How to Address a Cover Letter (Correctly)

How to Address a Cover Letter (Correctly) How to Address a Cover Letter CorrectlySeptember 23, 2019 By Geoffrey Scott Reviewed by Mark Slack, CPRWYou only get one chance to make a first impressionso, make koranvers you address your titel letter correctly. Follow our step-by-step guide and learn how to craft the perfect titelseite letter greeting for any situation. Build My Cover Letter NowAddressing a titel letter in 3 stepsStart your application off on the right foot by addressing your cover letter to the appropriate person. A properly structured salutation demonstrates that youve done your research and tailored your application to the position.Follow our guide and learn how to address your cover letter correctlywith or without the hiring managers anthroponym, gender, or prefix.Step 1 Locate the correct name (if possible)If youre lucky, the hiring managers name will be listed somewhere in the the job description. If this is the case, addressing your cover letter is going to be a piece of cake.But, wait a minuteare you 100% positive thats the right name?Job descriptions often include both the hiring manager and the recruiters name. Dont be fooled by this common pitfallverify that youve got the right name before hitting Submit. Use Linkedin or the company website to confirm whos who.A basic cover letter salutation will begin with Dear followed by the hiring managers nameand thats about it. The only tricky part is selecting the correct title to precede the hiring managers namebut, more on this in the next section.Avoid using salutations such as, Hi, Hello, or Hey,all of which are too casual for this formal document. TipStarting a resume from scratch can be a daunting task. But dont worry, you can skip the writers blockwith our how to abflug a resume flow chartOther places to search for the hiring managers nameIf you cant find the hiring managers name in the job description, dont abandon the search party just yetthere are still plenty of other places to look.A ddressing the hiring manager directly, allows you to establish a personal connection. Dont miss this opportunity to make a positive and lasting first impression.Its worth the extra leg work, so hone your detective skills and use the following sources to help you crack the caseThe company website See if you can plektron the hiring manager out of the crowd on the About us or Company Directory page of the companys website.LinkedIn Browse the company page on LinkedIn and use filters such as position title, location, and personal names to narrow your search.Google search A targeted Google search can help you uncover the name of even the most elusive hiring manager. Its easyjust plug the company website and appropriate position title into Google using the following formatSiteResumegenius.com Position TitleContact the company If youve come away from your digital search empty handed, call or email the company and ask for the hiring managers name directly. Explain that youre applying for a p osition and that youd like to address your cover letter to the appropriate party. TipNot sure how to format your cover letter? Skip the hard work and use one of our 40+ free MS Word cover letter templatesStep 2 Use the correct titleMr., Mrs., Ms., or Miss?If the hiring manager has a gender-neutral name, steer clear of titles such as Mr. or Ms. in your greeting. Instead, play it safe and write out their first and last name. For example, Dear Taylor Johnson could help you avoid making an awkwardand potentially offensiveerror.If youre 100% certain of their gender and want to include a title, thats fine too. Mr. is acceptable for men of any marital status, and for female employers you can use Ms. to address them. Unlike Mrs. and Miss., this neutral title doesnt denote whether theyre married or not.Professional and academic titlesWhen addressing a cover letter for a hiring manager with a professional or academic title, its considered respectful to include it in your salutation. Its acce ptable to use either an abbreviation or to write out the full title. For exampleDoctor or Dr.Professor or Prof.Sergeant or Sgt.Reverend or Rev. TipIf youre writing to a professor, chances are youre applying for an academic role. You should send a CV with your cover letter, so learn about the key CV vs resume differences to ensure you use the right one. Step 3 Apply appropriate punctuation and spacingOnce youve selected your cover letter greeting, follow it with a comma or colonboth are appropriate, so choose what you think looks best.After that, use a space separate the greeting from the first paragraph of your cover letter. Dont go crazyall you need is one space to signify that youre finished your greeting and moving on to your first paragraph. Check out these examples to make sure youre on the right trackWant more information on cover letter aesthetics? Check out our complete guide on how to format a cover letter.How to address a cover letter with no nameIf the hiring managers na me is nowhere to be found, its appropriate to use a generic salutation such as Dear Hiring Manager.Avoid using out-of-date greetings like To Whom It May Concern or Dear Sir or Madam that come across as overly formal and stiff.If you want to add a personal touch, you can address your cover letter to your prospective department or line manager. For instance, Dear Marketing Department.Tailoring your cover letter salutation to the position is one way to put in the extra effort. It demonstrates that youve read the job description and understand the companys organization structure. TipIs your resume up to scratch? Try our 6-Second Resume Challenge to find out if hiring managers are going to keep or trash your resume.Cover letter salutation examplesWeve got you covered with these cover letter salutation examplesfor every possible scenario. Just find the situation that applies to your letter, follow our formatting instructions, and plug-in your details, if necessary.Gender-Neutral NamesGen der-Specific TitlesProfessional / Academic TitlesDear Adrian AllenDear Mr. CooperDear Doctor AdamsDear Blake Ross,Dear Ms. Morgan,Dear Rev. Miller,Dear Quinn Johnson,Dear Mr. BrownDear Professor DavisDear Riley JonesDear Ms. Williams,Dear Sgt. Young,Generic SalutationsDepartment / kollektiv GreetingsDear Hiring Manager Dear Department ManagerDear Human Resource Director,Dear Department Hiring Manager,Dear Recruiting DepartmentTo the Department Recruitment TeamThats ityou official know how to address your cover letter If you need help with the rest of your document, check out our step-by-step guide on how to write a cover letter or our article on cover letter openings for six strategies on how to get your cover letter stand out from the other applicants. Follow our lead and youll land your dream job in no time