You’re sitting down writing out your resume and you’re just going to start your cover letter when it hits you: “how do I address my potential employer?” This is a common occurrence and one that is easily answered.

The Don’ts

Before we talk about what to do, there’s a lot of don’ts that you need to avoid. These include:

•      Abbreviating words. Never replace “you” with “u.” This is very unprofessional and will not help you land a job.
•      Avoid emoticons. Well, you may not be able to print a smiley emoticon on paper, but you definitely don’t want to put “:P, J or any cute faces on the paper.”
•      Don’t talk about anything unprofessional.

Remember, you want to avoid slang, you want to be professional and you want to be able to have an interviewer actually look at your resume. If you say, “Call me back if you like,” you’ll be someone that remains unemployed for a very long time.

Start Addressing Properly

So, now that you know what to ignore in the body of your cover letter, it’s time to start addressing a person properly. You want to do the best you can to find out who will be reading your cover letter.

This can be done by:

•      Reviewing the ad. The job description may indicate who you’ll want to address in your cover letter.
•      Social media. Using a little digging, you may be able to find who to address the cover letter to on social medial.
•      Make a call. It never hurts to call the hiring employer and ask them who the interviewer will be so you can address the person properly.

Sometimes, you’ll jump through all of these hoops and will find that you need to use a general addressing. This is unfortunate, but it is easy to do. It’s recommended that you use a general greeting, such as:

•      Dear Hiring Manager for (Your desired position)

This will make sure that your cover letter reaches the right person. In the past, many people recommended using “To Whom It May Concern” or “Dear Sir or Madam,” but this is far too general in today’s fast-paced world. You need the right person to see your cover letter and using their name or the recommended addressing above is your absolute best option.

Now, it’s time to “wow” them with the rest of your cover letter and ultimately your resume.

Contact an Employment Agency in Denver

At Employment Solutions, we can help you prepare for the specific position you hope to gain and increase your chance of being hired. Contact us today to find out how you can achieve your career goals with the  expertise of Employment Solutions!