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Graduate CV: Examples, Template + Writing Guide [2023]
Write a graduate CV that’ll get you a job before the ink on your degree is dry. Check out our graduate CV examples and writing tips to get you hired fast, even without experience.
Don’t know how to address a cover letter? Stuck using stale salutations? Learn how to do it right and you’ll never have to use ‘Dear Sir/Madam’ again.
Letter writing is a lost art, it’s true, and writing a cover letter is one of the few times in today’s world that we need to rediscover it. Addressing a cover letter is one of the very first things you do, but it’s also one of the trickiest to get right.
How do you address a cover letter with no name or gender? What’s the right cover letter salutation to use? Get the answers to those questions and more. You’ll learn how to set the stage for the rest of your cover letter, demonstrating your professionalism and attention to detail.
As the great philosopher, Plato said ‘The beginning is the most important part of the work’.
Want to write your cover letter fast? Use our cover letter builder. Choose from 20+ professional cover letter templates that match your CV. See actionable examples and get expert tips along the way.
Sample Cover Letter for a CV—See more cover letter examples and create your cover letter here.
Once you’ve written a perfectly addressed cover letter, make sure you create a perfectly written CV. Check out our guides.
When addressing a cover letter follow the standard rules of UK business letter formatting. First list your own contact details, right-aligned on the page. Leave a space then write the date, correctly formatted, e.g. 21st February 2020. Then another space, left-align and enter the employer’s contact details.
Here’s a cover letter address template:
[Your First & Last Names]
[Your Postal Address]
[Your Phone Number]
[Your Email Address]
[Date of Writing]
[Manager’s Name]
[Manager’s Job Title]
[Company’s Name]
[Company’s Postal Address]
So far, so good. Onto your salutation.
You’ve just learned where to start, but when to stop? Get your cover letter length right: How Long Should a Cover Letter Be? [Ideal Length]
To write your cover letter salutation with a name simply write e.g. Dear Harriet. It’s very easy to get right but equally easy to get wrong. The worst thing you can do is fall back on dated, anonymous greetings. And if you mess up your cover letter opening what chance does the rest of your cover letter have?
Look at these two examples:
RIGHT |
---|
Dear Lucy, |
WRONG |
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To Whom It May Concern |
By all means, go ahead and use the wrong example. If you want to seem like a minor character in Downton Abbey that is. It’s as old-fashioned and stuffy as an Edwardian Dowager Duchess. Today you should always try to address the cover letter directly to the hiring manager.
Science has proven that seeing your own name has a powerful effect on the brain, so take advantage of that and powerfully activate the recruiter’s attention.
Here’s how you discover who to address a cover letter to:
But what if you still can’t discover who to address your cover letter to?
Don’t stop with the address, make sure the rest of your cover letter is perfectly written too. Read more: How to Write a Cover Letter: Complete Guide
To address a cover letter without a name you’ll need to use a generic salutation. But never resort to To Whom It May Concern or Dear Sir/Madam. Even without a name you can still create a bit of targeted personalisation. Go for ‘Dear XYZ Team Manager’ or just ‘Dear Hiring Manager’. In fact a survey revealed ‘Dear Hiring Manager’ to be a favourite of employers when you don’t know who you’re sending it to.
Examples of generic salutations:
But even if you do have the name you’ve got to take care.
Addressing a cover letter with a name requires caution. Speaking from personal experience, people can and do assume your gender and get it wrong. I’ve had people assume my first name is female, only to meet me and get a bit of a surprise. I’ve always taken it with a good sense of humour, but don’t risk causing offence.
If you’re unsure of the person’s gender then you could just state their full name, without any title. For example.
That lets you err on the side of caution and not make assumptions. So that’s gender sorted, what next?
Even when you’ve got a name and a gender you still need to use the right personal title to address your cover letter. Does the addressee have a Ph.D.? Then you may want to address the letter to ‘Dr. Surname’. There are also academic, military and religious titles to consider. Do some digging online or contact the company directly. The extra care and attention you took to correctly address your cover letter to The Very Reverend A B Smith will be noted!
Lastly, when addressing a cover letter to a woman, always use the title ‘Ms’. unless you know with absolute certainty that she prefers ‘Miss’ or ‘Mrs’. Getting this wrong can, quite rightly, cause offence.
The rules above apply if you’re addressing a cover letter and sending it as a stand-alone document. To address an email cover letter, as the body of an email, rather than a file attachment, here’s what you need to do.
Want to learn even more about cover letter formatting? Find out here: How to Format a Cover Letter [Step-By-Step Guide]
Knowing how to address a cover letter is just as important as filling it with job-winning content.
Here’s what to remember:
Thanks for reading. Have you got any concerns you wish to address? But seriously, do use the comments section for any questions or feedback, I’d love to start a discussion.
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