# "Dear Sir or Madam" alternatives **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 4, 2010, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-sir-or-madam-alternatives/556005 "2010-10-04T14:53:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Gilliver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/5fc32e/32.png) [@Gilliver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gilliver)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2010, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-sir-or-madam-alternatives/556005/21 "2010-10-05T13:51:52Z")
Hey, good lookin’ ! To my new BFF. Yo! are all probably bad ideas as well ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2010, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-sir-or-madam-alternatives/556005/22 "2010-10-05T18:23:15Z")
Just stick with “Dear Sir or Madam”. While it might seem odd to you, the person receiving the letter doesn’t even really notice - they get tons of letters and skip over salutations in a mega-second. For them, this is just blah, blah…but “normal” blah, blah. Trying to be clever will simply put you in the “unprofessional” stack of applicants. I used to hire lots of people and would get stacks of letters - any letter that was “cute and quirky” usually ended up at the bottom of my stack and I would not bother calling them in for an interview; pink paper, smiley faces, weird fonts, bright color fonts - childish gimmicks of any kind - didn’t exactly bode well for potential professional employee of the month. ---
**Author:** ![Hockey\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Hockey\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hockey_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2010, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-sir-or-madam-alternatives/556005/23 "2010-10-05T18:48:08Z")
So “What up bitch?” is out then? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2010, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-sir-or-madam-alternatives/556005/24 "2010-10-05T20:44:38Z")
I’m not sure why you’d need an alternative to “Dear Sir or Madam.” It’s the standard business style for writing to an unknown person. Why would you want a notch less formal? Less formal for a job application? That’s pretty much as formal as it gets in the business world. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2010, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-sir-or-madam-alternatives/556005/25 "2010-10-05T21:15:03Z")
In academia when the name of the chair of the search committee isn’t given I address it to “Dear Search Committee”. Personally I think “Hello” sounds better than “Greetings”. Though I always liked the opening I’ve read in some history books by kings who didn’t have the time to figure which honorific worked: “To Ultraman 100 of the Dope, _Whatever greeting is due unto your station_. We’ve got Saxons out the ass up here so get an army up here pronto.” ---
**Author:** ![Surly\_Chick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Surly\_Chick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surly_Chick)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2010, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-sir-or-madam-alternatives/556005/26 "2010-10-05T22:12:28Z")
I usually go with “Yo, Homie!” (Seriously, everyone I know - including me - uses “Dear Sir or Madam:”) ---
**Author:** ![dzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f9b8f/32.png) [@dzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzero)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-sir-or-madam-alternatives/556005/27 "2010-10-06T04:12:45Z")
Use an [augmented reality tag](http://www.seeingwithsound.com/qrcode.gif) in place of the greeting and have it link to something like Stephen Hawking’s voice synth. ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-sir-or-madam-alternatives/556005/28 "2010-10-06T04:27:12Z")
I just put “To whom it may concern” - generic is best, I think. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2010, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-sir-or-madam-alternatives/556005/29 "2010-10-10T13:24:51Z")
> [@Fried\_Dough\_Ho](#): > > I have been sending out résumés with the generic, “Greetings;” salutation. There’s nothing generic about using “Greetings;” as a salutation in a business letter. Especially with that semicolon; people are liable to think you don’t know how to write. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2010, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-sir-or-madam-alternatives/556005/30 "2010-10-10T14:06:51Z")
I think: “Good evening, Ladies and Germs. How are ya, how are ya, how are ya? But seriously…” is a good start. And then sign off with a flourish: “I wish you and your family the most effusive of salutations, I remain, Your most Humble Servant, Captain Sir Peter Uxbridge, Esq.” ---
**Author:** ![Dusty\_Rose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ba8739/32.png) [@Dusty\_Rose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dusty_Rose)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2010, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-sir-or-madam-alternatives/556005/31 "2010-10-10T14:47:47Z")
I always use “Dear Hiring Manager” in that situation. ---
**Author:** ![Fried\_Dough\_Ho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e57/32.png) [@Fried\_Dough\_Ho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fried_Dough_Ho)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2010, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-sir-or-madam-alternatives/556005/32 "2010-10-10T15:30:02Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > > [@Fried\_Dough\_Ho](#): > > > > I have been sending out résumés with the generic, “Greetings;” salutation. > > There’s nothing generic about using “Greetings;” as a salutation in a business letter. Especially with that semicolon; people are liable to think you don’t know how to write. You are correct. Thanks for making me look again at this and I have now altered my salutation and punctuation. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2010, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-sir-or-madam-alternatives/556005/33 "2010-10-10T15:39:57Z")
deleded ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2010, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-sir-or-madam-alternatives/556005/34 "2010-10-10T18:39:38Z")
I use ‘Sieg Heil!’ But, that’s only for casual and romantic correspondence. When I’m looking for a job, I go with 'Hello," or “To the Human Resources Department,” Best wishes, hh ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2010, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-sir-or-madam-alternatives/556005/35 "2010-10-10T19:01:08Z")
I use re: position/job name. I have seen that before and it makes sense to me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-sir-or-madam-alternatives/556005.md?page=1)