How to Properly Address a Good Cover Letter

I can’t help but shake my head whenever I receive cover letters with “To Whom it May Concern” as the addressee. I can’t even remember when I last addressed a letter that way. It’s very unprofessional and gives a hint of laziness on the applicant’s part. I don’t feel compelled to call a candidate whose cover letter is addressed that way and I’m sure a lot of recruiters feel the same way.

It is one of the sure fire ways to lead your good cover letter in the trash bin. What do you do then? I know it’s hard to determine who the right person is but if you are really serious about your application then go the extra mile and get a name no matter what. This will separate you from hundreds of applicants who never bother to address their cover letter correctly.

Just by getting a name you are literally eliminating hundreds of competition. That fact should be enough to get you doing some research. And to make it even better, I will give you some tips on how to determine your intended audience.

Tip 1

We all get referred to a particular company at one point and for sure the person who referred you knows who to address a good cover letter to. Much more he can give you valuable tips on how to behave during the interview because he’s been through the process. He might even know the interviewer personally. If you are in this situation, make the most of your internal ally and ask as many questions as you can.

Tip 2

Contact the company directly. You can visit their website and see if you can find a name, you can call and ask for the recruiter’s name, or you can visit their office and have a quick chat with the receptionist.

If you have time, I recommend visiting their office. Why? You can learn a lot of things just by sitting in the reception area and having a quick chat with the receptionist. You can learn about the company’s culture, their vision, mission, and a lot of stuff. You can then tailor your good cover letter and project the same values as theirs.

This is one trick to increase your chances of getting a call back but make sure that you can keep up with it. If your values are in contrast with theirs then don’t bother applying this technique because it will eventually show during the interview.

Those are two easy ways for you to determine the right person to address your good cover letter to. Remember that this step alone gets you ahead of your competition and most often than not, you will get called for an interview. That is the time for you to reinforce what you wrote in your good cover letter and be on your way to getting hired.