Ms. or Mrs.? When you don't know, what do you use?

Question

This is regarding coverletters when applying for a job. Thanks!

Answer 1

You should go with Ms. if you don't know, because Mrs. means the person is married, and Miss means they're not. So Ms. is the in between title, that doesn't necessarily denote either.

Answer 2

I understand Miss to refer to an unmarried woman and Mrs a married one. Ms is an alternative title that may be used by someone who does not wish to be identified by her marital status.

If I know that the person is Miss or a Mrs, I use that. If I don't know, I use Ms although not without exception. I often have to write to people I know are elderly and it somehow seems inappropriate to use Ms in those instances. I generally use Mrs in those cases until and unless I am informed otherwise.

Answer 3

When applying for a job on a coverr letter I usually use "To whom it may concern" because I usually do not know the sex of the person that you are writing it too. Though if there is a specific person such as a female I would use Ms. because you do not know if the person if wed or not. Therefore the safe side is Ms. Ms. is usually used for an older unmarried, divorced, or widowed woman.

Answer 4

100% "Ms." if you don't know marital status. Miss is unmarried, Mrs. is married, and Ms. can mean both. Safer to err on the side of caution.

Answer 5

Ms. Unless you're writing to me. I like the r in the middle.

Answer 6

Ms

Answer 7

If you are chosing between the two then Ms. is the one you should use.

Answer 8

Ms/Mrs.

Answer 9

Usually if I don't know whether or not she's married or not OR how she prefers to be addressed then I simply call her Maam. It shows respect, acknowledges her as being a woman, and it sounds nice and polite.

Raji the Green Witch

Answer 10

You do not know it is Ms