Who To Address Cover Letter To: Forget The "To Whom It May Concern" And Do This Instead

We get it: the struggles of writing a compelling and interesting cover letter are real.

And they start right at the first line, when you're trying to address it properly.

Addressing your cover letter “To Whom It May Concern” may seem like a quick, professional fix.

Right?

Not so fast.

Addressing your cover letter “To Whom It May Concern” is actually incredibly impersonal.

Plus, it shows you don't know who you're speaking to and that you haven't done your research.

And you don't want all of the hard work you put into your cover letter to go to waste by improperly addressing your cover letter!

In this article, we'll show you a couple of ways you can properly address your cover letter and grab your reader's attention right from the get-go.

Let's get started!

Who To Address Cover Letter To: A Guide

When writing a cover letter, you should always try to address it to a specific person.

Your best shot? The hiring manager.

“Okay, but how do I find them?” you might ask.

You can try asking your recruiter or a referral for a name. But if that doesn't work, here's what you can do.

How To Track The Hiring Manager On LinkedIn

The first thing you'll do is head over to LinkedIn and start working to find the specific person who would manage the role you are applying for.

If you can't find them or are unsure, you'll aim for the most senior person that your target role would fall under.

For example, let's say you're applying for an Account Manager role at Google in New York:

The ladder for Account Managers typically follows with Senior Account Manager, Account Director, and VP.

In this case, you'd plug in “Account Director” under LinkedIn's title filter, since Senior Account Managers generally report to Account Directors. Then, add “Google” in the company filter and “Greater New York Area” in the location filter:

This search will bring up the people you could address directly in your cover letter:

While there's still no way to be absolutely certain that you would be reporting to one of these people, the effort you made to research the team will be clear to whoever reads your cover letter.

Plus, your cover letter might still make it into the hands of the person you addressed it to!

No Luck Finding The Hiring Manager?

Couldn't find the hiring manager, even after doing your research?

No worries! You can use this formula:

To The [Department] Team at [Company Name]

For example, if you're applying for a marketing role on Microsoft’s Windows team, here’s how that would look:

“To The Marketing Team at Windows,”

Or, if you're applying for a User Experience role at Airbnb, you'd write:

“To The User Experience Team at Airbnb,”

Boom!

Now you have an intro that’s a bit more personal.

It’s also going to stand out from everyone else stuck on “whom it may concern.”

Now that you know who to address your cover letter to, it's time to work on a compelling, job-winning story for your cover letter.

How To Write A Job-Winning Cover Letter

Most people approach cover letters by listing out qualifications, experiences, and buzzwords they think hiring managers want to hear.

The problem? None of that answers the only question your reader actually cares about:

“Why should I hire you over the 200+ other applicants?”

To win interviews, your cover letter has to go beyond credentials. It needs to tell a story. One that shows exactly how you solve the specific problems that the company is facing.

Let’s break that down.

1. Start With A Compelling Hook

Hiring managers read hundreds of cover letters that start with some variation of:

“I'm writing to apply for the [Job Title] role at [Company Name]…”

Which basically screams, “I’m sending this to every company I can.”

Instead, start your cover letter with a hook that:

References a recent company milestone, project, or news headline
Connects that achievement to your experience or interest

For example:

“When Spotify hit 500M users last month, I knew your growth team needed someone who could scale personalization.”

This kind of opening immediately shows that you’ve done your homework and positions you as someone who thinks like a teammate, not just an applicant.

Bridge The Gap Between Their Needs And Your Experience

Now that you've got their attention, it's time to connect the dots.

Hiring managers aren’t looking for a perfect resume. They’re looking for someone who can solve their problems.

Here’s how to do that:

Scan the job description and highlight the 2-3 biggest challenges they’re trying to solve
Write a short paragraph showing how you’ve tackled those challenges in the past

For example:

Let’s say the job description emphasizes improving customer onboarding. Your paragraph might look like this:

“At Zapier, I led a complete overhaul of our onboarding flow, reducing drop-off by 34% and improving time-to-value by 2.5x. I’d love to bring the same results to your user journey at Slack.”

Specific, measurable, and relevant. That’s how you stand out.

Reference Your “Value Validation” Project

If you really want to seal the deal and leave a lasting impression, this is where you go above and beyond: create a Value Validation Project (VVP) that proves you have what it takes for the role.

A VVP is a short deck, document, or presentation where you outline:

The company’s top goals or challenges, based on your research
Your suggested solutions or ideas for how to tackle them
Examples of past wins that show you're capable of executing those ideas

Then, you reference that project directly in your cover letter. For example:

“To show you how I think, I put together a short project outlining three ideas to help reduce churn in your onboarding flow. You can check it out here: [link].”

This strategy works because most candidates only talk about their experience, and very few actually show it.

When you take the time to create something tailored to the company, it sends a powerful message:

“I'm already invested in helping you win.”

Next Step: Use An AI Cover Letter Builder To Help You Design A Killer Resume

Once you’ve written your letter, the next step is to make it visually appealing. You want your application to stand out from the moment someone opens the file.

That’s where CoverBuild.io comes in.

CoverBuild.io is an AI cover letter builder that helps you:

Choose from beautiful, ATS-friendly cover letter templates
Customize your design with fonts, spacing, and branding
Match your resume and cover letter styles
Download your letter in PDF format

CoverBuild.io can also help you start building your cover letter in less than 2 minutes. Just upload your resume along with your target job description and watch the AI generate a personalized cover letter!

Use our shortcut below to get started: