Here’s How and When to Use "To Whom It May Concern"

When you enter the professional world, you’re entering a more formal setting and you must tailor your communication to suit it. While many companies nowadays are okay with more informal communication internally, we still have to be professional with clients, partners, customers, etc. In this article, we’re going to discuss how and when to use ‘To Whom It May Concern’.

At HiCounselor, it’s our goal to help people make the most of their professional lives. One part of that is learning how to be more formal in communication. Read on to find out how and when you should use ‘To Whom It May Concern’ in a letter or email. If you’re looking for a new job, contact us and have a chat with one of our friendly mentors. 

When You Know Nothing About The Recipient

Oftentimes, we know to whom we’re sending emails/letters. Sometimes, however, job listings or company promotions don’t mention the name of the contact person. Sometimes, you can find out this detail with a little effort. However, if you’re unsure about who’s going to be reading your correspondence, it’s acceptable to start with ‘To Whom It May Concern.’ 

For Formal Communication

With the changing times, many companies and people are okay with informal ways of communicating. Sometimes, however, we’re dealing with institutes and organizations that are known for greater formality. If you’re dealing with someone or some institute that prefers formal communication, you can use ‘To Whom It May Concern’ as a salutation. 

For Recommendations Or References

Sometimes we have to write letters that will be shown to multiple people, like recommendation letters. Obviously, we can’t predict who all are going to be receiving our recommendation or reference. Our role here is merely to give the candidate some backing or proof that they worked for us. It’s perfectly fine to use ‘To Whom It May Concern’ in situations like this. 

For Formal Complaints

If you’re in a situation where you need to lodge a complaint and are reaching out to an organization or government body, you most likely don’t know who handles the complaints there. It could be someone from HR, a manager, customer service, a clerk, etc. In such circumstances, it might be best to use a formal salutation like ‘To Whom It May Concern.’

During Introductory Communication

As a professional, you might receive a generic email asking for feedback, a quote, or other information. These are usually sent in bulk by a company to various recipients and you don’t have too much information about who’ll be reading the correspondence. You can reply with ‘To Whom It May Concern’ but be sure to ask for a name if you’re going to keep the communication going. 

As Legalese

If you want to send a letter or email that sounds like you’ve consulted with a lawyer, you can consider starting with ‘To Whom It May Concern.’ This formal and old-fashioned salutation can make things sound a little more serious. For written correspondence, choosing more formal language can make the sender sound like they have superior intellect or legal knowledge.

Some Pointers

Generally, when you use ‘To Whom It May Concern’ as a salutation, you’ll capitalize the first letter of each word. The salutation is ended with a colon (:), not a comma (,) as is usually the case. Often, there’s double spacing between ‘To Whom It May Concern’ and the body of the letter or email. Here’s an example:

To Whom It May Concern:

I recently ate a bag of your beet flavored potato chips and was left thoroughly disappointed. May I suggest you use better quality beets for your chips in the future? I can recommend Schrute Farms as a superior alternative to your current supplier. I’d be happy to receive the improved quality potato chips as compensation for the unsatisfactory experience I endured. 

Regards, 

Dwight Schrute

We hope this information has cleared up how and when to use ‘To Whom It May Concern!’ Do remember that it is a very outdated and formal salutation. Your opportunities to use it will probably be few and far between. It’s often better to find out the name of the person via LinkedIn or by reaching out to HR departments. 

HiCounselor has forged technical advances to transform the hiring landscape for job seekers and recruiters alike. Our career accelerator program provides job seekers with coaching and mentorship from industry leaders employed at FAANG companies while recruiters ally with HiCounselor to empower their hiring strategy and hone in on the best candidates. Learn more about HiCounselor here and reach out to us on LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube.