How to address a cover letter
Address a cover letter to a specific person whenever you can find one: "Dear Jordan Lee," or "Dear Ms. Lee," if you know the honorific. When you cannot find a name, use a role-based greeting such as "Dear Hiring Manager," or "Dear [Department] Hiring Team,". Avoid the dated "To Whom It May Concern," and never use "Dear Sir or Madam,".
Find the name first
A greeting addressed to a real person shows you did your homework. Before defaulting to something generic, spend a few minutes looking. The job posting itself sometimes names the hiring manager or recruiter. The company's team or about page often lists department heads. A search of the company's LinkedIn page for the relevant department, or for a recruiter who posted the role, frequently turns up the right name. If the posting came through a recruiter, you can simply ask them who the letter should be addressed to.
How to format the name
Once you have a name, keep the greeting clean and professional:
- Full name is the safest form when you are unsure of an honorific: "Dear Jordan Lee,".
- Use "Mr." or "Ms." only when you are confident it is correct. "Ms." is the standard for women regardless of marital status.
- Use "Dr." for someone with a doctorate or medical degree when relevant.
- End the greeting with a comma or a colon; a colon reads slightly more formal.
When you are not certain whether a name belongs to a man or a woman, use the full name rather than guessing an honorific. It is respectful and avoids an awkward mistake in the very first line.
When you cannot find a name
If a genuine search turns up nothing, a role-based greeting is the right move. The strongest options are specific to the team or function:
- "Dear Hiring Manager," works for almost any role and is widely accepted.
- "Dear Marketing Hiring Team," or "Dear Engineering Hiring Team," ties the letter to the department.
- "Dear Recruiting Team," fits when a talent or recruiting team clearly owns the process.
These read as intentional rather than lazy, because they still point at the group actually reading applications.
Greetings to avoid
A few openings work against you. "To Whom It May Concern," is understood but sounds impersonal and dated. "Dear Sir or Madam," assumes a binary and formal register that feels out of step with most workplaces. "Hey," or "Hi there," are too casual for a formal application. And "Dear [Company Name] Team," is weak when a more specific role greeting is available. Skipping a greeting entirely also reads as unfinished.
Match the tone to the company
The right level of formality depends on the employer. A law firm, bank, or government office calls for a traditional "Dear Ms. Lee," with a colon. A startup or creative agency may accept a warmer "Dear Jordan,". When in doubt, lean slightly more formal; it is easier to look respectful than to look overly familiar with someone you have never met.
Put the greeting in context
The greeting is one line, but it sets the tone for everything after it. A specific, correctly formatted opening signals attention to detail before the reader has read a single argument. Once the greeting is right, the opening paragraph has to earn the reader's interest just as quickly, which is covered in our guide on how to write a cover letter, step by step. If you would rather see finished openings, our cover letter examples and template show complete letters you can adapt.
Email letters versus uploaded letters
Where the letter lives changes how much formatting sits above the greeting. In an emailed cover letter, the email body is the letter, so you go almost straight to the greeting: a clear subject line, then "Dear Ms. Lee," and into the opening. There is no need for a printed date or mailing-address block. In a letter uploaded as a separate document or attached as a file, a traditional header is appropriate: your name and contact details, the date, and the recipient's name, title, and company, followed by the greeting. Match the level of formality to the channel rather than forcing a formal block into a quick email.
Common mistakes to avoid
A few small errors undercut an otherwise strong opening:
- Misspelling the hiring manager's name, which is worse than using a role greeting; copy and paste the spelling from a reliable source.
- Guessing an honorific and getting it wrong; use the full name when unsure.
- Reusing a greeting from a previous application that still names the wrong person or company.
- Being overly casual with someone you have never met, or overly stiff at a company with a relaxed culture.
Reading the greeting out loud and checking the name against the posting or the company site takes a moment and prevents the kind of mistake a reader notices immediately.