How should I address a formal letter if I am unsure of recipient's gender?

Question

For example, a business letter/email to a Chris/Jesse/Whitney? I've known both men and women with those first names. Or if it's a foreign-sounding or unusual name that I've never heard before?

"To whom it may concern," sounds a bit impersonal, because I do know the name of my contact. Yet, "Dear (first name)," sounds a bit unprofessional during initial introductions and conversations.

But maybe I'm wrong and it's neither impersonal nor unprofessional.

Thoughts?

Answer 1

You can try to make a call to determine the person's gender, or if that doesn't work, you can write the full name: Dear Jesse James/Dear Chris Jones/Dear Whitney Smith. But make a phone call. Even if someone has a common ambiguous name like Jesse, you can make sure you're spelling it right (Jesse/Jessie or Chris/Kris) or how the person prefers to be addressed, and see if you can determine the gender of the person that way.

Answer 2

Wrong. It's Dear firstName lastName That goes for men, too, if that's how you're addressing your letter. The only exceptions are if the person has a title like Dr. or Sgt. but you're still better off using the full name, too. Then again, it's very unlikely that it's enough of an issue to cost you the job (note: unlikely ≠ impossible), and the others are right that Ms. is the best bet. Still you can avoid it altogether.

Answer 3

If I know the name of my contact I usually just skip the salutation and use their full name to head the letter. Otherwise I usually address it to the department that I'm sending it to which I think is a bit less impersonal than "To whom it may concern"

It doesn't make much of a difference as long as you keep to a formal tone, but if it makes you uncomfortable to be uncertain, err towards impersonal and then mirror the way they address their communications with you.

Answer 4

Dear Chris/Jesse/Whitney. Use the name; why does gender have to be important? First of all, you should already know who the person is you are sending a letter to. Don't use "to whom it may concern". This connotate a sense of uncertainty and no one likes to receive a letter from someone who doesn't know who they are writing to. Send it to Santa.

Answer 5

I have also been faced with this situation over the years. I simply address the correspondence to the same name as the person who signed it and use their reference no. in case there are 2 people in the company with the same name.

Answer 6

"To whom it may concern" is indirect, meaning you don't know exactly who you are addressing or you may be addressing more than one person. If possible find out their gender via anonymous phone call. The general etiquette is (Dear Mr. or Mrs. Last Name,) "it is always appropriate and respectful to find out the correct spelling and gender of anybody you send mail to" -cited below

Answer 7

You might b over analyzing this a lil bit... To whom it may concern is perfect

Answer 8

How about "Good Morning, {insert name here}" or "Good Afternoon"?

Answer 9

i think you'd be safest with "to whom it may concern"

Answer 10

dear sir or mam