How to Address a Cover Letter

A cover letter is a very vital and important document. So whether you want to introduce yourself to an employer, or a college, or a school, or anywhere else, it is important that you know exactly how to write a cover letter. And to write a cover letter, the first, and very important part is to address it.

Ways of Addressing Cover Letters

While addressing a cover letter one has to be formal and courteous at the same time. It is not a personal letter and hence the person cannot be addressed that way. A lot of people also face a problem of whom to address to when the recipient is not known. So let me 'address' all these problems one by one.

To a Company
Well, in case you do happen to know the name of the person you are addressing the letter to, then you may write - let's assume that the name of the person here is Mr. Jones - then you will address the letter as 'Respected Mr. Jones'. A lot of people use the words 'Dear Mr. Jones' which I, personally, don't feel is a good way to address someone in a formal letter. To make a letter sound formal, it is essential that you use a more respectful address.

Cover Letter without a Name
This is one of the most commonly asked questions. And it is an understandable doubt that people have, because since they do not know who they are addressing the letter to, they don't know what to write. The common solution for this problem is to write 'To Whomsoever It May Concern'. But addressing someone this way is more and more often being considered as disrespectful or lacking in the courteousness that a cover letter demands. Hence people very often also use 'Respected Sir/Madam'. This phrase also has the necessary respectfulness to go with it, without the ambiguity of gender. While 'Respected Sir' may look too sexist, writing 'Respected Sir/Madam' brings in the element of gender equality as well.

But if you are addressing the letter to someone where you know the post of that person, or you saw somewhere in an ad, for example 'all cover letters to be addressed to the Hiring Manager', you are supposed to address as:
'To,
The Hiring Manager
Company Name,' or simply, 'Respected Hiring Manager,'.

To Human Resources
Most cover letters are written to human resources, and are usually sent with the job application. So if the name of the person to be addressed is given - say it is a Mr. Smith - then you will address the letter as 'Respected Mr. Smith'. Sometimes the name isn't given, but the designation of the person to be addressed is given, in such cases, you will address the letter as 'Respected Human Resources Manager'.

To a Recruiter
A recruiter almost always acts as an intermediary between the company and the job applicants. It is the job of the recruiter to scout for the talent that a company needs and deliver it to the doorstep of the company. Addressing a recruiter is no different from addressing anyone else, all you have to do is write the name or the post.

Like in other forms of business letter writing, they have to be very well worded and have a fair few strings attached, which makes formal letters pretty difficult to write. So I hope this article was helpful!