dear sir or madam vs to whom it may concern

Tone is not an easy thing to master in another language. I said it was simple! If you want more info on coping with letter etiquette, download the English Trackers Email Etiquette Tips – we’ve covered just about every eventuality in there. For every other salutation, you sign off Yours faithfully. If you know the person’s name, you ALWAYS sign off with Yours sincerely. Therefore – Dear Sir & Yours sincerely – should never appear together. “You can never have more than one ‘ S’ in a salutation and signoff.” Here’s a very simple way of remembering whether you end with Yours sincerely or Yours faithfully.

There are only two choices: Yours sincerely or Yours faithfully These kinds of documents are submitted over and over again, and are therefore addressed to many different people – whomever it may concern. This should only be used on letters of reference, certificates etc. NOTE: Do not use ‘To Whom It May Concern’ You don’t know the person’s name and don’t want to offend either gender: You don’t know the person’s name – but have been told to write to the HR department: You know the person’s name – then use it: The Salutation – How to start a cover letter When we’re editing cover letters at English Trackers, I’ve come to realise that many people don’t know how to start or finish a letter in English.Ĭompared to some of the flowery endings you find in other languages, English is incredibly simple and the salutation and sign off should be learned in pairs.

I consider these tips to be the ‘good manners’ you’d want to extend to your potential new company. Now that you’ve written your resume in English, and you’ve found a job advertisement, here are a few tips on how to write a respectable cover letter.

Dear sir or madam vs to whom it may concern