Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dear Hiring Manager, or if you’re able to look up who the hiring manager is, Dear that person.

I'm definitely in the cover letter camp. I appreciate that others have different points of view. I'm a fed and have been applying to other fed jobs. My cover letter for those applications says "Dear Sir/Madam" as "To whom it may concern" strikes me as too impersonal. Note that I'm usually replying to an announcement where the only info is an HR person to direct application questions to. What say all of you in that circumstance?

Dear Sir/Madam?

To whom it may concern?

Dear Selecting Official?

Something else?

The HR person is just the screener. The cover letter should always be addressed to the actual hiring manager, the decision maker.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

In the cover letter, address it to the hiring manager BY NAME and use their physical address.

Much of the time, a job ad will name the title of who the position reports to. Go to the company website to find out who the supervisor is or (more likely) on LinkedIn. LinkedIn has a pretty robust search engine. If you strike out, then call the company directly and ask the name of the supervisor you'd be reporting to. If, after all this, you still can't find a name, you can then add "Dear Hiring Manager" etc.

This is terrible advice. It makes you look like a stalker. Plus there’s a high likelihood you’ll address it to the wrong person. Calling the company to ask is total overkill and extremely weird. This is like boomer advice to walk into random offices and drop off a resume.

The only time this is acceptable is if the hiring manager’s name is ON the job posting, which it almost never is. If a contact is listed, it’s usually someone in HR with no decision making authority.

It's competitive out there (at least for higher level managerial positions). You need to stand out. Your cover letter is the only thing that separates you from other qualified candidates. Make it count!

Anonymous wrote:

In the cover letter, address it to the hiring manager BY NAME and use their physical address.

Much of the time, a job ad will name the title of who the position reports to. Go to the company website to find out who the supervisor is or (more likely) on LinkedIn. LinkedIn has a pretty robust search engine. If you strike out, then call the company directly and ask the name of the supervisor you'd be reporting to. If, after all this, you still can't find a name, you can then add "Dear Hiring Manager" etc.

This is terrible advice. It makes you look like a stalker. Plus there’s a high likelihood you’ll address it to the wrong person. Calling the company to ask is total overkill and extremely weird. This is like boomer advice to walk into random offices and drop off a resume.

The only time this is acceptable is if the hiring manager’s name is ON the job posting, which it almost never is. If a contact is listed, it’s usually someone in HR with no decision making authority.

Honestly I think cover letters, take home tasks, bar raisers, long applications, long interview process lowers the quality of candidates.

My current job I was desperate I spent 200 hours on interview process. Four month process, I even had a take home project that took 60-70 hours. We don’t seem to get the best of the best. We get the most desperate.

USA Jobs is the worst for this. I literally interviewed a job I was 10x qualified for and they should have just hired me.

The 200 hour job was over 4 months. I was consulting and or unemployed so spending time in it was worth ok.

To be honest even resumes are overkill.

ALWAYS include a cover letter unless the ad says not to (or the online application portal doesn't allow).

In the cover letter, address it to the hiring manager BY NAME and use their physical address.

Much of the time, a job ad will name the title of who the position reports to. Go to the company website to find out who the supervisor is or (more likely) on LinkedIn. LinkedIn has a pretty robust search engine. If you strike out, then call the company directly and ask the name of the supervisor you'd be reporting to. If, after all this, you still can't find a name, you can then add "Dear Hiring Manager" etc.

Most Federal agencies do not require a cover letter BUT SOME DO. Pay attention to the instructions on the ad.

Also, a good rule of thumb: the higher the management position, the more likely that the hiring manager will want to see a cover letter.

Finally, one page only. Have it address the qualifications aspect of the job ad as well as any particularly activities required of the position. Use other examples of your achievements and skills that you haven't included on your resume (or at least those that you want to emphasize).

Don't want to do this work? Then don't and take your chances.

Anonymous wrote:Dear Hiring Manager, or if you’re able to look up who the hiring manager is, Dear that person.

I'm definitely in the cover letter camp. I appreciate that others have different points of view. I'm a fed and have been applying to other fed jobs. My cover letter for those applications says "Dear Sir/Madam" as "To whom it may concern" strikes me as too impersonal. Note that I'm usually replying to an announcement where the only info is an HR person to direct application questions to. What say all of you in that circumstance?

Dear Sir/Madam?

To whom it may concern?

Dear Selecting Official?

Something else?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't look at resumes from people who didn't bother with a cover letter. I like to see their writing skills, typos, if they've including anything about the organization/position or just posting a million resumes for every online job available.

To whom it may concern or dear hiring manager are fine.

+1. I may be old, but I’m the one hiring. Last job I filled, I had more than 100 applicants. 10-15 or so included cover letters. That made my job much easier. I only seriously considered those who made an effort to personalize their application to my job. If they can’t be bothered, why should I waste my time?

+1. My job ads say to submit a cover letter, so I am not going to seriously consider people who don't follow directions. In my field cover letters are still standard.

"Dear Hiring Manager" is fine.

Dear Hiring Manager.

Awesome if you don’t require them, but the question clearly didn’t apply to you. We can tell you’re the ones who like to hear themselves talk.

My college kid app,ied for internships and I was surprised how many postings required a cover letter.

I don’t apply jobs if they need a cover letter unless unemployed and desperate.

Dear Sir:

I’m a hiring manager. Most people don’t submit cover letters. And even if they do, I don’t read them. I’m in a niche area and we look for specific skills/experiences, which would be on your resume.

Anonymous wrote:Dear Hiring Manager, or if you’re able to look up who the hiring manager is, Dear that person.

This.

Anonymous wrote:Dear Hiring Manager, or if you’re able to look up who the hiring manager is, Dear that person.

+100.

If your resume tells me that you are a great fit for the job, you can skip the CL. If it doesn’t…a cover letter really helps your chances.

we do first name where I work because we aren’t assuming gender.