5 Ways to Screw Up Your Cover Letter Greeting

5 Ways to Screw Up Your Cover Letter GreetingCover Letter Greeting Errors5 Ways to Screw Up Your Cover Letter GreetingDear Cover Letter WriterYou probably think thegreeting ofyour titelseite letter (the Dear... line) is pretty simple. After all, it has only four little parts the Dear, the Title (Mr., Ms., Dr., etc.), the Last Name, and the Colon . How can you screw that up? Ah, we have our ways. In fact, there are at least five common mistakes people make in their cover letter greetings, any of which might affect their chances of getting an interview. Are you guilty of any of these?Mistake 1 Dear Miss DeVilleShould be Dear Ms. DeVilleWHY? Miss and Mrs. are archaic in business settings, because marital status is irrelevant.Ms. is the business-appropriate way to address a woman unless of course shes earned a title such as Dr., Rev., Sgt., or Prof. Be sure to use Ms. (pronounced miz) when speaking, too.Mistake 2 To Whom It May ConcernShould be Dear Mr. or Ms. LastnameWHY? To Whom It Ma y Concernjust sounds lazy and form-letterish. Check the company web site or make a phone call to find out who Whom is. Be the one who takes the extra step. It demonstrates your attention to detail.Mistake 3. Dear Sir or MadamShould be Dear Mr. or Ms. LastnameWHY? Lets see Dear Sir or Madam is dated, stuffy, awkward, and has the same problem as Whom. (And dont EVEN get me started if you try just Dear Sir.) Get a name If you really, truly cant find the hiring partys name, use their job title. Its (marginally) better to say Dear Marketing Manager than Dear Sir or Madam.Mistake 4.Dear Steve,Should beDear Mr. LastnameWHY? First names are too informal, unless you and Steve have already been corresponding and he has clearly set the standard of using first names only. A cover letter is a formal piece of business correspondence, so keep it formal until youve established a relationship. Many workplaces today are informal, and its typical to move quickly to a first-name basis, but let Steve be the one to decide when.Mistake 5. Dear Mr. RadcliffShould beWait a minute... this looks fine, right?WRONGIt would be fine, except the guys name is Radcliffe with an e. Some folks might not notice a typo like manger instead of manager (though most will), and hardly anybody will get miffed about a comma instead of a colon. But everybody knows when their name is misspelled. Proofread, proofread, proofread especially the recipients name.SummaryIn your cover letter greeting... DO use this format Dear Mr./Ms./Dr. Lastname DONT address women as Miss or Mrs. DONT use a generic or gender-specific greeting (find a name). DONT use first names unless the employer sets the precedent. DONT misspell anyones name