Addressing your cover letter is one of the first things you have to consider when you format your cover letter — and this is generally how to do it in the UK:
Dear (Mr/Ms) (Surname), e.g., Dear Mr Benson,
Avoid using generic greetings like ‘To Whom It May Concern’ or ‘Dear Sir/Madam’ because they’re too impersonal.
1. If you have a contact’s name
Do you know the contact person’s name, gender, and special title (e.g., Sir/Dame, Rev., Prof.)? Then, personalise your cover letter greeting using that information.
Here are some ways to address a cover letter that are always okay:
If you don’t know what the person’s gender or title is, do a little research on their social media (LinkedIn is a great source) or company website.
And if you still can’t figure out what title to use, addressing your cover letter ‘Dear (Full Name),’ is fine.
2. If you don’t have a contact’s name
If you don’t have the name of a person to address in your cover letter, make time to search for one. Addressing a specific person is the best option because it helps you create a personal connection with the company.
Usually, you’ll be able to find the person to address by checking the following sources:
- The company’s ‘About Us’ page: You’ll often be able to find employees and their job titles listed on the company’s own website.
- LinkedIn: Search the company, using the ‘People’ tab to access a list of people associated with it. Then, use terms like ‘security’, ‘payroll’, or ‘public relations’ to narrow your search.
- Google: Use search operators (targeted search terms) to broaden or define your search. Putting a job title in double quotation marks (e.g., “marketing director”) will prompt Google to search for that exact phrase, while ‘site:[company website] “[job title]”‘ will return matching results from the company website.
Alternatively, contact the company directly by phone or email. Reaching out to a potential employer might be intimidating, but taking this personalised approach will show them you’re enthusiastic about the opportunity — and make your application more noticeable.
But what if you still can’t find a contact person?
If you really can’t find a name, you can still write a cover letter that’s personalised to the employer by addressing them by their department. For example, you can write, ‘Dear Accounting Department,’
If you’re unsure of the contact person’s department, use ‘Dear Recruitment Manager,’. It’s impersonal, but it gets the job done.
Build a standout cover letter in just a few clicks using our cover letter builder.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below, we answer six questions commonly asked about how to address a cover letter for a job:
1. How do you address an email cover letter?
You address an email cover letter as you would a physical cover letter. Use a formal full-name greeting or a formal salutation followed by the contact person’s last name. Or, if you can’t find a person to address, use the department name or a job title.
Here are a few examples:
Dear Mr Riddley,
Dear Tesco Marketing Team,
2. What is a warm salutation?
A warm salutation starts with ‘Dear’ and addresses the contact person by name: An example of a warm salutation is ‘Dear Ms Jenkins,’.
Try using this kind of warm salutation instead of ‘cold’ salutations like ‘To Whom It May Concern,’ or ‘Dear Sir/Madam,’.
3. How do I format the addresses on my cover letter?
Here’s how you format your cover letter’s top-most sections:
- Single space and right-align your contact information, putting your name, street number and name, town, and postcode each on their own line
- Add today’s date under your contact details and right-align it
- Hit ‘Enter’ twice to add a paragraph break, and put the employer’s contact information in a left-aligned list, following the same format you used for your contact details
- Hit ‘Enter’ twice and write your greeting
Here’s how it should look:
Consider using a preformatted cover letter template to save time so you can focus on the contents of your letter.
4. How do I address a cover letter to a recruitment agency?
Here’s how you address a cover letter to a recruitment agency:
- if you have a contact’s name: Dear [Mr/Ms/Mx][Contact’s Surname],
- if you don’t have a contact’s name: Dear Recruiter,
Whenever possible, use a contact’s name to make your cover letter more personable. You should be able to find a person to address your cover letter to by searching the agency’s website. But if not, contact the agency and ask who to address your cover letter to.
5. How do I address a cover letter in the modern era?
Even in this modern era, you should use a formal greeting for your cover letter, following the ‘Dear [Mr/Ms/Mx] [Name],’ format.
But if you’re addressing your cover letter to someone you know (e.g., your friend is a manager at your target company and has encouraged you to apply for a role on their team), you can use ‘Hello’ in place of ‘Dear’ to be less formal.
6. How do I address a cover letter if I only have the hiring manager’s first name?
First, you should try to find the hiring manager’s last name and title by researching their company website and social media.
But if your search comes up empty, you can greet them by their first name, like ‘Dear James,’.
Don’t feel shy about using their first name. If that’s all you have, then it’s likely that’s how they prefer to be addressed.
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