Address a cover letter to the person who will read it: “Dear Ms. Rivera:” or “Dear Jordan Rivera:” when you know the name, and “Dear Hiring Manager:” when you do not. Skip “To Whom It May Concern.” Sign off with “Sincerely,” and your full name. In an email, drop the address block, start at the greeting and put your phone number under your name.
Key takeaways
- A name beats a job title, and a job title beats a generic greeting. Spend five minutes looking before you fall back.
- When you cannot find a name, use “Dear Hiring Manager,” “Dear Hiring Team” or “Dear Hiring Committee.”
- Use “Mr.” or “Ms.” only when you are sure. Otherwise write the full name: “Dear Alex Chen:”.
- “Sincerely,” is the safe sign-off. “Best regards,” and “Respectfully,” also work.
- In an email the message is the letter: a clear subject line, no address block, and your contact details under your name.
01
Who should you address a cover letter to?
Address it to the person most likely to decide whether you get an interview. In order of preference:
- The contact named in the posting. If the posting says who to send materials to, use that name and no other.
- The hiring manager. This is the person the role reports to, often named in the posting as a title (“reports to the Director of Finance”).
- The recruiter handling the opening, if you know who it is.
- The team or committee, when several people will read every application or you cannot identify one person.
02
How do you find the hiring manager’s name?
- Reread the posting and the application page. Look for a contact person, a “reports to” line or an email address with a name in it.
- Check the employer’s website. Team, staff and leadership pages often list department heads by title.
- Search LinkedIn. Search the company name with the title the role reports to, or with “recruiter” or “talent acquisition.”
- Ask your contact. If someone referred you or you know an employee, ask who is hiring for the role.
- Call the main line. A receptionist can often tell you who leads the team.
Hi, my name is [Your name]. I'm applying for the [Job title] opening and I'd like to address my cover letter to the right person. Could you tell me who is leading the hiring for that role, and how they spell their name?
Stop after a few minutes. If you are choosing between two possible names, or you are not sure the person still works there, use a general greeting. A wrong name does more harm than no name. When you do find one, copy the spelling and the job title exactly as the company writes them.
03
What greeting should you use when you know the name?
| What you know | Greeting |
|---|---|
| The name, and the title the person uses | “Dear Ms. Rivera:” or “Dear Mr. Okafor:” |
| The name, but not which title the person uses | “Dear Jordan Rivera:” |
| The person holds a doctorate or is a professor | “Dear Dr. Rivera:” or “Dear Professor Rivera:” |
| The person uses “Mx.” | “Dear Mx. Rivera:” |
| A recruiter has already written to you by first name | “Dear Priya,” |
| Two named readers | “Dear Ms. Rivera and Mr. Cho:” |
A few conventions:
- Never guess a title from a first name. The full name is always correct and never offends.
- Use “Ms.,” not “Mrs.” or “Miss,” unless the person uses one of those titles.
- Colon or comma? A colon after the greeting is the traditional form for an American business letter, and Purdue’s Online Writing Lab shows it that way. A comma is common and fine, especially in email. Use one or the other consistently.
- Match their formality. If the recruiter signs emails with a first name, replying “Dear Priya,” is polite, not presumptuous.
04
What greeting should you use when you cannot find a name?
| Greeting | When it fits |
|---|---|
| “Dear Hiring Manager:” | The default. The career centers at UNC and UT Austin both give it as the fallback |
| “Dear Hiring Team:” | Several people will review applications |
| “Dear Hiring Committee:” or “Dear Search Committee:” | Universities, nonprofits, government and any role filled by a panel |
| “Dear Human Resources Director:” | You know the job title of the person receiving applications but not the name |
| “Dear [Department] Team:” | Small employers where the whole team reads applications |
Greetings to avoid:
- “To Whom It May Concern.” The career offices at Penn and the University of Texas at Austin both tell students not to use it. It signals that you did not look.
- “Dear Sir or Madam.” It assumes the reader’s gender and reads as dated.
- “Hello,” “Hi there” or “Hey.” Too casual for a letter to someone you have not met.
- No greeting at all. A letter that starts cold reads like a form.
05
How do you lay out the address block?
A cover letter sent as a document follows business letter format. Purdue lays out the heading as your contact information, then the full date, then the reader’s name, title and company address. Penn’s version uses the reader’s name, title and organization without a street address. Either is correct.
[Your name] [City, State] | [Phone] | [Email] [Month day, year] [Reader's name] [Reader's title] [Organization] [Street address, if you have it] [City, State ZIP] Dear [Mr./Ms./Dr. Last name or full name]:
Use the same header as your resume so the two documents look like a set. Write the reader’s job title the way the organization does. For the rules on capital letters, see when to capitalize job titles.
06
How do you sign off a cover letter?
End with a short closing line, a complimentary close and your full name.
| Close | Tone |
|---|---|
| “Sincerely,” | The standard. Right for every employer |
| “Best regards,” or “Kind regards,” | Slightly warmer. Common in email |
| “Respectfully,” | Formal. Suits government, legal and military settings |
| “Thank you,” | Fine in an email when your last line is not already a thank-you |
Skip “Cheers,” “Thanks so much,” “Yours truly” and anything followed by an emoji. Capitalize only the first word of the close, and put a comma after it.
On a printed letter, leave space between the close and your typed name and sign there in ink. Purdue suggests leaving at least three lines. For a letter sent electronically, the University of North Carolina’s career center says to type “Sincerely” and your name, and adds that an electronic signature is not expected.
07
Email or attachment: what changes?
Follow the posting’s instructions first. When there are none, the table shows what to keep.
| How you send it | Address block | Starts with | Ends with |
|---|---|---|---|
| PDF upload or attachment | Yes | The greeting, after the block | Close and typed name |
| Pasted into a text box on the application | No | The greeting | Close and typed name |
| The body of an email | No | The greeting | Close, name, phone number and LinkedIn URL |
When you apply by email, the University of North Carolina’s career center advises putting the cover letter in the text of the email and attaching the resume, unless you are told otherwise. The University of Texas at Austin’s College of Natural Sciences career office gives the same advice: leave out the header, date and address section, keep the greeting and the body, and put your name, the job title and any posting number in the subject line.
Subject: [Job title] application, [posting number if any]: [Your name] Dear [Mr./Ms. Last name or Hiring Manager], [Opening paragraph: the role and your strongest qualification.] [One or two short paragraphs of evidence.] [Closing line.] My resume is attached. Sincerely, [Your name] [Phone] [LinkedIn URL]
Keep an emailed letter shorter than a one-page document, so it is easy to read on any screen. For subject lines, file names and attachments, see how to email a resume. For what goes between the greeting and the sign-off, see how to write a cover letter and these cover letter examples.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Is “To Whom It May Concern” acceptable on a cover letter?
Avoid it. University career offices, including Penn’s and the University of Texas at Austin’s, tell students not to use it. It suggests you did not try to find out who is hiring. “Dear Hiring Manager” does the same job and reads as current.
Should you use “Dear Hiring Manager” or a name?
Use a name when you have confirmed it from the posting, the company or someone who works there. Use “Dear Hiring Manager” when you have not. A general greeting is neutral. A wrong or misspelled name is a mistake in the first line.
How do you address a cover letter when you do not know the person’s gender?
Write the full name with no title: “Dear Jordan Rivera:”. It is correct for everyone and avoids guessing. Use “Dr.” or “Professor” if the person holds that title, and “Mx.” only if they use it themselves.
Do you put a comma or a colon after the greeting?
Either works. A colon is the traditional choice for a formal business letter in American English. A comma is slightly less formal and is normal in email. Pick one and use the matching level of formality in the rest of the letter.
How do you sign a cover letter sent by email?
Type a close such as “Sincerely,” then your full name on the next line. You do not need a handwritten or scanned signature. Add your phone number under your name so the reader can call without opening the attachment.
Should the cover letter be the email body or an attachment?
Do what the posting says. If it says nothing, put the letter in the body of the email and attach your resume, which is what the career centers at UNC and UT Austin advise. Attach the letter as a PDF as well when the employer asks for “a cover letter and resume” as documents.
Sources
- Purdue OWL: Cover Letter Headings: what the heading contains and the order of your details, the date and the reader’s name, title and address.
- Purdue OWL: Quick Formatting Tips for Cover Letters: the greeting followed by a colon, the space left for a signature and signing in ink.
- Penn Career Services: Write a Cover Letter: the address layout, “Dear Hiring Committee” and the advice against “To Whom It May Concern.”
- UNC Career Center: Writing Effective Cover Letters: addressing by name and title or by the reader’s job title, putting the letter in the email text and typing your name to sign.
- UT Austin College of Natural Sciences Career Services: Cover Letters: the email subject line, omitting the header in an email, and “Dear Hiring Manager” or “Dear Hiring Team.”
Published by Jobbie and last updated on October 6, 2026. This guide is general information for job seekers, not legal, tax or financial advice. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.