How To Use “Dear Hiring Manager” On Your Cover Letter

While saying “Dear Hiring Manager” on a cover letter is entirely professional, it’s also super generic. You should only use it if you can’t find the name of the recipient despite your best efforts.

There’s an order of operations that should be followed every time you go to address a cover letter, and which step of the process you eventually settle on should depend on what kind of information you have available.

Here are the steps you should take any time you go to address a cover letter — your goal is to stop at the earliest step you can manage:

Start with what you know. Do you know their name? How about their gender and preferred pronouns? If so, then address the letter to “Dear Mr.” or “Dear Ms.” followed by just their last name. This is the most preferred method of address — it’s personal and unpretentious.
Don’t assume too much. Don’t know their gender? Still use “Dear” to address the letter, but instead of using just the last name, used your contact’s full name. It’s still personal, perhaps a little less “professional,” but it’s better than being presumptuous.
Last resort. If all else fails, then just writing “Dear Hiring Manager” is acceptable, but be aware that a name is preferred in almost all cases.
Consider alternatives. “To Whom It May Concern” might be your first instinct, but as salutations go, “Dear” is a warmer and more congenial way to address someone. “To Whom” sounds a little robotic, and is never a good option. We’ll cover other alternatives below.

Examples of How to Address a Cover Letter

Here’s a good example of following the above process, starting at a place of having full information about your contact and ending up at a place where you don’t even know if the person reading your resume is just a robot.

Full knowledge: “Dear Mrs. Belvedere”

Name known, no known gender or gender is non-binary: “Dear Ramona Belvedere”

Gender known, no name: “Dear Mrs.”

When you know that they’re a doctor: “Dear Dr. Belvedere”

When they’re a doctor but not an MD: “Dear Professor Belvedere”

When you don’t know who they are at all: “Dear Hiring Manager”

How to Find the Hiring Manager

We’ve got a whole article about how to find the hiring manager, but we’ll cover the steps briefly here:

Check the job advertisement. Sounds like an obvious first step, but we have to start somewhere. If you can’t find a full name, check the email address they want you to send your application to.

If it indicates an individual, use that information in the following steps. (Sometimes it’ll be really obvious though, like [email protected]).
Check the company’s website. Either look at the job application section or the “about us” page. You can sometimes find more information about department heads here. See if any names align with the email address provided in the job opening.
Call the company. Finding the right number to call might be tricky, but once you reach someone in HR or the front desk, they should be able to help you out. Mention the job posting and ask for the hiring manager’s name — easy peasy.
Use LinkedIn. Look for the company’s employees on LinkedIn. You might not be able to definitively determine the hiring manager from your research alone, but you might find somebody you can ask.

For example, an HR head or someone who works in the department you’re interested in.
Use an inside source. If you have a friend in the company, we’re surprised you’ve made it this long without reaching out to them!

People like to help, and if this person is an internal reference for you as well, they surely want you to make the best impression. That means avoiding “Dear Hiring Manager” if you can.

Tips for Using “Dear Hiring Manager”

If you’ve tried everything and still can’t find the hiring manager’s name or a relevant department head, it’s not the worst thing to use “Dear Hiring Manager.” However, you should keep these tips in mind if you do:

Customize your cover letter. “Dear Hiring Manager” is about as generic as it gets as far as salutations go. Don’t let the rest of your cover letter be equally generic. Otherwise, the recipient may think you’ve just copy-pasted this cover letter all around town, which is always a turn off for employers.

Open with a strong first sentence and use the body to express your enthusiasm for the specific job and company. Cover your most significant qualifications and accomplishments. Utilize keywords from the job description when discussing your skills and relevant experience.
Use a clear subject line. Most cover letters are sent via email these days. Since you couldn’t find the hiring manager’s name, it’s likely you’re sending it to a generic, company-wide, job application email address.

Ensure that your subject link provides a clear explanation of why you’re writing. The standard “[Full Name] – _______ Position” is a safe bet.
Send from a professional email address. Your email might look a bit spammy with “Dear Hiring Manager” — don’t compound the recipient’s instinct to immediately delete your email by sending it from [email protected].

Choose a professional email address, but be careful of using one tied to your current place of employment. They may be able to see your activities, and that would be awkward.

Alternatives to “Dear Hiring Manager”

We’re going to start off by reiterating that “To Whom It May Concern” is never an option. That said, “Dear Hiring Manager” isn’t the only choice you have available. In a scenario where you’re reaching out to a recruiter or a recruiting team, it might actually sound odd to address your cover letter to the hiring manager.

Let’s take a look at other appropriate ways to start your cover letter when you don’t know the recipient’s name:

Dear Recruiter
Dear Recruitment Team
Dear Hiring Team
Dear [Department] Manager
Dear [Department]
Dear Recruitment Committee
Dear Hiring Committee
Dear Recruiting Manager
Dear HR
Dear Human Resources
Dear [Title of person you’d report to]

Expert Opinion

How To Use “Dear Hiring Manager” On Your Cover Letter?

Victor Williams
President/Founder of Resume Scribes

In an era of gender/pronoun consciousness and awareness, “Dear Hiring Manager” represents the modern and appropriate salutation on a cover letter in the absence of a known name. Dear Hiring Manager is a gender/pronoun neutral salutation that does not alienate or offend the reader.

Final Thoughts

That’s the long and short of it. Follow this process and you’ll never go wrong when it comes to addressing your cover letter.

While you should always try your best to find the hiring manager’s name and address your cover letter personally, it’s not always possible.

Just remember the other do’s and dont’s of cover letter formatting and professional letter writing. Keep your cover letter to one page with three to four paragraphs. Show enthusiasm for and knowledge of the role, emphasize your qualifications and accomplishments, and use language from the job description.

Draft a few sample cover letters before hitting “send,” and you’re certain to be called in for a job interview.

Never miss an opportunity that’s right for you.

Author

Ryan Morris

Ryan Morris was a writer for the Zippia Advice blog who tried to make the job process a little more entertaining for all those involved. He obtained his BA and Masters from Appalachian State University.