Grammar geeks. I'm sorry for making fun of you. I need help please.

[leeroysphitz]

I'm going to send a cover letter and resume to an employer. I need the cover letter to look as professional as possible. (wish me luck.) The problem I have is that the HR person I must address the letter to is named Terri Buck with no indication anywhere of Terri's GENDER. How do I formally greet this person on my cover letter?

Would the following trick work? To Terri Buck, Replace the "Mr." or "Mrs." with "To"?

Surely one of you walking MLAs has the orthodox answer to this dilemma.

TIA

ETA I am fully prepared to take a severe beating or to for any mistakes contained in this post for the sake of getting a good answer to my question so snark away! :)

[supernova]

1. Call the main # and ask the receptionist

if "Terri" is a Ms or a Mr.

Sometimes the right answer requires a bit of legwork. ;-)

With a spelling like "Terri" though, dollars to doughnuts it's a female. But calling is the safe professional thing to do.

Good luck. :-)

[leeroysphitz]

2. Thnak you Supernova.

I'd like to think that I would have thought of that eventually. :dunce:

[XemaSab]

14. That's a winner

:thumbsup:

[laconicsax]

3. 3 choices:

#1: Address it to "Terri Buck."
#2: Call and find out.
#3: Invent a title to use.

Also, don't use Mrs. unless it's a married woman using her husband's last name. Just use Ms.; it's safer and easier.

[leeroysphitz]

5. Invent a title?

[laconicsax]

13. Example:

Cosl. Terri Buck
Ih. Terri Buck
Zn. Terri Buck

Just make sure that you thought out what it stands for in case someone asks. I didn't, so don't ask me what any of those stand for.

[Rabrrrrrr]

4. Supernova gave the perfect answer - just call the place and ask.

[LiberalEsto]

6. Hello Terri Buck,

is what I might use.

[sarge43]

7. If Terri is a woman,

then use Ms. rather than Mrs. Properly, Mrs. is used only with husband's given name - Mrs John Smith. Or when you call, ask if she prefers Mrs. or Ms.

[leeroysphitz]

8. Of course you are correct and I have to work on my inattention to details.

Thanks!

[Tangerine LaBamba]

9. Simple

In the finest Quaker tradition, address the person by his/her whole name (by the way, Terri, with an "i," is a woman), as in:

Dear Terri Buck.

Good luck.

[skygazer]

10. Another excellent answer

:thumbsup:

[leeroysphitz]

11. Dear Tangerine LaBamba, That is actually what I ended up doing.

Since I wanted to make sure my email got out today and was sitting in her inbox first thing tomorrow morning. I now feel a lot better about my choice. Thanks!

[Tangerine LaBamba]

12. Well done, kid

It'll work, and it is, I hope, the hardest hurdle you encounter in this venture.

Again, best of luck to you.

[darkstar]

15. Dear Mr./Mrs. (or Ms. if you're one of those types) Terri Buck,

Sincerely (BTW, WTF is up w/ yr name???),

Leeroy

[Duer 157099]

16. Nobody suggested what I would do: use "Dr."

First it just impresses the person that you thought they have a PhD and two, it's gender neutral.

Or, just write: Dear Terri (that's what I'd do but I err on the informal side too much probably)