17 Ways to Say 'To Whom It May Concern'

If you’re looking for alternative ways to say ‘to whom it may concern,’ you’ve come to the right place. This article will teach you 17 new ways.

• The thing is, you’ll want to keep your email and letter greetings varied, especially if you often write to the same people. You don’t want to come across as someone with a limited vocabulary.

Read on to learn new and original ways to say ‘to whom it may concern.’

Other Ways to Say 'To Whom It May Concern'

‘To whom it may concern’ is a greeting you use to introduce a letter or email. Depending on who you’re writing to and the purpose of your correspondence, you’ll want to use different expressions.

In the sections below, I’ll outline all the different ways you can say it and the circumstances they're appropriate for.

Greetings

A standard greeting is a perfectly acceptable way to start a letter or email. All you have to do is insert your greeting and then identify the person you’re writing to. Or, if you like, you can just use the greeting.

Here are just a few you can use, from formal to casual.

1. Good morning Julia.
2. Good afternoon Miss Ledger.
3. Good evening dear hiring manager.
4. Hello
5. Hi

Top tip! You can apply the same formula to any greeting word. Know different ways to say ‘hello?’ Use those here, too.

Esteemed

This is a pretty formal way to start a letter or email, so it’s a good one to use if you’re writing to someone very senior, like the CEO of your organization, for example or the president.

6. Esteemed sir
7. Respected madam
8. Honorable Dr. Burke

Dear

Dear can often seem quite casual and to be used only with family and friends, but that isn’t necessarily correct. It’s actually perfectly fine to use it when writing in a more formal context, like to your boss or when applying for a job.

You can also use ‘to,’ but it’s a lot less personal.

9. Dear recruiting team
10. To Donna

FAO

FAO stands for ‘for attention of,’ and it’s used to specify who you want to read the message. So if you’ve sent a letter to a company, and you want to ensure it gets in front of the correct set of eyes, then you’d write FAO and their name. The same goes for email.

You can also use ATT and ATTN, which are abbreviations of the word ‘attention.’

11. FAO Caroline Sims
12. ATT the Admissions Officer
13. ATTN the HR department

The Person’s Name or Position

If you know the name of the person you’re trying to contact, then you should definitely write it. That’s always preferable to writing something general like the name of their position or ‘to whom it may concern’ because it’s more personal and it shows you’ve taken the time to figure out the person’s name.

• If you really can’t figure out their name, then the next best thing is their position title.

You can just write their name directly, or you can precede it with a greeting.

14. Hi John
15. Good morning Mrs. Bowlen
16. Dear Hiring Manager

Department Name

If all else fails and you can’t find their name, and you’re also unsure of the position title of the person you need to speak to, you can write the department name.

17. To the IT Department

Who Are You Talking To? (How to Say 'To Whom It May Concern')

Now that you know alternative ways to say ‘to whom it may concern,’ the other thing you need to figure out is who you’re actually addressing your mail to. Because the whole point of using something other than ‘to whom it may concern’ is that you’re trying to be more personal and get your letter in front of the correct person.

Below is a list of people, positions, and departments that you might consider using. Of course, pick the one most relevant to your purpose. Once you’ve chosen, just pair it with any of the expressions above, and you’re good to go.

• Manager,
• Recruiting Team,
• Selection Committee,
• Admissions Officer,
• Sir/Madam,
• [Company/Organization Name] HR Department,
• [Department Name] Manager,
• Hiring Team,
• Admissions Committee,
• Scholarship Committee,
• Enrollment Office,
• Registrar's Office,
• Student Services Department,
• Finance Department,
• IT Department,
• Marketing Department,
• Public Relations Department,
• Customer Service Team,
• Board of Directors.

Concluding Thoughts on Different Ways to Say 'To Whom It May Concern'

So there you have it. There are many ways for you to say ‘to whom it may concern’ without actually having to use those words.

Remember:

• Figure out the name of the person you’re trying to talk to, if possible.
• If not, the position title or department name will do.
• Choose one of the greetings above and use it with the person’s name or title or the department name.
• Mix and match the words and sequence in the phrases above.

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