How Do You Address a Cover Letter?
A cover letter is a perfect and ideal compliment that can go along with a polished resume. Writing an effective cover letter isn’t just about the body and content of the letter. It’s also about being able to accurately address it to the right person, be it a hiring staff, a manager, or a direct supervisor.
As some might be confused on how to address a cover letter, there are specific tips and strategies that would teach an applicant on how to efficiently do it. Cover letters are considered initial fuel for any application you would wish to partake in.
Essential Elements of a Cover Letter
A well-structured cover letter is instantly attractive to prospective employers; and it is in this light that these essential elements of a cover letter below should be written in proper order.
- Recipient and Applicant Information – Your cover letter should start with both your contact information as well as that of the recipient’s. This element is evident in any professional cover letter format and should be observed at all times for an effective cover letter.
- Salutation – The cover letter salutation has always been considered an essential element most especially that this article is centered on how to appropriately address a cover letter. Be as specific as possible gender and position wise.
- Body – This element of your cover letter should consist of the main gist of your application. You could divide the body into paragraphs so as to discuss the ideas in a comprehensive manner.
- Closing Statement – Be sure to keep on impressing even towards the end of your letter. Our cover letter examples contain closing statements that are appealing to prospective employers.
Options When Addressing for a Cover Letter
The very foundation of how to address cover letters rests on only 2 main options. Before going over the actual guidelines, it is important to know the following options before hand:
- Research – Either a quick or thorough research could help you arrive at the contact information you are looking for. Employers and hiring managers would definitely be impressed at the effort exerted for getting the correct contact.
- General Salutation – If you still couldn’t find the right contact information that your letter should be addressed to, your last resort is to make use of a general salutation. This way, your cover letter sample would not look bare at the very least.
How to Use a General Salutation for a Cover Letter
Research couldn’t be an option for everyone. Instead, they make use of a general salutation to make things easy throughout the letter writing. Below are tips on how to use a general salutation for a cover letter:
- Address to the hiring manager – Address the recruiter using his or her last name. If you do not know specifically who to address your letter to, a “To Whom It May Concern” address line is sufficient.
- Salutation – Sometimes, applicants would choose to use a preferred salutation that they think is best for their cover letter templates and at times when it does not coincide, it would still be credited for at least trying to get it right.
Most free cover letters and other sample cover letters are preferred to have researched contact information. However, general salutation could also come in handy whenever the situation calls for it.
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