Re: Greetings and Salutations

[Cheryl Magadieu <cherylm -at- atg -dot- com>]

Tharpt2 -at- aol -dot- com wrote:
> 
> When writing a cover letter is it considered bad form to begin with the
> recruiters first name?  

I always use courtesy titles and last names when writing formal letters.
When in doubt, it's always best to be too courteous. As others have
mentioned, Ms. is the acceptable form when addressing women.

> Also, is an email query considered a formal cover letter?  If so, should it
> be treated as such with format?  Those often don't translate well and sending
> a cover letter attachment seems a little redundant and possibly problematic.

I consider an e-mail query to be a formal cover letter. If you search
the TECHWR-L archives, you'll find previous debates about whether to
include a cover letter when you e-mail a resume; I'm squarely on the
side of including one. I wouldn't even consider a candidate who sent me
a resume but no cover letter. If someone sends me a resume without a
cover letter, I assume that a) the person thinks the resume speaks for
itself, which seems arrogant or b) thinks there is no need to write a
polite introduction, which seems rude and lazy. 

I'd include the cover letter in the body of the e-mail, in plain text
format. You don't know what kind of e-mail software the recipient is
using, so it's probably best to avoid indenting, italics, and other
types of formatting that might not come through.

Cheryl