Writing A Cover Letter When You Don't Know Who To Address It To

How to address a cover letter without name?

According to a study conducted by Glassdoor, every corporate job opening gets roughly 250 resumes. And from that, only 3-4 people get an interview.

That means if your cover letter feels generic and not personalized, it is going to end up in the trash.

However, what if there was a way to personalize your cover letter even without the hiring manager's name?

This guide will show you:

How to address cover letter without name?
The best way to address a cover letter without a name?
Practical ways to find the hiring manager's name?
How to format the cover letter address correctly?
How to write an email cover letter address?
Additional tips to write a cover letter without name

How to address a cover letter when you don't have a name?

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A cover letter for a job is not similar to a letter to a friend.

A cover letter's purpose is to impress the hiring manager to score an interview.

But addressing cover letter without name might lead your cover letter to get rejected by the recruiters.

A survey conducted by Saddleback College has found that 92% of managers prefer to have some kind of address in the cover letter as opposed to only 8% of hiring managers who are okay with no address at all.

From these statistics, we understand how important it is to know how to write a cover letter without a name.

Address the cover letter with "Dear Hiring Manager"

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It is the most common way to address a hiring manager with no name. In fact, 40% of hiring managers prefer this salutation over no salutation at all.

This address allows the hiring manager to quickly focus on the meat of the letter, aka the main body, instead of rejecting the cover letter right away.

However, the best way to address a cover letter is by highly personalizing it.

The Best Way to Address a Cover Letter with No Name

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Are you asking yourself continuously, "How to address a cover letter without a contact name?"

Here is the answer for you.

Instead of using only "Dear Hiring Manager," include the department name or the title of the person who will be reading the cover letter to make it more specific. For example,

Dear Marketing Department,
Dear Project Manager Hiring Team
Dear Head of the Sales Department,
Dear VP of Marketing

By personalizing the addresses in this way, you can grab the hiring manager's attention to read your resume.

This shows that you are not throwing a rock blindly. You have done your research and have some idea about the company.

Appropriate Cover Letter Address With No Name

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Dear Hiring Manager
Dear Hiring Committee
Dear [department] Hiring Committee
Dear Hiring Team
To the [department] Hiring Manager
Dear Team (For smaller companies)
To the Recruiting Team
Dear Recruiting Team

In-appropriate Cover Letter Address With No Name

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Dear Sir or Madam —Ancient salutation doesn't work anymore.
To Whom It May Concern —It does not personalize
Hello, Hi, or Greetings —Informal informal salutation
Happy Sunday! —Too informal salutation
Good Morning — Too informal, and you have no idea when they will read the letter.

How to Find the Hiring Manager's Name?

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However, finding the hiring manager's name is still the best way to address a cover letter.

So, before calling it quits, let's look at some ways to find the hiring manager's name.

Look in the job description

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Read the job description carefully. Usually, the hiring manager's name or the title of the reporting manager is given in the job description or under the job description.

For instance, "The digital marketer will report to the Marketing Manager."

You can use the title to then find their name on the company website or on Linkedin.

Sometimes the job description includes the hiring manager's email address. For example: "Send your cover letter and resume to johndoe@hiration.com".

You can find the hiring manager's name from the email address.

Visit the profile of the job poster

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Sites like Linkedin or Anglelist have this unique feature where it shows you the job poster's name. You can go to their profile to see if they are the hiring manager and include their name in the cover letter.

Call the company front-desk

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Calling the company is the easiest way to find the hiring manager's name. But, job candidates reserve it as the last option.

Call the company desk.
Directly tell that you are applying for a "Position" in their company and would like to know the hiring manager's name. Here's an example of the script:

" Hi, my name is Alex, and I'm currently applying for the video editor position in your company. Would it be possible for you to provide me the name and email id of the hiring manager so that I can address the cover letter properly?"

Note: Make sure to note down the spelling of the hiring manager's name. You do not want to mess that in your cover letter address.

Do a quick Linkedin search

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According to a study conducted by Jobvite, 87% of recruiters use Linkedin regularly. That means, if you search for the Hiring manager of a certain company on Linkedin, there is a high chance that you will find their name.

Many job descriptions specifically tell the reporting manager's title in the job description. Then you need to address the cover letter to the reporting manager. The process of finding the reporting manager's name is similar.

Go to Linkedin
Search with the job title and company name
In the search result, you can find the profile of the designated person.
Sometimes for a big company, there might be more than one similar position. Then you need to narrow your search by location to find the reporting manager.

Network with people with contacts

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Linkedin is the best way to find and connect with people who have connections in the company you are applying for. If you can create a good rapport with these professionals, then you can ask for a reference.

It's an easy but time-consuming process.

Search on Linkedin by the company name and see the professionals active on Linkedin
Start engaging with their content and leave thoughtful comments
Send them a personalized connection invite after engaging with their content for a couple of days.
Do not ask for a reference abruptly, instead start building a rapport with them by sharing helpful industry information, blog, article links, videos, etc.
If possible, move the connection offline and meet in person.
After you develop a good rapport with the professionals, you can ask for a reference or introduce yourself to the hiring manager.

How to write a cover letter if you don't know the hiring manager?

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Do not assume gender or marital status

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It often happens that you know the hiring manager's name but does not know their gender or marital status.

The best way to find the hiring manager's gender is by doing a quick LinkedIn search.

The Linkedin profile contains the hiring manager's profile picture. From that, you can determine the hiring manager's gender.

If the hiring manager's gender is Male, address the hiring manager with "Mr."
For example:

"Mr. Xavier,"

If the hiring manager is female, then it can be a little confusing.

As you don't know the marital status, avoid using Miss. or Mrs. to address the hiring manager. Instead, use a generic "Ms.."

For example:

Right:

Dear Ms. Moore

Dear Ms. Kyle

Wrong:

Dear Mrs. Lane

Dear Miss Maximoff

Include a professional titles

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Don't forget to include the hiring manager's academic title or professional title in the cover letter address.

These types of hyper-personalization can grab the hiring manager's attention even more and entice them to read your cover letter.

How to write the academic title in the cover letter address?

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You can write the academic title in full form. For example:

Dear Doctor Green,

Dear Professor Geller,
Alternatively, you can use the abbreviation of the titles as well. For example:

Dear Dr. Murphy

Dear Prof. Goodwin

Dear Sgt. Moore,

Dear Principle Alan,

Where to place the cover letter address?

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Not just the proper format, but the placement of the cover letter address also plays an important role.

The cover letter heading will go on the top.
Write the date below the heading.
Leave one line space and write the hiring manager's name.
Write the address of the company.
Leave one space and then white the position you are applying for.
Leave one space and then write the salutation.

Example:

Cover letter without name

6th November 2021

Ron Atkinson,
Hiring Manager,
ABC Inc.
87, Harmony Lane,
San Francisco, CA

Re: Operations Manager

Dear Hiring Manager,

How to write a cover letter without knowing the person's name for email?

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Writing an email cover letter address is fundamentally similar but with some tweaks.

If you are sending a digital cover letter, you need to start with a professional subject line. For example:

John Doe: Application for Video Editor Position, Reff: Anthony Moore

Then add your cover letter salutation based on the same rule.

Add a line space and then start your cover letter by following the Hiraiton cover letter writing guide.

Example:

Subject Line: John Doe: Application for Project Manager Position, Reff: Charles Moore

Dear Hiring Manager,

I am a 5+ years experienced project management professional…

Note: Notice that the email cover letter does not need to include the address at the top. However, It is necessary for a formal cover letter.

Tips for addressing a cover letter with no name:

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Always use formal address in the cover letter

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No matter if you know the hiring manager's name or not, always keep the address formal in the cover letter. Even the company has an informal culture, do not use any casual address unless you are a part of the organization.

Wrong Example:

Hello Maya,
Hey Dan!
Greetings Max,

Right Example:

Dear Ms. Lane,
Dear Prof. Luther,
Dear Ms. Ann,

Note: Do not use "Dear Sir" or "Dear Madam" to address the cover letter. It was used in the past but is not accepted in the 21 century.

Avoid using "To whom it may concern"

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This salutation is too generic and does not address anyone at all. However, according to the Saddleback College survey, 17% of hiring managers prefer this salutation over others. But the problem is 83% of hiring managers don't prefer it. So we suggest that you avoid it altogether.

Avoid addressing the cover letter to the recruiters

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A recruiter's job is to sort the resumes based on skills and experience and pass them to the hiring managers. They don't generally read the cover letter.

So, it's a waste of opportunity if you address the cover letter to the recruiter.

Instead, always address the cover letter to the hiring manager.

Ensure that you are addressing the cover letter to the right person

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Online information is not updated regularly. Often, the concerning persons leave the job, but their email id is still there on the website.

That's why to be careful when researching the hiring manager's name and crosscheck if you have any doubt by calling the company directly.

Do not mess up the hiring manager's name

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There is a saying that "The first impression is the last impression."

Try to make an excellent first impression by writing the hiring manager's name the correct spelling.

Don't stress too much

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If you have the relevant skills and experience for a job, addressing a cover letter to the wrong person might not be a big deal. So, if you can't find the hiring manager's name, just put the safest cover letter address with no name "Dear Hiring Manager."

Key Takeaways

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With that, we have answered all of your questions on "how to address cover letter without a name?". Addressing a cover letter without a name should not be difficult if you can keep some points in mind. Here are the key takeaways of the blog:

Never send the cover letter to the hiring manager without any salutation. If you don't find the hiring manager's name, just start with a good old "Dear Hiring Manager."
Do some online research, or call the company directly to ask for the hiring manager's name.
Try to make the cover letter address without a name as personalized as possible.
Ensure to use a formal salutation for a cover letter with or without a name.

With that said, if you want to create a cover letter for yourself without a name, go to Hiration Cover Letter Builder, and choose from 20+ designs to create a professional-grade cover letter for yourself.

Reach out to us if you need any assistance with creating a professional cover letter at team@hiraiton.com, and we will be happy to help you.