Cover letters -- who to write if no contact?

Hello,

I am wondering if people who have had success with applications in which they have included a cover letter can help me. I am wondering simply because I have received such a variety of suggestions.

Basically, I am wondering if addressing to "Dear Hiring Manager," when no contact is listed actually works. Has anyone heard back after using that? Do I ALWAYS have to have the name of someone on the cover letter? I am wondering also if I look up on places such as LinkedIn and find an individual that I THINK is appropriate, if it is ok to try them even if I wind up being wrong. In other words, is it worse to have no contact listed and use Dear Hiring Manager, or use to address it to a wrong human resources manager in the company.

Thanks again!

In the last few months, I applied to many jobs using "Dear Hiring Manager" as an address and it landed me many interviews so far. I would say it is probably appropriate to use such expression.

Dear Hiring Manager is the best one is you don't know who. Don't put dear sir or ma'am. Don't put to whom it may concern.

That's the article I was looking at when I made my above post. I just said it in my own words.

There's a second paragraph to that says "The worst-case scenario is that your letter will begin "Dear Hiring Manager for [name of position]:" It's not the best approach, BUT IF YOU ABSOLUTELY CANNOT FIND A NAME, this salutation does at least provide some specificity."

This is what I thought the original poster was asking.

I know with recruiters they don't like to tell you who the company is because they don't want you going there in person instead. Otherwise the recruiter doesn't get anything out of it.

Occasionally you run across a blind ad. Then there you go, Dear Hiring Manager. I would imagine all the resumes to a blind ad would say that, because who are you going to call?

Ok why won't this post go through? testing 123

Sometimes I wonder if I even want to apply to a blind ad, especially the ones that have a really vague description. How do you know it's not some freak.

That was strange. I wouldn't let me post until I changed the word weird-o to freak.

I think you can call the post office to find out who that PO box belongs to in an ad. Maybe there is a way to look that up online somewhere.

Linkedin sounds good and all, but it's very hard to connect if you don't know people somehow. Linkedin is stupid for making this difficult to do. I tried it last year and gave up on it. Since I'm fairly new to my field, I haven't connected with too many people yet. It works a little better if you have done business with a lot of people already.

My other problem with Linkedin is I don't really know what I'm supposed to do there. It's not like Facebook or Twitter where you can comment to other people or post updates that people care about.

It IS good to get a name to send it to, HOWEVER, WHAT IF: The company has a VM system instead of a human voice (many companies do this, especially if they are small) and no "human resources" dept. OR, the job specifically REQUESTS applying to a no-name person/email Is this a trick on their end, to see if you'll exert the effort of contacting them to get a name of a person they could have very well put down in the ad in the first place? AND they say "No Phone Calls". And, and and.....

Do what your instincts tell you--I cannot imagine someone NOT getting noticed simply because they wrote Dear Sir or Madam.

designer bee in Waukesha, Wisconsin said: So 3 people didn't like my answer. Don't blame me, blame the job hunting books. That's what they tell you to put. Remember you don't always have a way of finding out who the person is because sometimes there isn't a company name even listed in the ad. For example, what if it's listed through an recruiter, not directly to the company. How are you supposed to know who then?

Of course, if the company is listed, you can call them. I assumed the original poster meant that if you didn't know who or couldn't find out either.

How about we say that the employers are lazy for not listing a contact person's name. Would that be so difficult? That goes under things that employers could do to make things easier.

OMG, I know what you mean. Just recently I read up on a lot of websites that give you advice on how to better you resume and cover letters. The number one issue they claim that employers don't like is you addressing them as Madam or Sir. It was has been said that the employer will be quick to toss your resume aside and not give it any thought after because of this reason. That it shows a lack of interest and laziness in your part for not going out of your way to find out the employer's name and title. Making this a crucial indefinite consideration. But, hello I've must have tried so many times to figure this information out and many of if not most of the times there is no way for you to do so.

If I don't know the person's name, I'll then say "Dear Hiring Manager"

what abt if the company does not have a addres where we can send the letter?
I need to write a job letter to an internet care where am a job sick but they dont have a address
Please help i dont know what to do

OK, if companies doesn't put the name of hiring manager in add, do they want to receive 300 calls asking the same question, "What's the person's name" will it show resourcefulness of a candidate.

McRyach in Elmhurst, New York said: OK, if companies doesn't put the name of hiring manager in add, do they want to receive 300 calls asking the same question, "What's the person's name" will it show resourcefulness of a candidate.

Heh! Where I work, they don't even accept a cover letter or resume anymore. Its all online and when you press the submit button, who knows where it goes?

Seriously, the entire recruiting process is for the lack of a better word: retarded. The recruiters don't understand what the position entails, so they turn away qualified candidates based on the most mundane and useless requirements, which are often impossible to meet. Examples:

1) Asking for 5 years experience in using A when A has only been around for 5 years.
2) Asking for cover letters and then not reading them.
3) Asking standardized questions which contribute no insight if you preform the duties of the job well (what is your greatest strength, weakness, etc...)
4) Recommending or even hiring someone without telling the dept. manager about it or even though they expressed that they didn't want that candidate. The reverse occurs as well: the dept. manager wants to hire a candidate, but HR doesn't like the person (personal reasons, not due to negative factors), so they don't get hired.

All of the above, btw are based on real life experiences of either myself or people I know. The amount of money that can be saved by streamlining the process and stopping candidates and hiring mangers to jump through pointless hoops would go a long way to acquire more qualified people, and save time and money in the process.

If the company is small enough, I try and use Linkedin or the company website to find a name of the recruiter. However, that can get sticky because many companies have more than one recruiter and the last thing you want to do is address the cover letter to the wrong person.

It also depends on the industry you are applying in. Some are more relaxed than others. I work in startups, when I was applying for startup jobs I would say Dear _____ team. Other industries are much more formal. I think with you can't go wrong with "Dear Hiring Manager".

Jencan in San Francisco, California said: If the company is small enough, I try and use Linkedin or the company website to find a name of the recruiter. However, that can get sticky because many companies have more than one recruiter and the last thing you want to do is address the cover letter to the wrong person.

It also depends on the industry you are applying in. Some are more relaxed than others. I work in startups, when I was applying for startup jobs I would say Dear _____ team. Other industries are much more formal. I think with you can't go wrong with "Dear Hiring Manager".

Cover letters? In my industry they are going the way of the telephone booth and the typewriter.

I think I have written 2 or 3 in the past 10 years.

I wish cover letters would go the way of the telephone booth. I really hate writing them, because to employers it's never good enough. They want you to spend hours researching their company so you can have the fancy schmancy cover letter that gets thrown in the garbage.

I try to keep my cover letter very short because I know people hate reading a lot and people just don't have time.

I like the idea of "Dear ABC company team" to address the person/people looking at resumes. I've never seen that before used. It sounds more personal than hiring manager.

I'll be honest with you, Bluetea. 10 years ago I didn't even know a cover letter was required and I was shocked to find out I needed a thank you letter after an interview. I have a good excuse though. 10 years ago I worked in a factory and you just don't need anything more than an application to fill out for that. It's a lot different going into working in an office.

designer bee in Waukesha, Wisconsin said: I'll be honest with you, Bluetea. 10 years ago I didn't even know a cover letter was required and I was shocked to find out I needed a thank you letter after an interview. I have a good excuse though. 10 years ago I worked in a factory and you just don't need anything more than an application to fill out for that. It's a lot different going into working in an office.

I think the technology has made a lot of this obsolete - at least in my industry.

I don't do cover letters and thank you cards/emails/letters are for baby showers. You read this in old library books but I have been hired without this and I can't think of anyone that I know who still does this.

But if there is a contact name, then I will send my resume over to the contact name.

I also think cover letters are obsolete. They may be parsed but not read. When you go to an interview, they always have your resume printed out and sometimes written on, but you never see a print-out of a cover letter.

I have put a summary at the top of my resume which replaces a cover letter. It has a couple of bullets that basically summarize all the stuff below. If the reader is interested in seeing what my "extensive" experience is or how big the "successful launch" was, they can look at the details. I separate it from the main body of the resume with a few keywords that summarize my skill set.

vinigrette in Irvine, California said:
I have put a summary at the top of my resume which replaces a cover letter. It has a couple of bullets that basically summarize all the stuff below. If the reader is interested in seeing what my "extensive" experience is or how big the "successful launch" was, they can look at the details. I separate it from the main body of the resume with a few keywords that summarize my skill set.

I kinda like this approach because I find I waste too much time writing cover letters explaining how I could fit the position and would rather highlight that in my resume. I think I write cover letters out of tradition.
And you're right, I never see my cover letter at an interview; only my resume.

Have you seen any examples of this style on the net?..

Hotdiggity in Ajax, Ontario said: Have you seen any examples of this style on the net?..

Cover letters are obsolete. What you want to do is get rid of that horrible Objective Statement which is woefully out-of-date and replace with a Summary of Qualifications statement.

You will have to make sure that your Summary of Qualifications statement uses some of the same wording regarding skills and abilities as the posting. You literally have to re-write it for each job. I print off the posting to do this. Use the same wording as much as possible.

As a rule, only the top third of your resume gets read anyway. Put the important stuff there.

My resume is pretty solid.. I got rid of the Objective statement ages ago and replaced it with a Summary.
I figured nobody really cares what I want to achieve in my career; only what I've done and can deliver again.

I just tweaked my summary again yesterday and it gave me shivers.. I'm so obviously awesome, I don't know why they don't call me ! :)

Hotdiggity in Ajax, Ontario said: My resume is pretty solid.. I got rid of the Objective statement ages ago and replaced it with a Summary.
I figured nobody really cares what I want to achieve in my career; only what I've done and can deliver again.

I just tweaked my summary again yesterday and it gave me shivers.. I'm so obviously awesome, I don't know why they don't call me ! :)

The resume is going the way of the typewriter and the stegosaurus. Many companies, in my industry, don't even accept them anymore. Its all online now and these HRIS systems are pretty sophisticated now.

Even if there is a spot where you can cut and paste your resume, I doubt if anybody reads it unless the online app deems you worthy of further consideration.

Where resumes are still in vogue are with smaller, less tech savvy companies.

designer bee in Waukesha, Wisconsin said: That's the article I was looking at when I made my above post. I just said it in my own words.

There's a second paragraph to that says "The worst-case scenario is that your letter will begin "Dear Hiring Manager for [name of position]:" It's not the best approach, BUT IF YOU ABSOLUTELY CANNOT FIND A NAME, this salutation does at least provide some specificity."

This is what I thought the original poster was asking.

I know with recruiters they don't like to tell you who the company is because they don't want you going there in person instead. Otherwise the recruiter doesn't get anything out of it.

Occasionally you run across a blind ad. Then there you go, Dear Hiring Manager. I would imagine all the resumes to a blind ad would say that, because who are you going to call?

GHOSTBUSTERS!

The last 3 interviews I've been on, the person had a copy of my online application and not my resume. I haven't written a cover letter in years, the days of cover letters are long gone and the resume is not far behind.

If you're submitting a resume cold through an online source, don't worry about a cover letter unless they do offer one; it's a way to circumvent the ATS.

But if you're sending it in cold, your best bet is to find someone to do an informational interview with there, and network your way into making a connection with a live person. And that's where your research on Hoovers, LinkedIn, the company website and AtoZ can really pay off.

Bill in Kansas City, Missouri said: The last 3 interviews I've been on, the person had a copy of my online application and not my resume. I haven't written a cover letter in years, the days of cover letters are long gone and the resume is not far behind.

I agree 100%. I can't remember the last time I wrote a cover letter.

As for the resume, you can go into any library and off their discarded book shelf, buy a "Killer Resume" book for a buck now. The resume is going the way of the typewriter.

I write cover letters all the time, but these are for small or mid-sized outfits. Large corporations will always use the online application. I don't bother with them anymore because I don't stand a chance having a gap in employment. Any employer utilizing Taleo is an instant turn and run for the hills as far as I'm concerned.

Parafreegal in Chicago, Illinois said: I write cover letters all the time, but these are for small or mid-sized outfits. Large corporations will always use the online application. I don't bother with them anymore because I don't stand a chance having a gap in employment. Any employer utilizing Taleo is an instant turn and run for the hills as far as I'm concerned.

I agree. I back out when I see the Taleo logo. I am just wasting my time.

Bluetea in Texas said: I agree. I back out when I see the Taleo logo. I am just wasting my time.

Does that pick up gaps in a resume?

Also, besides Taleo what other ones are there just so i can be aware?

Joe Gagill in Loch Sheldrake, New York said: Does that pick up gaps in a resume?

Also, besides Taleo what other ones are there just so i can be aware?

Taleo is designed for companies that receive hundreds of applications for a single position. It can take 1,000 apps and spew out the "Ten Best" in seconds. It is only then that a "human" reads anything.

Kenexa, Ceridian and a few others are also brand name HRIS systems but they are not quite as brutal as Taleo. IMO, You have to have lived a perfect life to make it through Taleo.

I think an employer should be responsible to provide a small amount of information at least who to address a cover letter to with an address. I have tried researching with no luck. I have however, used the "Dear Hiring Manager" and have received feed back so I guess that's one good approach. Now, when you have no address along with no contact person this sucks! Scratching my head once again to recreate the tons I have already created. =|

I think employers should provide a small amount of information at least: who and where to, when requesting a cover letter. Looking and applying for work is a job of it's own then along having to wreck your brain researching who should I be address the cover letter to and where. =|

If the contact name is available, use it. Or else, Dear Hiring Manager should work fine i think.

Jude L in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania said: If the contact name is available, use it. Or else, Dear Hiring Manager should work fine i think.

Well, I have only written 2 or 3 cover letters in the past 10 years since most companies don't seem to want them anymore but I use to say "Dear Sir/Madam: