So if you envisioned a baby boomer, you’re still partially correct. The second most likely age group to reject an applicant for a generic introduction - perhaps unsurprisingly - is older hiring managers between the ages of 55 and 64. However, our research revealed that the most likely age group to reject a cover letter based on its salutation is, in fact, professionals between the ages of 18 and 24. Chances are, you’re probably envisioning an older professional, right? Maybe someone over 50? After all, it seems logical that they’d be the most attached to traditional ideas about formality in the hiring process. It seems that how you start a cover letter isn’t as important as we’ve all been led to believe.Īge: Gen Z and Boomers are the most likely to reject an applicant for starting their cover letter with “To Whom It May Concern.” Imagine someone who might reject a cover letter based solely on it starting with “To Whom It May Concern.” Now picture their age.
This striking number goes against what career websites (including ours!) have claimed for years - that your cover letter opening must be personalized to the reader, or it will destroy your chances of getting an interview. More than 83% of respondents admitted that seeing “To Whom it May Concern” would make little or no impact on their decision to hire someone. To find out more about whether seeing it on a candidate’s cover letter would impact how they viewed that candidate’s application, we surveyed over 1,000 hiring managers and recruiters. But that got us thinking: there are countless job-seekers who address their cover letters this way - they can’t all be jobless, can they? We wanted to see for ourselves if “To Whom it May Concern” was as problematic as it’s portrayed across the internet. If you only read career blogs, you’d quickly come to the conclusion that hiring managers take one look at your cover letter, see “To Whom It May Concern,” and promptly toss your application into a paper shredder. Nobody hates opening a cover letter with “To Whom It May Concern” quite like so-called career experts. But does it actually matter at all? We interviewed over 1,000 hiring managers to find out the answer.Ī fine first impression: 83% of hiring managers revealed that seeing “To Whom It May Concern” on a cover letter would have little or no impact on their hiring decision. Career websites across the internet claim that opening your cover letter with “To Whom It May Concern” can sink your job prospects.