both are work I have done, and the slip sheet side is where new operators usually cause damage, so that is where I would want to start. If the site would find it useful, I am happy to help keep the operator evaluation records current alongside my own picking.
I know that powered industrial truck certification is issued by the employer under OSHA 29 CFR 1910.178(l) and does not transfer between sites, so I would expect to complete your own training and evaluation before I drive anything. My prior training records are available and should shorten that. I can start on third shift with two weeks' notice. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely, Damaris Villalobos
Openings that work
| Instead of | Use |
|---|---|
| OSHA certified forklift operator seeking a position | Evaluated on reach, order picker to 32 ft, counterbalance in electric and propane, and turret in VNA |
| I have several years of warehouse experience | Six years, roughly 41,000 pallet moves, no recordable incident and no rack strike |
| I am a hard worker who takes safety seriously | Trained and evaluated 96 operators; site rack strikes went from 31 a year to 6 |
| I am available to start immediately | I can start on third shift with two weeks' notice, and I have freezer experience |
Say what you were evaluated on, not that you are OSHA certified
Under OSHA 29 CFR 1910.178(l), the employer must certify that each operator has been trained and evaluated, and the certification has to record the operator's name, the training date, the evaluation date, and who performed them. The rule also requires that each operator's performance be evaluated at least once every three years.
So the certificate in your folder is your former employer's record about their trucks in their building. A new site runs its own evaluation regardless. Documented prior training still helps, because the new employer need not repeat training on topics you have already covered and can demonstrate competency in.
The line that reads best in a letter is therefore not a claim. It is an offer:
I know that powered industrial truck certification is issued by the employer under OSHA 29 CFR 1910.178(l) and does not transfer between sites, so I would expect to complete your own training and evaluation before I drive anything. My prior training records are available and should shorten that.
That settles the credential question, and it tells a manager how you behave around a rule. Very few letters in the folder do either.
Where the jobs are and what they pay
Industrial truck and tractor operators had a median annual wage of $46,420 as of May 2025, within a material moving machine operators group whose median was $46,670 a year, or $22.44 an hour (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, May 2025).
The group held 841,500 jobs in 2025 and is projected to grow 1 percent from 2025 to 2035, with about 70,700 openings a year (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2025-35 projections). Almost all of that hiring is replacement, so the competition is other applicants.
Setting decides pay more than anything else. Construction had a median of $71,070 as of May 2025, warehousing and storage $48,170, and temporary help services $38,130 (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, May 2025).
What counts as evidence for a forklift operator
| Kind of evidence | What it looks like in a sentence |
|---|---|
| Rate | 172 cases an hour against a 150 standard at 99.7% pick accuracy |
| Volume | 22 to 28 trailers a shift, or roughly 41,000 pallet moves over six years |
| Height and weight | Put away and replenish to 32 feet; pallets to 4,000 pounds on counterbalance |
| Damage | No rack strike, one damage claim in six years |
| Teaching | Trained and evaluated 96 operators and cleared 22 overdue evaluations |
Name every truck type and attachment in the first paragraph. Give the maximum height and load weight. Say electric or propane. Name freezer, cooler, dock, narrow aisle or yard experience. Give your damage record with a period or a pallet volume behind it. Offer to complete the employer's own evaluation. Say which shifts you can work.
Do not open with "OSHA certified". Do not write "various forklifts" or "warehouse equipment". Do not leave out the height, because it is the fastest filter a manager has. Do not claim a truck you have not been evaluated on; the site evaluation finds it out the same week. Do not write more than one page.
Length, format and sending it
One page, 250 to 350 words. PDF, named for you and the post: damaris-villalobos-forklift-operator-cover-letter.pdf.
Address a person where the posting names one. Where it does not, "Dear Warehouse Manager" beats "To Whom It May Concern".
Use the same numbers as your resume. Our forklift operator resume example uses the figures here.
Key takeaways
- Open with the trucks and attachments you have been evaluated on, not with "OSHA certified".
- Give the maximum height and load weight in the first paragraph.
- Name the environments: freezer, cooler, dock, narrow aisle, outdoor yard.
- Put your incident and damage record next to a time period or a pallet volume.
- Add one rate figure, such as cases an hour against the standard.
- Offer to complete the employer's evaluation under 29 CFR 1910.178(l).
- Keep it to one page and say which shifts you can work.
Write your forklift operator cover letter in 10 minutes.
Forklift operator cover letter questions, answered
Do forklift operators need a cover letter?
Attach one wherever there is a field for it. Warehouse applications collect the same tick-box data from everyone; the letter is the only place you can list attachments, heights and your damage record.
Should I say I am OSHA certified in the letter?
No. Under OSHA 29 CFR 1910.178(l) the employer certifies the operator, and the certification is tied to that employer and site. Write which trucks you were evaluated on and when, then offer to complete the new employer's evaluation.
How long should a forklift operator cover letter be?
One page, four short paragraphs, 250 to 350 words. Every sentence should carry a truck, a number or a date.
What do I write with no forklift experience?
Say what you have been trained on and be clear it was training rather than an employer evaluation. Then give adjacent work: pallet jack, order filling, dock, freight handling, RF scanning. Add attendance and shift availability, and say you expect to be trained and evaluated on site.
Should I mention a past accident or near miss?
Only if you are asked, and then say plainly what changed afterwards. An operator who can describe a near-miss review and the traffic plan change that followed reads as safer than one with nothing to say about safety. Do not volunteer it in the opening paragraph.