7 Ways to Address Your Cover Letter That Aren't "To Whom It May Concern"

7 Ways to Address Your Cover Letter That Aren't "To Whom It May Concern"

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7 Ways to Address Your Cover Letter That Aren't "To Whom It May Concern"

Yes, job searching can be tedious and frustrating and sometimes mildly soul-crushing, and maybe you’re pretty sure you’d rather step on a beehive than spend any more time writing cover letters. But at the end of the day, your goal is to get a new job, or at least land an interview. So do everyone a favor and next time, try one of these “To Whom It May Concern” alternatives.

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1. Dear/Hello [Name of Person Who’d Be Your Boss]

The best thing you can do for yourself when addressing your cover letter is figure out who the person filling the open role would report to—i.e. your potential future boss. Do some research and see if you can infer who it is, or if you happen to have a connection at the company, ask them!

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1. Dear/Hello [Name of Person Who’d Be Your Boss]

While you’re doing your company research, try to assess how formal the culture is to determine: – Whether to start with “Dear” or “Hello” (or maybe neither—you can also go with just their name) – Whether to use honorifics (Mr., Ms., Dr., Prof., etc) – Whether to use a full name or just a first name

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2. Dear [Name of the Head of the Department for Which You’re Applying]

If you’ve made a good-faith effort to figure out who your boss would be and it’s just not yielded any answers, don’t panic. It’s not always possible to find that information at this point in the process.

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2. Dear [Name of the Head of the Department for Which You’re Applying]

However, you might still be able to address your cover letter to a specific person by simply choosing the head of the department the role falls under.  And it demonstrates that you made an effort and considered what part of the organization you’d be joining and how you’d fit in.

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3. Dear [Name of Department for Which You’re Applying]

Along the same lines, if you can’t find the name of a department head, you can go ahead and address your letter to the team or department. For example, you could say “Dear Sales Department” or “Hello Product Team.”

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4. Dear [Name of Recruiter]

Now, if you’re determined to write to a specific person but have given up on finding the manager or department head, there’s still hope! If you can zero in on the recruiter or talent acquisition specialist (or the head of recruiting), you can address your letter to them. After all, they’ll likely be the first ones to read it and decide whether you should move on to the next step.

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5. Dear [Whatever This Company Calls Their Recruiting Team or Department]

But if you can’t figure out a name there, you can also address the team—just take a few minutes to look up what exactly this particular company calls it. You’ll end up with something like “Dear Recruiting Department” or “Dear Talent Acquisition Team.”

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6. Dear Recruiter/Hiring Manager

Another option is to address your letter more generically to the recruiter or hiring manager by using those titles, i.e. “Dear Recruiter” or “Dear Hiring Manager.”

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7. Dear [Role for Which You’re Applying] Search Committee/Hiring Manager/Hiring Team

But even then, you might want to be a little more specific by incorporating the role you’re applying for into the salutation. For example, you might say “Dear Account Executive Search Committee” or “Hello Happiness Hero Hiring Manager” (yes, that’s a real title).

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7. Dear [Role for Which You’re Applying] Search Committee/Hiring Manager/Hiring Team

Your ultimate goal when you’re writing a cover letter is to get to the next step in the hiring process. Just remember that the whoms won’t be impressed if you address them as such. After all, they do have names, roles, teams, departments, and committees. Pick one of those instead and your letter is much more likely to get read, and you’re much more likely to get hired.

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