How to Address a Cover Letter When You Don't Know the Hiring Manager

Before defaulting to a generic greeting, spend five minutes trying to find the hiring manager's name. A named greeting signals that you did your research, and according to LinkedIn Talent Solutions (2025), recruiters consistently value evidence of initiative in applications.

Where to look:

1. The job posting itself — Some postings include the hiring manager's name or the recruiter's name. Check the bottom of the posting and any "about the team" sections.

1. LinkedIn — Search for "[Company Name] + [Department] + Manager" or "[Company Name] + [Department] + Director." The person most likely to be the hiring manager is the team lead one level above the posted role.

1. The company website — Check the "Team," "About Us," or "Leadership" page. Smaller companies often list their team members with titles.

1. The recruiter — If a recruiter posted the job, they can often tell you who the hiring manager is. A brief, polite message on LinkedIn asking for the name is appropriate.

1. Job posting platform — On LinkedIn, you can sometimes see who posted the job. On company career pages, the recruiter's name may be listed.

If you find the name, verify the correct spelling and professional title. Getting the name wrong is worse than not using one at all.

If you cannot find the hiring manager's name after a reasonable search, use one of these alternatives:

Best options:

• "Dear Hiring Team," — Professional, inclusive, and widely accepted. This is the safest default.
• "Dear [Department] Hiring Manager," — More specific than "Hiring Team" and shows you know which department you are applying to. Example: "Dear Engineering Hiring Manager,"
• "Dear [Company Name] Recruiting Team," — Good for companies with dedicated recruiting teams. Example: "Dear Stripe Recruiting Team,"

Acceptable options:

• "Dear Hiring Manager," — Generic but still professional. Use this if you do not know the department name.
• "Hello," — Appropriate for casual company cultures (startups, creative agencies). Not appropriate for formal industries.

Avoid these:

• "To Whom It May Concern" — Outdated and impersonal. Robert Half (2025) data shows recruiters associate this greeting with low-effort applications.
• "Dear Sir or Madam" — Also outdated and assumes a gender binary. Not appropriate in modern professional communication.
• "Dear Sir," or "Dear Madam," — Assumes the hiring manager's gender. Use gender-neutral alternatives instead.
• "Hey" or "Hi there" — Too casual for nearly all applications.
• "Dear Human Resources Department" — Overly formal and rarely accurate (most hiring decisions are not made by HR).

The honest answer: the greeting matters, but less than you think. According to NACE (2025), employers rank content relevance and specific achievements far above the salutation when evaluating cover letters. No hiring manager has ever rejected a strong candidate because the letter said "Dear Hiring Team" instead of "Dear Ms. Chen."

That said, a named greeting provides a small but real advantage:

• It signals that you researched the company and made an effort to personalize your application
• It creates a personal connection — people pay more attention when they see their own name
• It differentiates you from candidates who defaulted to generic greetings

LinkedIn Talent Solutions (2025) data shows that applications with personalized details — including named greetings — are perceived as higher quality by recruiters. The greeting is one of many personalization signals, not a make-or-break factor.

The bottom line: Spend five minutes trying to find the name. If you find it, use it. If you do not, use "Dear Hiring Team" and move on. Do not let the greeting delay your application — your time is better spent tailoring the body of your letter to the job requirements.

I would rather receive a letter addressed to 'Dear Hiring Team' with tailored content than a letter addressed to me by name with generic filler.

Applying to a recruiter vs. a company:
If a recruiting agency posted the job, address the letter to the recruiter by name (their name is usually on the posting). The letter will be forwarded to the company, but the recruiter is your first audience.

Applying through a referral:
If someone at the company referred you, open with their name in the first sentence rather than the greeting. "Dear Hiring Team, [Referrer Name] on the engineering team suggested I reach out about the Senior Developer position."

Applying to a startup founder:
For early-stage startups, the hiring manager is often the founder or CEO. Their name is almost always findable. Use "Dear [First Name]" for a startup — the formality of "Mr./Ms." can feel out of place in startup culture.

Applying to a large corporation with no visible hiring manager:
Large companies deliberately anonymize hiring managers in postings. "Dear [Department] Hiring Team" is the standard approach. Do not spend more than 5 minutes searching — at enterprise scale, the hiring manager may not even be assigned yet.

Applying via email vs. application system:
For email applications, the greeting matters slightly more because it is visible before the recipient opens any attachments. For ATS submissions, the greeting is one of many data points and carries less weight.

For more on crafting the rest of your letter, see our step-by-step cover letter writing guide.