5 Ways to Screw Up Your Cover Letter Greeting

Thanks for the tips, Julie.

Very helpful. I’ve written “to whom it may concern” in the past – but it really seems dated now.

I've used "To Whom..." and "Dear Sir or Madam" in the past, too, Greg! It used to be pretty standard. But nowadays, it's usually easy to figure out the person's name.

TRICK #1: If a job posting says "Position reports directly to Director of Operations," you can go to the company web site, find out who the Director of Operations is, and address your cover letter to that person.

TRICK #2: Check the e-mail recipient's name. If it says something like "Send resumes to jsmith@company.com," you can call the company's main number, use the voice mail directory to find out if the "j" in "jsmith" stands for John or Jane or Joseph or Julie :)

That's very good ways for Covering letters...thanks

I'm finding a lot of job postings that indicate resumes/cover letters should be sent to "HR Recruiting Staff" or "Staffing Recruiter" or something to that effect. When researched 9 times out of 10 there is no one name to address the letter to. If not using "To Whom..." or something to that effect what would you suggest? I have tried calling companies for a name, looking it up online, asking people who works at the company... most larger companies are outsourcing their recruiting and HR these days - employees may not even know who these people are...

True, mward, there are times when your hands are tied. In a case like you describe, I don't know that there is a definitive answer. I would be inclined to format my cover letter more like a memo than a formal letter -- something like:

To: HR Recruiting Staff, XYZ Company Re: Sales Coordinator position (Reference No. 12345)

Greetings, I am very interested in …

While a salutation like “Greetings” (or "Good Day") is not ideal, I do like the fact that it sounds more personal than “To Whom…” and it eliminates the awkward gender issues of “Dear Sir or Madam” or “Dear Madam or Sir.”

If anybody has a better alternative, please post a comment!

What should you do if the Hiring person has an indeterminate gender. For example, Kelly, Raven, Jayden, Tristan, etc. Would it be appropriate to just call the company and ask if that person is male or female? Or is there some "indeterminate" greeting like just "M." to address this person?

Great question, Lisa. I've faced this problem myself. I think your idea to call the company and ask is the best way to solve the dilemma. A simple phone call saying, "Hi, My name is ____ and I'm going to be submitting a resume to Chris Smith in the X Department. I'm not sure whether Chris is a man or a woman. Can you help me?" In fact, this can be a great way to get your name floating around the office. ("Hey Chris, somebody named Lisa just called to ask if you're a man or a woman!") Although it's a humorous exchange, at least Chris now knows that you are someone who doesn't just "assume."

If there's no way to contact the company, I've gone with "Dear Mr. or Ms. Smith:" in the past. It's not ideal, but it does the trick.

THANKS A LOT.

IT HELPED ME LAND A JOB.

Wow, congratulations, Maria Clara! That totally makes my day :)

All the best to you in your new position!!

make sure you are addressing it to the right company through out the letter.

@Jasmine Excellent point, and an easy mistake to make when editing an existing cover letter to tailor it for a new position. - Julie

What would you do if you don't know the name of the company. For example if you are applying for a position on craiglist, and all the job says is "Expanding Physicians Office in need of a Customer Care Specialist" I think I've resolved that Dear Sir or Madame is the only way to go. Any other suggestions?

@ John B My suggestion would be similar to the reply I gave to mward above (March 5). I would NOT use Dear Sir or Madam. Madam just seems so last-century. And BTW, the English form is Madam with no "e" at least in the US.

In the case you describe, I'd address my cover letter like a memo:

ATTN: Hiring Manager for Customer Care Specialist Position

Then I'd use a salutation such as Greetings or Good Day. If the employer is "hip" enough to be advertising on craigslist, they are probably not going to be expecting old-fashioned business letter form.

But in the end, there's no definitive answer,so weigh the options and do what feels right for YOU and your brand.

And good luck! --Julie

very good.

Hi,

What should I put after "Dear" in this case, bearing in mind that this is the first letter to this company:

To: Jxxxx Services Attn: Mr. Dave Sxxxx/ Chief Operating Officer Copy: Ms. Sara Mxxxx / Director of Marketing & Communications

Dear "?????"

@ Bilal

Although I would spell out their names as written in the address portion of the cover letter, first names included, I would do the salutation with no first names:

Dear Mr. Sxxxx and Ms. Mxxxxx:

Until you have met them, and they have made it clear that they wish to be addressed on a first-name basis, stick with the formal Mr. and Ms.

And good luck with the job!

-- Julie

Hello,

If I know the name of the person that will be supervising the position, and will be on the hiring committee, but don't know the names of the other two people who will be on the hiring committee, how would I pose my greeting?

@ Heather,

Hmm. That's a tough one. I think I would approach it like this:

(We'll call the supervisor Ms. Brown.)

Dear Ms. Brown and Other Members of the Hiring Committee:

Another option might be to just say "Dear Ms. Brown:" and then say something in the cover letter like, "I hope that you will be kind enough to share this with the other members of the hiring committee, whose names I don't yet know."

GOOD LUCK!

Julie

P.S. Anybody else have an idea?

Found the info position, but it seems to fall short on scope when it comes to the greeting. I intend to use Hello, but "Greetings" in a memo format sounds okay. Just which this aspect of no name greetings was expanded upon.

Hi, I am facing a problem being not able to know for sure that a certain name in a country is a man or lady..!! Same name is a man in a country whilst it is a woman name in other country. I have two good websites that tell whether a certain name is a man or woman but even though these two sites are giving that same name might be man's or lady's in same country even, so what to do? Regards, Bilal

Hi Bilal, I actually addressed this question above in a comment dated March 31, 2008. To recap: if possible, simply phone the company and ask politely if the person is a man or a woman. If that's not possible, I'd go with:

Dear Mr. or Ms. Smith:

or

Dear Chris Smith:

Thanks dear Julie for your last answer. My question now might be related to business not to writing or grammar. When I would like to introduce my company to two persons from the same company (say the commercial manager and the COO) will it be more appropriate to approach them separately or together in one letter? Bilal

Thanks dear Julie for your last answer. My question now might be related to business not to writing or grammar. When I would like to introduce my company to two persons from the same company (say the commercial manager and the COO) will it be more appropriate to approach them separately or together in one letter? Bilal

@Bilal I'm afraid that falls outside of the job search arena, so I'm hesitant to try and answer. I suggest you try an Internet search for business letters or business marketing techniques. Good Luck! --Julie

I found this helpful but I am not supposed to contact the company at all to find out who will be receiving my resume and cover letter. I think I have to go with Sir or Madam.

One concern about your advice - it has always been my understanding that Ms does not have a period at the end of it. I believe that this is because it's not actually short for anything so it does not require the period that would denote it as an abbreviation. Otherwise, very helpful advice! Thanks!

@Danielle Thanks for your comments! Your concern about the period at the end of Ms[.] sent me off on a Googling adventure! I was about 10 years old when the term Ms. came into being. I remember having my little feminist heart awakened by how logical it was -- we don't distinguish men by their marital status, so why are women separated into Mrs. and Miss? Well, of course, women should be clearly defined by whether they have a man or not! [sarcasm]

Oh, don't get me started....

So I knew you were correct that Ms is not an abbreviation for anything, which logically would mean no period is necessary. But in all my years of reading style guides and editorial rulebooks, I had never seen anything about this.

OK, I'm rambling. As far as I can tell, the term may have originated without punctuation, but soon our expectations and our need for consistency took over, and Ms. [with a period] became the standard. Even the journalistic pioneers at Ms. magazine decided to use the period.

At this point, it's probably safe to say that leaving off the period will look like an error to 99.9% of the population.

Thanks, I had fun researching that!

Julie

Hi: I'm going to be uploading my resume/cover letter for a job so I'm not even sure who will be reading the resume...how should I address it? This is a company that has a lot of offices around the US so I don't know that their HR is even done in the city that I'm applying for.. any suggestions??

@TThomas

If the job ad says "position reports to Director of Blah-Blah," search the company's web site to see if you can find out the name of their Director of Blah-Blah.

If you can’t find it on the web site, call the company's main phone number. Ask for the name of the hiring manager for the position (with correct spelling title, and department). Or ask to be connected to the Blah-Blah Department, and see if they'll tell you the hiring manager's name. Maybe they will, maybe they won't. Only one way to find out!

IMPORTANT: You should always follow the employer's exact instructions for applying, so upload it online as instructed.

But if you CAN find the hiring manager's name, send a separate, personalized resume and cover letter. It's one way to stand out as someone who goes the extra mile.

Good luck,

Julie

Hi. I am writing a cover letter and I know two of the hiring committee but I was told that there might be one or two more as well. How do I address the cover letter? Do I do something like this: The Work Lab John xxx, President, CEO Marvin xxx, General Manager Castle City, BC 3R8 A8R

Dear Mr. XXXX, and Mr. XXXX,

This would help me so much. I hate writing cover letters... :-) But this job might be the one and I am afraid of making a mistake. Your site is wonderful and so very helpful. Thank you so much.

Marie

Hi again. Or should it say:

Dear Mr. XXXX and Mr. XXXX, and Other Members of the Hiring Committee, ?? Help!! :-) Thank you.

Marie

@ Marie

Hi Marie, Thanks so much for the compliments! You are definitely on the right track with this greeting.

If you want to be very formal and proper, use the plural form of "Mr." which is "Mssrs." Like this:

Dear Mssrs. Smith and Jones, and Other Members of the Hiring Committee:

BTW, Mssrs. stands for "Messieurs" which is the French word for "Sirs," but it's also the official English way to address more than one man at a time.

If it's not a formal, traditional company, then I'd go with:

Dear Mr. Smith, Mr. Jones, and Other Members of the Hiring Committee:

And good luck with this job!!! Let us know how it goes.

~~Julie