I am in the process of updating my resume, since I am off school for the summer and wanting to get some hours in.
The one for my temp agency is easy, since I include only an employment history and (as per contract) limited personal contact or other info.
But I am trying to put together one, plus a cover letter, to submit to a local film studio which is currently hiring for multiple, including entry level, positions for short-term projects. (As a film major planning on working in the industry after graduation, I would just be wetting- my -panties- happy to get a gig with them over the summer!..no, I did not use those words in my cover letter…well, not that exact phrasing, anyway :D)
Anyway, I find myself stumped by the salutation: “Dear Sir or Madame” sounds a bit TOO formal and personal, while “To whom it may concern” sounds both formal AND IMpersonal. And I am bearing in mind the “personality” of the company…an up and coming studio, largely focused on animation. So, professional, not too personal or unintentionally sexist or old fashioned.
Just seeking opinions/advice on what YOUR choice would be (obviously not limited to those two rather lame options:o). Any help would be appreciated. It’s been a while since I did this, what with being either through an agency, self-employed or a student.
Well, there’s always the one that I nearly did once: “Dear Sir or Madman”.
If you were going to use “Madam”, I should think you would drop that final “e”, not being French.
My first thought was why don’t you 'phone the company and ask some receptionist/telephonist type the appropriate name/s in the company, BUT, if they are currently hiring, don’t they give a name in their advertisements?
Of the two suggested, I’d think the “Dear Sir/Madam” is better than the “To Whom…” but I know nothing about film companies. Isn’t it a real pain that we can’t all be "Dear Citizen or “Dear Person” or “Dear Earthling”?
Yeah, definitely call and ask. Be nice to the receptionist and ask him/her “I’d like to submit my resume. Who do you recommend I address it to?” Receptionists can know a lot, and often are treated like useless obstacles. Treat one with respect, and she’s very likely to be happy to help.
Unless she’s obviously harried and just needs to transfer you quickly cuz she’s got fifteen other lines ringing. If you sense she doesn’t have time, then just ask to transferred to HR and ask the first person who answers.
I get a lot of info out of people by just being confident and nice. I should work for Homeland Security.
Well, the thing is, they take resumes over their web site. The whole “cut and paste/attach resume and/or cover letter here” thing. They take them and keep them on file, since so many of their positions are for short-term projects, not perm.
Otherwise, I would call and get a particular name. The format doesn’t suggest an openess to that sort of thing to me. In fact, they say on their site NOT to call re’ employment opportunities. But I may try making a call. One long-time receptionist/office manager to another
As it is, just in need of a general salutation which makes a decent first impression regardless of who reads it. (NOT, “Dear peon who culls out the resumes before the person with actual authority sees them”, which is often the case, ime. :p)
And oops on the “Madame” :o…I study French, so it seemed the natural spelling to me just off the top of my head! Thanks for the reminder.
Ah. I’d still make the call, but if I had to I’d use Dear Sir or Madame. Or, since it’s a hip company, maybe “Dear Dudes”. But that’s a matter of taste.
In situations where I don’t know (and can’t find out) who is ultimately going to be reading the letter, I prefer “Ladies and Gentlemen:” to “Dear Sir or Madam.”
Slight tangent, but I was wondering the other day, how on earth did ‘Dear’ become the standard greeting for written correspondence, let alone *business * correspondence?
I recently took over writing a weekly info email that’s distributed to about 300 people. The person who did it before me opened every email with “Dear faculty”. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. To me, it’s like saying “Beloved large group of people I’ve mostly never met”. It’s just wrong.
The recruiter will not be analyzing each word, but quickly skimming it to decide whether to look at the resume. don’t think about it too much. I start mine with:
"
Hello,
I have 5 years experience as a health care data analyst with <blah blah blah> experience"
Good question, but it’s been that way as long as I can remember (it’s certainly what I was taught in grade school, so probably early '90s?). IME, the difference between the salutation in a business and personal corrospondance is that “Dear Person” is punctuated with a comma in a personal letter and a colon in a business one.
Oh, it’s been that way since waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay before any of us here learned it in grade school. I was just musing on how it came about, when it seems so strangely personal.
Cover letters are out. You should be incorporating minor elements into your resume.
The term Sir or Madam is the correct the one.
You don’t need to address it to a specific since people aren’t idiots. The person who opens mail KNOWS who to send a resume to.
It’s not like they go “Duh, I don’t know what to do with this.” Or the guy says “Here’s a brilliant applicant, but he didn’t use my name, I’ll go with another person.”
Employers want the best person, unfortunately a lot of websites are still using things from 50 years ago in terms of addresses, contacts etc.
Chose a resume that suits your strengths. Send it where instructed by the ad. Cover letters aren’t gonna get read anyway so if you must use them, keep them formal and to the point.
So many people try to make a case in a resume or cover letter for a job. H/R people are busy, they want to skim and see if this guy is a fit.
Then they throw those in a pile, and call the ones they think would be good and would accept the salary they are offering or less.
