How to Address a Cover Letter When You Don't Know the Hiring Manager's Name

Personalising your cover letter salutation with the hiring manager's name is better than not. But when you genuinely cannot find the name, there are good ways to handle the salutation professionally.

Try to Find the Name First

Before defaulting to a generic salutation, make a brief effort to find the contact name:

LinkedIn: Search for the company and look at employees in the relevant team or HR department. The hiring manager for a marketing role is often the Head of Marketing or VP Marketing. The HR contact may be listed on the company page.

The job description: Some job postings include a named contact at the bottom. Read to the end.

The company website: Careers pages and team pages sometimes list contacts. Some company websites name the people in the relevant team.

A phone call: For smaller employers, calling reception and asking for the name of the person handling the role is entirely acceptable and may be appreciated.

If You Cannot Find the Name

Acceptable alternatives, in order of preference:

"Dear Hiring Manager," — Modern, professional, and widely accepted. Implies that you recognise there is a specific person reading this, even if you do not know their name.

"Dear [Function] Team," — For example, "Dear Marketing Team" or "Dear Engineering Team." This is slightly more personal than "Hiring Manager" if you know which team the role sits in.

"Dear Sir/Madam," — Traditional and still professional, though it has a formal, slightly dated feel. More common in public sector applications.

"To Whom It May Concern," — This is the least preferred option. It implies that you could not identify who the letter is addressed to and did not try very hard. Only use if the employer explicitly uses this format in their instructions.

What Not to Do

Do not address the letter to "Dear Recruiter" — it sounds dismissive of the recruiter's professional role. Do not leave the salutation blank. Do not use first names only without a surname unless you have an existing relationship.

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