When writing a cover letter, if you don't know the s*x, what do you put?

Question

I am writing a cover letter and the letter is going to be adressed to someone with the first name Huyla. I am not sure if this is a male or female name. I looked online and it appears to be female, but I realize how awful it would be if I addressed the person as "Ms." and they were male.

So which is more appropriate? To address it to "Huyla LastName" or "Ms. LastName"?

Thank you!

Answer 1

You might try to call the company and ask the receptionist if the individual is a male or female as you are addressing a letter to that person.  That way, you'd be guaranteed to get it right and it shows a little initiative.

Answer 2

Dear Sir or Madam always works for me, since it covers both bases.

Answer 3

"Dear Huyla" to start and "Yours sincerely" to finish.

Male of Female no one is offended.

Answer 4

Try calling the company and asking if it's "Ms." "Mrs." or "Mr.".  You can then have the appropriate title for your cover letter.

You're right: It would be unprofessional to write "Ms." if it's a male and "Mr." if it's a female.

Having the appropriate wording and format is always a good idea! I've heard that companies will throw out any resume or cover letter that's badly written or formatted!

You can always have a friend or family member look over your resume and cover letter!

Good luck!

Answer 5

I like the other people's posts about finding out the gender by phoning the company.  If you cannot do that, Dear Sir or Madam or Dear Hiring Manager is still appropriate.

Answer 6

or M. Huyla...

M. stands for Mr. Mrs. Ms. and Miss

Answer 7

When in doubt,go with "Mr".

Answer 8

put Ms./Mr. then ther name