olzfreak.blogg.se - To whom it may concern letter

There are few scenarios when using “To Whom It May Concern” may be appropriate. Simple searches in LinkedIn or the company’s website can provide names and contact information to key individuals. With that said, always take the time to research the recipient and or reader of the correspondence. If a reader happens to be well versed and pedantic about the use, the author may be judged twice – once for poor choice of an opening and once for incorrect use.

Risk of incorrect use – more often than not the phrase is used incorrectly.

Starting a letter off with the phrase may alienate your reader, especially in a time when corporate cultures attitudes lean more business casual than suit and tie.

Formal and outdated – the phrase comes from an era when business communication was highly formal and packaged into neat letters and bulletins.

This is particularly true for cover letters for a job, or responses to a request for proposal (RFP), and or any other correspondence that can be personalized. Quite simply, it makes the author look lazy. Perception of laziness – using “To Whom It May Concern” is a sign that the author has not taken the time and care to research who they are addressing the correspondence to.Why it matters?Īs a general rule of thumb, any correspondence should never start with “To Whom It May Concern” for the following reasons: Starting off a correspondence with “To Whom It May Concern” may make send the wrong signals to your readers and prospective audience. The introduction of email, blog, and social media have paved way for communication to be more frequent and less formal. Technology has transformed how business operate and, with that, how people communicate.

It may be tempting to start off an email or letter with “To Whom It May Concern”, however you maybe performing a major disservice to yourself.