The weakest way to start your cover letter is with ¡°To Whom It May Concern.¡± This vague, antiquated phrase causes a hiring manager to ask, ¡°Does this really concern me?¡± ¨C at which point your letter will pale compared to all the more urgent matters on their desk.

Fortunately, it¡¯s easy to avoid ¡°To Whom It May Concern¡± as your salutation. See how to address your recipient more clearly and confidently.

Use This Default Greeting

First, replace ¡°To Whom It May Concern¡± with the more straightforward ¡°Dear Hiring Manager.¡± Consider this phrase your new default for those rare cases where you don¡¯t know anything about your addressee or the hiring organization. But also view it as a foundation on which it¡¯s important to put other details revealed by the job posting.

Here are the five most common types of information you can find in a job posting, along with tips for adding them to ¡°Dear Hiring Manager.¡±

1. Company name

Most job postings specify the hiring company. In these cases, simply place it before ¡°Hiring Manager.¡±

2. Division or department name

If the job posting doesn¡¯t name the company, it may still mention the division or department you¡¯d be working for. Take the same approach.

3. Addressee¡¯s job title

Some job postings give the title of the person you¡¯re sending your application to or would report to in the role. Replace ¡°Hiring Manager¡± with their given title.

You can combine these first three variables to the extent you know them, such as with:

But depending on the job details, that can make an awkward ¡°noun pileup¡± such as:

In these cases, keep the job title but move the other details above your greeting, as in:

Or, if you¡¯re sending your cover letter as an email message, you can move details up to the subject line instead:

4. Work culture

If you know or can tell a hiring company¡¯s work culture is on the casual side, you can trade out ¡°Dear¡± for the less formal ¡°Hello,¡± ¡°Greetings,¡± or even ¡°Good morning.¡± You can also make the text slightly less formal by trading the colon at the end of the line for a comma.

5. Addressee¡¯s name

As the best option, trade out ¡°Hiring Manager¡± for the addressee¡¯s name if it appears on the job posting.

Use ¡°Ms.¡± for female recipient names unless the job posting suggests they¡¯re to be addressed as ¡°Mrs.¡± or ¡°Miss.¡±

If the recipient¡¯s name is non-gender specific, use their full name (or just their first name for a company with a more casual work culture).

Keep Your Introduction Personal

Apart from ¡°Dear Hiring Manager¡± and its many variations, you can also avoid ¡°To Whom It May Concern¡± by referring to the job opening at hand, as in:

This option is specific and concise enough. But we don¡¯t recommend it because it¡¯s not very personable. When possible, address your recipient directly ¨C your cover letter is, after all, a letter. By keeping that human touch, you¡¯ll help hiring managers envision you as someone they can call and have in for an interview.

Frequently Asked Questions: ¡°To Whom It May Concern¡± on a Cover Letter

Jacob Meade

Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW, ACRW)

Jacob Meade is a resume writer and editor with nearly a decade of experience. His writing method centers on understanding and then expressing each person¡¯s unique work history and strengths toward their career goal. Jacob has enjoyed working with jobseekers of all ages and career levels, finding that a clear and focused resume can help people from any walk of life. He is an Academy Certified Resume Writer (ACRW) with the Resume Writing Academy, and a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) with the Professional Association of Resume Writers & Career Coaches.