<p>What should my salutation be for my email to a woman alumni interviewer? I would normally put "Dear Miss/Mrs Blah" but I do not know if she is married. But then again I can't exactly go "Dear Jane" :-)</p>
<p>Random I know but I always feel really awkward when emailing and phoning strangers.</p>
<p>It should be "Dear Ms. Jones." If she prefers something else such as Miss, Mrs, Dr, first name, she will let you know. Ms. is generally safe</p>
<p>I just said To.....,</p>
<p>Sincerely,</p>
<p>? </p>
<p>Dear? Do you even know them?</p>
<p>Dear is the usual formal greeting.</p>
<p>Dear + Yours sincerely is normal I think...</p>
<p>lol her name actually is Jones incidentally</p>
<p>Yes, use "Dear Ms. Jones." You should treat the e-mail as you would a regular "snail mail" letter.</p>
<p>Dear? I feel awkward. I usually just put.
Mr/Ms. ________,</p>
<p>balh blah blah</p>
<p>Thanks,
(my name)</p>
<p>It is amazing that this isn't taught in school- basic communication</p>
<p>Dear is NOT awkward it is in most business correspondence and is not seen as to personal at all</p>
<p>You need to learn about this kind of correspondence</p>
<p>Dear Mr. President is just fine, Dear Pope Benny is just fine, Dear Ms. Jones...</p>
<p>If you don't know how to write a basic letter like this, you will look clueless, and for this it isn't a HUGE deal, but for others, it is pretty important</p>
<p>If you are sending in a resume for a job, you use Dear and Sincerely</p>
<p>Not to and thanks</p>
<p>"Dear? I feel awkward. I usually just put.
Mr/Ms. ________,"</p>
<p>Your response is interesting because it reflects the fact that you grew up using e-mail far, far more than snail mail.</p>
<p>"Dear" is the usual salutation and just is courteous. It doesn't mean "dearest." </p>
<p>To me -- a middle aged alum interiewer-- getting a response saying Mr/Ms_____: would sound cold: Like what a collection agent would send.</p>
<p>I imagine that other middle aged people who may have influence over your life (teachers, professors, prospective employers) would view this similarly. Mentioning this as an FYI, not to have anyone sweat over whether their alum interviewer will give them a weak recc because of not saying "Dear" on an e-mail. I highly doubt that anyone would do that.</p>
<p>After all, at least you didn't use the salutation "hey", which I loathe: Sounds like something porno spammers would send.</p>
<p>Do we need to mention that your message should say "Dear Ms. Jones" even if her message to used a more casual salutation, and was signed "Susan Jones?"</p>