How to Address a Cover Letter (With Examples)

The Right Way to Address a Cover Letter in 2026

The salutation on your cover letter sets the tone for everything that follows. Get it right, and the reader moves smoothly into your qualifications. Get it wrong -- misspell a name, use an outdated greeting, or address the wrong person -- and you've created a negative first impression before your first paragraph.

Knowing how to address a cover letter correctly is simpler than you think, but the answer depends on what information you have. This guide covers every scenario with specific examples: when you know the hiring manager's name, when you don't, when you're writing to a committee, and when you're not sure who will read it.

Scenario 1: You Know the Hiring Manager's Name

This is the ideal situation. Use their name with the appropriate title:

• "Dear Ms. Rodriguez," -- Standard professional greeting. Use "Ms." for women unless you know they prefer "Mrs." or "Miss."
• "Dear Mr. Chen," -- Standard for men.
• "Dear Dr. Patel," -- Use "Dr." for anyone with a doctoral degree (PhD, MD, EdD) in academic, medical, or research contexts.
• "Dear Professor Williams," -- For faculty positions at universities.

Important Details

• Verify the spelling. Check the job posting, the company website, and LinkedIn. A misspelled name is worse than no name at all.
• Use a comma after the name. "Dear Ms. Rodriguez," -- not a colon (that's for formal business letters to organizations).
• If you're unsure about gender or pronouns, use the person's full name: "Dear Jordan Taylor," This is professional and avoids assumptions.
• Don't use first names only unless you've established a casual relationship through previous correspondence. "Dear Sarah," is too familiar for a first-contact cover letter in most industries.

Scenario 2: You Don't Know the Name

This is the most common scenario. You've checked the job posting, searched LinkedIn, and still can't identify the hiring manager. Here are your options, from best to least specific:

1. "Dear [Department] Hiring Manager," -- Shows you know the department. "Dear Marketing Hiring Manager," or "Dear Engineering Hiring Manager,"
2. "Dear Hiring Manager," -- The safe universal default. Every recruiter and hiring manager accepts this.
3. "Dear [Company Name] Recruiting Team," -- Good for large companies with dedicated recruiting teams.
4. "Dear Hiring Committee," -- Best for academic, government, and nonprofit positions where committees review applications.

For a deep dive into writing effective cover letters when the recipient is unknown, read our guide to cover letters without a known hiring manager.

Scenario 3: Multiple Recipients

Sometimes you know the cover letter will be read by a hiring committee or multiple people:

• "Dear Search Committee," -- Academic and government positions
• "Dear Ms. Rodriguez and Mr. Chen," -- When you know two specific people will review it
• "Dear [Department] Team," -- Casual but appropriate for startup environments

Scenario 4: Email Cover Letters

When your cover letter is the body of an email (not an attached document), the greeting can be slightly less formal:

• "Dear [Name]," -- Same as a formal letter
• "Hello [Name]," -- Appropriate for email, especially at casual companies
• "Hello," -- Acceptable when you don't know the name
• "Good morning/afternoon," -- Professional and friendly

For complete email application guidance, see our guide to emailing your resume.

Greetings to Avoid (And Why)

• "To Whom It May Concern" -- Sounds like a complaint letter to a corporation, not a job application. Dated since approximately 2005.
• "Dear Sir or Madam" -- Gender-binary and outdated. Assumes the reader is one of two genders and that you know which one.
• "Dear Sir" -- Assumes male. Also formally archaic.
• "Hey!" or "Hey there!" -- Too casual for any professional application, even at the most informal startup.
• "Greetings" -- Reads like a form letter. Lacks warmth and specificity.
• "Dear Human Resources" -- The hiring manager likely isn't in HR. This can signal that you don't understand organizational structure.
• "Dear [Wrong Name]" -- If you copied from a previous cover letter and forgot to change the name, this is an instant rejection. Triple-check.

How to Find the Hiring Manager's Name

Before defaulting to a generic greeting, try these research methods:

1. Read the full job posting. Some postings include "Reports to:" or mention the team lead by name.
2. Search LinkedIn. Look for the company + department + manager-level titles. The person one level above the open role is often the hiring manager.
3. Check the company's team page. Many companies list leadership on their website.
4. Look at who posted the job. If a recruiter's name is on the posting, address your cover letter to them -- or message them to ask who the hiring manager is.
5. Call the company. "Hi, I'm preparing an application for the [title] position. Could you tell me who manages that team?" This works about 40% of the time.

Spend 5 minutes on this research, not 30. If you can't find the name, use a professional generic greeting and move on.

Formatting the Address Block

A formal cover letter (attached as a document, not sent as an email body) typically includes a full address block:

[Your Name]
[Your Address]
[City, State ZIP]
[Email] | [Phone]
[Date]

[Hiring Manager's Name]
[Title]
[Company Name]
[Company Address]
[City, State ZIP]

Dear [Name],

In 2026, many candidates skip the full address block and go straight to the greeting, especially for digital submissions. Both approaches are acceptable. If you include the address block, make sure the company address is correct.

Industry-Specific Conventions

• Tech and startups: "Dear Hiring Manager" or "Hello" are both fine. Formality is low.
• Finance, law, consulting: Use formal greetings with titles (Mr., Ms., Dr.). These industries value traditional business communication.
• Government: Formal greetings expected. Use the title and full name if known. "Dear Hiring Committee" for committee-reviewed positions.
• Academic: Use academic titles (Dr., Professor) when applicable. "Dear Search Committee" is standard for faculty positions.
• Healthcare: Formal is safer. "Dear Dr. [Name]" for physician or research positions. "Dear Hiring Manager" for clinical staff roles.
• Creative and media: Slightly more latitude. "Hello [Name]," is acceptable. Still avoid overly casual greetings.

When in doubt, err on the side of formality. No one has ever lost a job for being too professional in a cover letter.

After the Greeting: Making the First Line Count

The greeting gets the reader's attention for about half a second. The first sentence determines whether they keep reading. Don't waste it with:

• "I am writing to express my interest in the [position] posted on [website]." -- Boring. They know why you're writing.
• "I was excited to see your posting for..." -- Better, but still generic.

Instead, lead with something specific:

• "Your open Product Design Lead role caught my attention because I've admired [Company]'s design system since the 2025 rebrand -- the consistency across mobile and web is something I helped achieve at [Previous Company]."
• "As a data engineer who has built three production data pipelines processing 500M+ events daily, I'm excited about the opportunity to bring that experience to [Company]'s data team."

For complete cover letter writing guidance, read our how to write a cover letter that gets read.

Quick Reference Guide

Situation	Best Greeting
Know the name (professional)	Dear Mr./Ms./Dr. [Last Name],
Know the name (email/casual)	Hello [First Name],
Unsure about gender/pronouns	Dear [Full Name],
Know the department, not name	Dear [Department] Hiring Manager,
Know nothing	Dear Hiring Manager,
Academic/government committee	Dear Search Committee,
Large company recruiting team	Dear [Company] Recruiting Team,
Email application (casual)	Hello, / Good morning,

The cover letter greeting is a small detail that signals professionalism, attention, and respect. Get it right, keep it simple, and spend your real energy on the content that follows. The hiring manager who reads past the greeting cares about what you can do -- not whether you knew their exact title.

Check out our cover letter length guide to make sure the rest of your letter is structured for maximum impact.