This might be a useful article for students during the interviewing season. This appeared in The Finance Professionals' Post (New York Society of Security Analysts) on how to address a cover letter if you don’t know the hiring
manager’s name by Penny Locey, a vice president with Keystone Associates.
You’re applying for a job online, but you don’t know the hiring manager’s
name or gender. How can you find that information? Or, if you can’t get a name,
what are some alternative ways to address the cover letter without being too
impersonal or old-fashioned?
HERE ARE SOME TIPS ON HANDLING TRICKY SITUATIONS LIKE THESE:
If applying for a position online, your resume and letter will be going
to HR and hopefully on to the hiring manager. Unless the position says who the
hiring manager is and most of them don’t, you’re going to have to do a little
digging.
First check the company website. If that doesn’t work use your Internet
search engine by putting in the company name, department doing the hiring, and
any other information that relates to the position. For example, there often is
enough identifying information in the position description such as “this
position reports to the VP of Product Strategy.” If you find the person’s name,
but cannot determine gender (again, Google can be invaluable as the person may have
been quoted, or have posted a photo), then you can put the person’s whole name
and address.
If this doesn’t produce a suitable hiring manager, do a search for the
head of recruiting (company name+ Human Resources+ Recruiting). The HR
recruiter or head of recruiting might have posted the position and you could
address that person directly.
More often than not, it will be difficult to identify those people
directly, but you still need a graceful way to begin.
Avoid writing “Dear X.” You can start the letter with an identifier like:
RE: JOB #12345 : Product Marketing Manager, then begin the body of your letter.
Or, address it to Dear Hiring Manager and HR Partner for (“area” – e.g. Product
Marketing).
If you are using a search firm, the firm may have a way they want you to
address the letter (they may also rework your resume into “their” format). You
can also address the recruiter or firm, since they will have posted the
position.
WAYS AROUND THE SCREENING SOFTWARE
For those of you in key professional or managerial roles especially, you
may want to direct a letter to the hiring manager or the head of the group with
the opening directly, in addition to whatever submission you make online. This
is especially true if you have a non-traditional background that could make you
an asset, but get you screened out by screening software, or a casual review of
your background.
These letters would be different, and you want to target those directly
to the situation the company/group finds itself in, and why you might bring
something key or special to bear.
For example: (to the VP of Product by name) I noted with interest that you are
expanding your marketing team for (product X); this would be an exciting time
to be associated with (company) as you bring this product from proof of concept
to the marketplace, given the competition you face from (company Y) in this
space. I am taking the liberty to write you directly, as I have an unusual
background that I believe could be a strategic asset to you in this situation,
but which might be screened out by typical recruiting software.
Then go on to add a few highlights that get the person to look at your
resume.
I hope this helps some of you seeking full-time or internship positions.
