Dear job seekers

[jethrien]

"Dear Friend" is not an appropriate way to begin a cover letter.

Creepy...

Comments

[cubby-t-bear.livejournal.com]

Which subculture was it where it was appropriate to call casual people "friend?"

[jethrien.livejournal.com]

Haven't a clue. I feel like I've heard it used in kind of a creepy way in some sci fi/fantasy books.

[nanonicole.livejournal.com]

Hmmm... Soviet communists called each other "comrade." Close enough?

[cubby-t-bear.livejournal.com]

That only adds to the creepy factor :)

I wonder, though. I've experimented with different endings to letters, from time to time. The word friend has made its appearance in a few of them, though not comrade.

[nanonicole.livejournal.com]

I would love to address someone as "Comrade." Perhaps I'll try it out... :-)

[jethrien.livejournal.com]

An ending to a letter is a little less weird, somehow. I think because a letter ending ("Your friend") applies to the writer, whereas the opening ("Dear Friend") applies to the reader. It's less presumptuous for you to declare that you are my friend than for you to declare that I am your friend.

But hopefully, you were doing this in a letter to someone you actually know. If you're actually friends, it's not creepy at all. But if you address a business letter to someone who you know nothing about, including title or even gender, declaring that they're your friend...creepy.