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

[tombfyre.livejournal.com]

Addressing it to the hiring manager always works. Though the best bet is to try and find out whom the person actually is that will be reading the thing, and addressing it to them, and/or the HR department and hiring manager. :3