Familiarity

It wasn't easy but I eventually accepted that when writing a covering email for a job you address the person by their first name.

Even though you haven't been formally introduced to them.

If I wrote "Dear Mr Whatever ..." it would come across as too formal in today's modern England (I blame the abolition of child labour and the end of the poor house).

Of course it's near impossible to formally address a female recruiter. They never give their title (Miss or Mrs). You can't hedge with Ms as it's a bit old-fashioned now. Nor can you call their company's office and ask. They'll probably be offended but more likely won't know. In anycase your marital status should be confidential within a company.

So, like everyone else I address covering emails with a "Dear Ben" or "Dear Gill". Even the "Dear" bit may seem formal to some. I get quite a lot of emails with "Hi John" even though the writer and I are strangers.

I've never been called "buddy" by a consultant (or indeed by anyone outside of Somerset). Until today. He called from the agency who had called me 15 minutes earlier (that agent forgetting he had already spoken with me recently).

This one called about a job for which I had just applied. He's sent me the job spec and called me buddy a few more times. Quite a few actually.

So, that application resulted in a bite and I applied for two other jobs today.