July 3rd, 2007
The Finer Points of Job Searching
As you may know, I am a guest blogger this summer over at The Women’s Dish, a wonderful, chock-a-block full of great stuff blog. In response to my recent post entitled, "How NOT to Get a Job," a reader asked:
Dear Brand Dame,
I appreciate your recent advice on what not to do and was glad that
I did not commit any of these sins in my current job search; however, I
still have questions.
1. Is it ok to write "Dear Sir/Madam" when you don’t know who you are sending the cover letter to?
2. Should you write the person’s first name in the cover letter if you know them?
3. When is it ok to ask about salary? Is there any appropriate way
to determine salary range up front so you are not wasting people’s time?
I look forward to your next post.
And here is my reply:
Great questions–am delighted you took the time to ask!
1. Yes–Sir/Madam is always a good default salutation. It’s a little
formal and impersonal, but it’s good form. No one can fault you for
that. Today, I received a "To Whom It May Concern" submission and
promptly deleted it.
2. Using a contact’s first name is fine, as long as you really know
them and they know who you are you. It is not OK if you are using it
simply because the contact name appears on the job listing.
3. The salary question is really tricky. Personally, I always err on
the side of not asking until I have made it into the interview phase –
and then, I only ask at the end of the conversation when the major
areas of expertise and experience have been covered. You can then say
something like, "could you give me an idea of the salary range for this
position?"
I hope this is helpful. Best of luck!
What do you think? Any advice you’d care to give?