Who to Address a Cover Letter To: Names, Greetings and Examples

Address your cover letter to the person who will decide on your application, usually the hiring manager the role reports to. If you cannot find that name, address the department head, the recruiter or the team for the role (“Dear Marketing Hiring Team”), and use “Dear Hiring Manager” when nothing more specific is available. Avoid “To Whom It May Concern” when a better option takes a few minutes to find.

The same rules apply whether you write every letter yourself or let an AI job application bot draft and send them. Below: who to address, how to find the name, the exact greeting formats and examples you can copy.

Key takeaways

• The best addressee is the hiring manager for the role; the department head, the recruiter and the team are the next-best options.
• Spend about 10 to 15 minutes looking for a name: the job posting, company team pages, LinkedIn, your network and a quick call or email.
• Use “Dear” plus the full name when you are unsure of a title or pronouns, and drop honorifics you cannot confirm.
• With no name, a team or role greeting beats “Dear Hiring Manager,” which beats “To Whom It May Concern.”

Who should you address a cover letter to?

Address it to the person most likely to read it and make the decision. Work down this list until you can confirm someone.

Priority	Who	Example greeting	When to use it
1	Hiring manager (your future boss)	Dear Priya Shah,	You can identify who the role reports to
2	Head of the department	Dear Dr. Alvarez:	The manager is unclear, but the department head is listed
3	Recruiter or talent acquisition contact	Dear Sam Rivera,	A recruiter is named on the posting or contacted you
4	The team or department	Dear Product Design Team,	You know the department but no names
5	The role’s hiring manager or search committee	Dear Account Executive Hiring Manager,	You know only the role
6	A generic hiring manager	Dear Hiring Manager,	Nothing more specific can be found

It is close to the order in a guide from Michigan State University’s Career Services Network, which starts with the person you would report to, then the department head, and only then turns to the department, the recruiter or a generic title. We put a named recruiter ahead of the team because a named person is often the first to read your letter.

Once you know who you are writing to, the letter itself goes faster. The AI cover letter generator drafts a tailored letter from your resume and the job posting, and the AI resume creator keeps your resume consistent with it.

If you are applying at volume, AI automated job application sends tailored applications to roles that match your filters. For a single letter, try our free cover letter generator.

How to find the hiring manager’s name

Give yourself 10 to 15 minutes per application, and stop once you have a confident answer. These sources work best, roughly in this order:

1. The job posting. Look for a contact name, a “reports to” line or an email address near the end of the listing.
2. The company website. Team, leadership and department pages often list managers by function.
3. LinkedIn. Search the company for titles such as “[Department] Manager,” “Head of [Department]” or “Director of [Function],” filtered by location.
4. Your network. A current or former employee can tell you who leads the team, and may refer you.
5. A short call or email. Ask the front desk or the recruiting inbox who is hiring for the role, and keep it to one question.
6. A hiring manager lookup. The Hiring Manager Finder in JobsAICopilot is built to help you find the likely hiring manager for a role, so you can address the letter and follow up with the right person.

Check that the name is current, because people change roles often. Confirm the person still works there and still leads the team; if two names seem plausible, choose the more senior one or switch to the team greeting.

How to write the greeting

When you have a name

• Full name, no title: “Dear Jordan Lee,” is the safest choice when you are not sure of someone’s title or pronouns.
• Title and last name: “Dear Ms. Taylor:” or “Dear Mr. Garcia:” works only when you can confirm the honorific.
• Academic or professional title: “Dear Dr. Patel:” or “Dear Professor Kim:” uses the title the person uses on their own profile.

The MSU guide recommends erring toward formal when you are unsure and dropping gendered language you cannot confirm. Miami University’s Howe Writing Center gives the classic formal pattern: title and last name, followed by a colon.

Avoid first names on their own unless the company culture is clearly casual or you already know the person.

When you are unsure about the name itself

Names that could belong to anyone, unfamiliar name orders and hyphenated surnames cause most greeting mistakes. Copy the name exactly as the person writes it on LinkedIn or the company site, and use the full name rather than guessing which part is the family name.

If the person lists a title such as Mx. or Dr. on their profile, use it. Otherwise, “Dear [First name] [Last name],” is always correct.

Colon or comma?

Both are correct in U.S. business writing. A colon (“Dear Dr. Patel:”) is more formal and suits law, government, finance and academia, while a comma (“Dear Jordan Lee,”) reads slightly warmer and is common in email applications. Pick one and match the tone of the rest of the letter.

Greetings to use when there is no name

These options, from most to least specific, all read as professional:

• Dear [Department] Hiring Team, for example “Dear Marketing Hiring Team,”
• Dear [Company] Talent Acquisition Team, for example “Dear Acme Recruiting Team,”
• Dear [Job Title] Hiring Manager, for example “Dear Data Analyst Hiring Manager,”
• Dear [Job Title] Search Committee, for academic and executive roles
• Dear Hiring Manager, when you know only that a role exists
• Dear Recruiter, when an agency or recruiter posted the role

Is “To Whom It May Concern” still acceptable?

Advice differs. The MSU guide argues the phrase signals a lack of research, while Miami University’s handout still lists it as an option when you do not know who will read the letter.

Our recommendation: use it only after every more specific option has failed, for example in a blind ad that does not name the company.

Greetings to avoid

Greeting	Why to avoid it	Use instead
Dear Sir or Madam	Dated and gendered	Dear Hiring Manager
To Whom It May Concern	Impersonal; suggests no research	Dear [Team] Hiring Team
Hey there, Hi team or Hi guys	Too casual for most applications	Hello [Team] Team, at casual companies
Dear Mrs. [Last name]	Assumes marital status	Dear Ms. [Last name] or the full name
A guessed name	One wrong name undermines the whole letter	A role or team greeting
No greeting at all	Feels abrupt	Any professional greeting

Special cases

Applying through a recruitment agency

Address the recruiter who posted the role or contacted you, by name. If the ad lists no contact, “Dear Recruiter” or “Dear [Agency] Recruitment Team” works.

Academic and executive search committees

Address the committee by role, such as “Dear Members of the Biology Faculty Search Committee.” Use the chair’s name if the posting gives it.

Email applications

Put the greeting at the top of the email body and keep the same formality as an attached letter. Our guide on what to write in an email when sending a resume has templates you can adapt.

Internal applications and referrals

If you already know the manager, a first-name greeting can be fine, so match how you normally address them. Mention the referral or your current team in the first sentence.

Startups and casual cultures

“Hello Product Team,” or “Hi Jordan,” can fit a relaxed company, but check how the company writes on its careers page first. When in doubt, stay one step more formal.

Your first sentence after the greeting

The greeting and the opening line work as a pair, so connect them. If someone referred you, name them in the first sentence (“Maria Lopez on your analytics team suggested I apply”). If a recruiter contacted you, refer to that conversation.

Otherwise, name the role and give one specific reason you want it. A tailored first sentence shows the reader that the name at the top was not the only part you researched.

Cover letter greeting examples

You know the hiring manager’s name

Dear Ms. Nguyen:

I am excited to apply for the Senior UX Designer role at [Company]. Your team’s user-first approach to design matches how I have worked for the past six years…

You know the department, not the name

Dear Marketing Hiring Team,

Please accept my application for the Content Strategist role at [Company]. With five years of B2B content experience, I am eager to help your team…

A recruiter is your contact

Dear Sam Rivera,

Thank you for sharing the Operations Coordinator role with me. My experience running scheduling for a 40-person warehouse team fits the requirements you described…

An academic search committee

Dear Members of the History Department Search Committee:

I am writing to apply for the Assistant Professor of Modern European History position…

You truly do not know who will read it

Dear Hiring Manager,

I am writing to express my interest in the Software Developer position at [Company]. My experience building internal tools in Python aligns well with the role…

Formatting tips for your cover letter greeting

• Align it to the left. No centering, bold or italics.
• Use a colon or a comma consistently. A colon is more formal; a comma is slightly warmer.
• Leave one blank line between the greeting and your first paragraph.
• Match spelling exactly, including accents, hyphens and capital letters in the name.
• Match the formality of the greeting to the rest of the letter and to the company.

Write the letter as carefully as the greeting

A correct greeting earns a few seconds of attention; the rest of the letter has to keep it. If you are still searching, our guide on how to find a job faster covers the full routine, and resume builder alternatives compares tools for the resume that goes with your letter.

The AI cover letter generator in JobsAICopilot drafts a tailored letter from your resume and each job posting, and the Hiring Manager Finder helps you put the right name at the top. Compare plans on the pricing page, or browse more guides in Applying for Jobs.