from Hacker News

Don't use 'to whom it may concern' in job emails

by nof1 on 2/4/21, 4:50 PM with 3 comments

Just a PSA - when I see a hiring email addressed to 'To whom it may concern' I skip over it. It tells me this is likely a form email you sent to a lot of companies not just mine. If you're cold emailing for a role, it takes more time, but try to personalize it a bit. Explain why you like the company and what you think you can do to help. I always respond to emails that mention positive, concrete things about the company even if I don't have a role, and sometimes those conversations turn into something down the road. And by concrete I mean not just a "hey your company is cool" but something that shows that you have used the product and get what we're doing.

  • by uberman on 2/4/21, 5:48 PM

    In my position, I review many resumes a week and the main argument that "one should personalize correspondence when possible is very sound". However, rejecting based on salutation is literally judging a book by its cover and if I did so, I would never know if there was the kind of personalization actually being advocated for.

    "To Whom It May Concern", (note that it is always used with initcaps) IS the formal, traditional way to open business correspondence when the writer does not know the name and/or title of the recipient. As you recommend, an applicant should take some effort to try to identify who is the appropriate recipient and what their title is but that is likely not as easy as imagined.

    For example, here is a job posting for a position at Gearbox (chosen only because I happen to like their games):

    https://gearboxsoftware.bamboohr.com/jobs/view.php?id=219

    There is an online form to fill out, but even if you do, you are never given the name or title of a person who might be interested in getting your resume outside of their electronic system. How would you recommend that someone interested in submitting their hardcopy resume to Gearbox proceed with their cover letter?

    You might ask why would someone send a paper application when there is an online form? The answer is that the online system is for HR only and designed to weed out crap based on simple filters. Non-standard candidates with interesting backgrounds and high motivation will almost certainly be rejected at the HR level.

    Two of the best people I have ever hired and had the pleasure to work with were a high school kid from Eastern Europe who spoke almost no English and a lumberjack (well technically a US Forest Ranger). If I had not been directly handed their hardcopy cover letters, neither would have made it past the HR system.

    Just a heads up. "Dear" anything when you don't have a personal relationship with me makes my skin crawl. I'll still read your cover letter, but ugg. I guess we each have a "pet peeve" with respect to salutations :-)

  • by jitendrac on 2/5/21, 2:55 PM

    "To Whom It May Concern", its most formal way to address person/authority whom you don't directly know. Many potential good candidate don't know company contact info or they are remote but interested to work with you. they may or may not be suitable for position but one should not ignore if they are too formal. Just read bio, Introduce yourself responsible person and shoot few questions and wait for personalized reply. If goes well do skype meeting.

  • by wryoak on 2/4/21, 5:36 PM

    So if I want to work at SpaceX I have to use the rocket ships before I reach out to their hiring director?

    I don't hire often but when I do, and when I see "to whom it may concern" I don't ignore it. I put it on the top of the stack because this is a person who doesn't waste time. They're not going to put more effort into the process than I do, which tells me they know how to set boundaries and prioritize their tasks.