Tapping the Hive Mind: Greetings and Salutations!

[athelind]

Question:

When responding to a job posting that doesn't list a specific contact person, what's the best way to open a cover letter? I've been using "Dear Sir or Madam", but that sounds a little vague, a little stiff, and a lot like the opening to a Beatles song.

Obviously, the ideal option is to address a cover letter to a specific person, by name, but this is not always possible.

Should I stick with "Dear Sir or Madam", use some other gender-neutral salutation, or just leave it off entirely and dive right into the "Look At Me, I'm Wonderful!" part of the letter?

[Poll #1561114]

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Comments

[ebony14.livejournal.com]

Hey, now there's a note from the past. Man, I haven't used "YARK!!! and Forsooth!" in years. (Technically, it's supposed to have three exclamation points after YARK.) I don't think it would be a good opener, though. It makes more of an impression when spoken.

[snobahr.livejournal.com]

And even more of an impression if one YACK!!!s... although not necessarily a positive impression.