Addressing and Salutation

Make the cover letter sound as if it is written uniquely to that individual or job ad. Do not use “To Whom It May Concern” salutations. Instead, address the letter to an individual at a company name with a real street or postal address. That information must be in the same font and shade of ink. Always refer to the exact wording of a particular job ad. Try hard to find out the name of the individual to be addressed, but if unable to determine a person’s identity for the cover letter address, use a likely title stemming from the job ad, such as “Marketing Manager,” “Claims Manager,” “Accounting Manager,” etc.

Cover Letter Substance

While the text of the cover letter must be very, very short, there are two key items that should stand out. One is a reference to the hiring company that demonstrates favorable interest about the company and demonstrates your research about the employer. The other key element to include in a cover letter is a degree of personal enthusiasm toward the company and the job in particular.