email - What style should I use in e-mail salutations to superiors, colleagues, or juniors?




Possible Duplicates:
Salutation in an Email
How do you greet multiple recipients in an e-mail?



How do I use the initial words while writing an e-mail, in particular, to my superiors?


Suppose somebody is writing a letter to the HR representative of a company, requesting a letter, approval, information, etc. Should the salutation be written like:



Hi



or:



Dear



or her/his name:



Dear Jenny



Are any of these proper way? Or, should I leave it blank and start with the crux of the matter right away?


Does it matter whether I know the person or not, or if the person is not my superior but is a colleague or junior?



Answer



I personally do a greeting (Good morning/afternoon) versus dear or hi, and feel this is more appropiate than dear or hi. Normally all my emails start as follows:

Good morning/afternoon [First Name or Mr/Ms Last Name],
Hope all is well. [Start email]

I feel this is friendly and respectful to the recipient, and you would choose which titles to use depending on the relationship.


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