How to Address a Cover Letter (Without a Name)

The greeting is the first line a hiring manager reads, and a generic one signals a generic application. Whenever you reasonably can, address your cover letter to a specific person by name — it shows you did the work and treats the reader as an individual rather than a department.

Here is how to find the right name, format the greeting correctly, and handle the common case where no name is available.

How to find the hiring manager’s name

Spend five minutes looking before you settle for a generic greeting. The name is usually one search away.

• Re-read the job posting and company email — the contact or recruiter is often named.
• Search LinkedIn for the role’s likely manager (e.g. "Marketing Manager" at the company) or the recruiter who posted the job.
• Check the company’s team or about page for the relevant department lead.
• Call or email the company and politely ask who the application should be addressed to.

How to format the greeting

• Use "Dear" followed by their name: "Dear Jordan Lee," — the safe, professional default.
• When you are unsure of gender or honorific, use the full name and skip Mr./Ms. entirely.
• Only use "Mr." or "Ms." with a last name when you are certain it is correct and welcome.
• End the greeting with a comma (a colon is also acceptable in formal US applications).

Avoid guessing at "Mrs." or "Miss", and never use "Dear Sir or Madam" — it reads as dated and impersonal.

What to write when you have no name

If you genuinely cannot find a name, address the team or role rather than falling back on the worst option. Good alternatives are specific and warm:

• "Dear Hiring Manager," — the strongest general-purpose choice.
• "Dear [Department] Team," — e.g. "Dear Marketing Team," when you know the department.
• "Dear [Job Title] Hiring Team," — ties the greeting to the role you want.
• Avoid "To whom it may concern" and "Dear Sir or Madam" — both feel cold and outdated.

Quick greeting checklist

• A real name whenever you can find one, spelled correctly.
• No outdated or overly formal fallback like "To whom it may concern".
• Consistent with your cover letter format and resume header.
• Double-checked — a misspelled name undoes the effort of finding it.

Once the greeting lands, keep the momentum: see how to start a cover letter for the opening lines that follow.

Put it into practice: browse resume examples by role, start from a free ATS-friendly template, and generate a tailored letter with our AI cover letter generator.