3 Rules to Obey in Cover Letter Salutation

 Cover letter salutation is the greeting at the beginning of your cover letter that is included with your resume when applying for a job.  Whenever you are writing a cover letter or sending an email to apply for a job, it is important to include an appropriate greeting at the beginning to set the tone for your letter, which should be professional and appropriate.  A cover letter salutation is the first thing the recipient sees when they read your cover letter.  Therefore, it is important for you to impart the appropriate level of intimacy and respect.

  The purpose of a cover letter is to reach and dazzle the hiring manager.  Using their name in your cover letter increases your chances of being invited to an interview, because it shows them that you took the time to find their name.

  On the contrary, a general greeting appears impersonal and means that you did not search for the company.  Knowing how to process a cover letter is a vital job search skill that can give you a competitive edge.  The following examples will help you stand out.

  One of the most difficult parts of writing a cover letter comes at the beginning.  Often times, you won’t know exactly who will read your message.  How do you handle your cover letter salutation when you don’t have the name and / or gender of the contact?

What are the basic rules for writing a covering letter?

  First of all, try to find out the name of the contact person.  Some employers may think badly of an applicant who does not take the time to know the name of the hiring manager.  Also, be careful not to assume that you know the gender of the recipient based on the name.  Many names are gender-neutral, and some hiring managers may identify as being a gender other than male or female.

  Hiring managers get a lot of emails every day.  Make it easy for them to check your email and follow up by including a clear subject line and signature with your contact information.  It is important to properly handle your email cover letter, including the name of the person in the position if you have a contact, to ensure that your letter is noticed.

  Do not leave the subject line blank.  There’s a good chance that if the hiring manager receives an email without a subject line, they’ll delete it without the trouble of opening it.  Instead, write a clear topic indicating your intentions.

  Include the job you are applying for in the subject line of the email, so that the employer knows the job you are interested in as well.  They may be hiring for multiple jobs, and you will want them to easily locate the job you are interested in.

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3 Rules to Obey in cover letter salutation

  The standard business correspondence format requires, after providing your contact information and the date of your letter, that you write down the contact name, company name, and company address.  The formal cover letter salutation / greetng then follows: “Dear [Contact Person’s name].”  If you have a contact person for your letter, include their job title and personal name in the salutation.  If you are not sure of the gender of the reader, simply provide their full name and avoid the personal address.  Follow the salutation with a colon or comma, leave one line blank, then start the first paragraph of your letter with the next line.

1.    Try to find out the name of the hiring manager

  Sometimes, even after hours of searching online (try these tips), you still may not be able to pinpoint the exact position you are applying for – and that’s okay.

  If you can only find a list of company executives and you are not completely confident who the hiring manager is, use the head of department for the position you are applying for.  Ultimately, no one will wrong you with taking the message to a higher level than necessary.  This approach is definitely better than not using a name in your cover letter, as it still shows the time and effort you put into figuring out who the department head is.

2.    Don’t make your cover letter generic

  Boilerplate is not the way to go.  You need to customize your cover letter to specifically speak to the needs of each company.  Although your introduction may not be as specific as it would for a job the employer was known for, this does not give you a license to use a generic form for the major sections of your cover letter.

  Read the job description and brainstorm how each precondition is met.  Then pair it with a specific contribution, experience, or achievement.  Transfer this information in a paragraph or group of bullets.  This will customize your cover letter and grab the reader’s attention.  You don’t have to say everything in your cover letter.  If you want to land the job, just say it right.

3.    Never underestimate the formal quality of your cover letter

  If the letter reads well, looks good and is free from spelling and grammatical errors, the reader will have a tendency to associate those qualities with the candidate.  If a person is unable to express himself without errors, then this leads to immediate rejection.  Proofreading content, accuracy, and style is critical.  Here are some suggestions: Check spelling and get a trusted colleague or personal contact to check spelling and readability as well.  Automated spell checkers may not detect inappropriate use of words with similar spellings or synonyms; be especially careful about correctly spelling recipient and organization names, check any dates and addresses you refer to, avoid lists or bullet points, and avoid unusual or unreadable fonts.

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