Dear Sir/Madam...

[MontyVeda]

I would use Dear Sirs rather than Dear Sir / Madam.

Hmm... dear 'Sirs' sounds like one is addressing a board of directors and assuming they're all male.

 

[Tim Hall]

"Dearly beloved"

More seriously, find out (ring/website) the name of the person you need to contact and use that.

 

[Puddles]

Well i find myself on the jobhunt again and will be speculatively sending my CV along with a covering letter to a number of local employers.

When i was at school we were told to start such letters with Dear Sir if the gender of the recipient was unknown... by the time I'd got to college, it was Dear Sir/Madam... just in case it was one of those newfangled places that actually employ women in a position of power (perish the thought)... what's the accepted non-gender specific way of starting a speculative letter these days?

Dear Human Resources Manager.... maybe?

Dear Sirs
is the right one

 

[User169]

Hmm... dear 'Sirs' sounds like one is addressing a board of directors and assuming they're all male.

Indeed. I inherited a file from a colleague and noticed that she received a letter from a firm of Chinese lawyers addressed "Dear Sirs". They received a fairly tart response and have subsequently addressed all letters "Dear Sir or Madam".

In a previous job, I had to write letters which formally were addressed to the Comptroller General of the UK Patent Office. When Alison Brimelow became Comptroller, one of the associate partners pointed out that we should change our style to "Dear Madam". This created some consternation within the partnership which then issued an edict to the effect that there would be no change since our letters were addressed to the "office" of Comptroller General which was gender neutral and thus "Dear Sir" was still correct!

 

[threebikesmcginty]

In a previous job, I had to write letters which formally were addressed to the Comptroller General of the UK Patent Office. When Alison Brimelow became Comptroller, one of the associate partners pointed out that we should change our style to "Dear Madam". This created some consternation among the partnership which then issued an edict to the effect that there would be no change since our letters were addressed to the "office" of Comptroller General which was gender neutral and thus "Dear Sir" was still correct!

Here, DP, as an off-topic aside, what do you think of the way they word these patent documents, I took one out recently for something I'd invented and I have to say the language was bonkers gobbledygook?

 

[Puddles]

To Whom it May Concern is an option too

 

[Archie_tect]

Not for a job application though Puddles... it demonstrates no effort, and shows a lack of care or interest in the company

 

[threebikesmcginty]

[QUOTE 2660401, member: 259"]Garbage in, garbage out?[/quote]

I've got a suspicious feeling that there's an insult in there somewhere!

 

[User169]

Here, DP, as an off-topic aside, what do you think of the way they word these patent documents, I took one out recently for something I'd invented and I have to say the language was bonkers gobbledygook?

I've kind of got used to it, so don't really notice any more and it depends on the field a bit, I think! But it can get a bit "typically this, typically that", "preferably.., more preferably.., even more preferably..." which looks odd at first glance.

 

[Globalti]

Definitely ring and find out the name and gender of the personnel manager. Failing that, "Dear Sirs".

 

[Puddles]

Not for a job application though Puddles... it demonstrates no effort, and shows a lack of care or interest in the company

Employers who responded to an employer survey conducted by Fareham College preferred:

• Dear Human Resources Manager (43%)
• To whom it may concern (29%)
• Dear Sir/Madam (18%)

 

[Jimmy Doug]

Despite agreeing with tyred, I'd suggest putting "Dear Sir or Madam" (Sir/Madam looks a bit sloppy) Yours faithfully if you've used the name, Yours sincerely if you've used Sir, Madam, Sir or Madam.

I hope I don't sound pedantic, but it's the other way round. Yours faithfully if you don't know who you're writing to, Yours sincerely if you do.

 

[Archie_tect]

... and the %age of employers who responded back to those who wrote directly to the named person responsible for interviewing new staff?

 

[MontyVeda]

Yep, find the proper name of the person I'm writing to... otherwise, I guess it's the old Dear Sir or Madam.... can't bring myself to use the archaic Dear Sirs though.

edit... or Dear Human Resources Manager ... it's non-gender specific but does sound rather impersonal.

 

[Puddles]

... and the %age of employers who responded back to those who wrote directly to the named person responsible for interviewing new staff?

It was a survey on what they preferred when you did not have a name.

Back when I did worky stuff if someone rang the company to ask for the name they were not given it and depending on the size etc of the company not all names are online.

I can get what people are saying show initiative and find the name etc, but that is not always possible and sometimes if it involves contacting the company direct it is an annoyance.

Not following exact instructions on a job advertisement, i.e. where it says send all applications to

Human Resource Manager
1 Blah Street etc

You should address your application to Human Resource Manager.

I can say that when you are inundated with applications and it is a smaller company they will most likely

1. shove all job application post in a pile to be opened when possible
2. not read the covering letter until they make the pile smaller
3. if they have lots and lots of applications that are all suitable will simply take an amount that is sensible and not even look at the rest