Questions About to Address the Cover Letter

How Should I Address the Cover Letter When I Don't Know If They're Male or Female?

by Shae

I'm unsure if the person I'm addressing my cover letter to is male or female. Do I write "Dear Mr./Ms." or what is the proper thing to do?

ANSWER: Hi Shae... If you don't know how to address a cover letter, then you don't have enough information. A cover letter will ALWAYS be more powerful and effective when it is personally addressed to someone.

You SHOULD be able to get this information in most cases. A call to the receptionist at small to mid-sized operations will probably net you the name you need. Just ask something like, "I'm sending in my resume in answer to the ad in the paper, and I want to be sure it gets to the right person. Can you tell me the name of the recruiter?" (Or the Director of HR, etc.) If you're calling a larger organization, you may want to ask to speak with the HR department and then pose your question to them.

If you absolutely can't get the name and title of the person doing the hiring, then you can just address your letter to Dear Recruiter. But that is not likely to be as effective, so I'd do your research whenever possible. The effort you put into it will be well worth it when you get the call for that job interview!

Good luck!

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How do you write a cover letter when the employers don't identify themselves.

by Jamie S
(Coal Township, PA, US)

I was recently laid off from my last job and I already have a good resume made and I know how to write a cover letter.

The problem is most of the job descriptions I've read online don't mention the name of the company or tell you who to make the cover letter to but most of these employers prefer you to add a cover letter with your resume.

I was reading where most employers don't like when you send a cover letter to "Whom it may concern" or "dear employer, sir or m'am".

How can you write a cover letter when you have no way of knowing who the employer is until they call you for an interview? If a company requests a cover letter with the resume shouldn't it be the employers responsibility to at least include in their "how to apply for this job" requirements to at least include a name of a person to write the cover letter to or at least the name of the company?

I guess I'm wondering if in these cases if it's OK to address your cover letter to "whom it may concern"?

ANSWER: Hi Jamie... You make some good points. Seems a bit of a Catch-22 to require you to get personal but then fail to provide the needed contact info. There's only so much you can do.

I'd probably go with an address slightly warmer than the old-fashioned "to whom it may concern". How about something like "Dear Hiring Manager" or "Dear Recruiter"?

To your success,
Kathi

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How Do You Address a Cover Letter to a Woman?

by Pete
(London, Ontario Canada)

I have the name of the person I am writing my cover letter to; it is a woman. However, there is no indication as to whether she is single, married or other. How does one address the letter, as Miss, Mrs. or Ms?

ANSWER: I think if you don't know whether a woman is married or not, you should use the most generic form of address, which is "Ms." For older generations who don't subscribe to what they may view as a feminist form of address, there is a slight chance this could offend. However, since the Ms. designation has been in use since the 1960s, I think it less and less likely that women would be offended by this term. I can tell you for a fact that I much prefer Ms. over either Miss or Mrs. any day. Also, it may be the most correct, in a wide variety of cases.

To your success,
Kathi

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