Dear Sir, Madam, Whatever,

How do you address the people to whom you are writing email job applications?

When I'm writing to a Briton I use "Dear" and then their first name.

Only a few years ago this would have been too informal, now it seems acceptable. This also gets around the problem of women. I don't have to worry about it being "Dear Mrs", "Dear Miss" or "Dear Ms"? Using those titles is like walking in a minefield, in the dark, blindfolded, wearing clown shoes.

Foreigners. Bit more tricky. I still prefer to leave out their title unless they mentioned it: "Please apply to Angela Merkel (Fr.) for the job of Interior Minister". Then, it would be "Dear Fr Merkel" or "Dear Fr Chancellor". Otherwise it's "Dear Angela Merkel" or "Dear Edmund Stoiber".

I think that gives the right level of formality. Remember IT is a young-ish, slightly informal sector.

Also, it's unusual for me to use a salutation in their own language (e.g. Sehr geheerte .."). Keep it in English.

I always sign off with "Regards" with these emails. Well it's better than "Lots of love".

But what if the agency doesn't give a contact name?

Well, until today I then used to write "Dear Sir or Madam". Immediately I'd then add "Your faithfully" before writing anything else. Otherwise I'd forget and leave in "Regards" which, as you know, should never be used with this level of formality in a letter.

But today I couldn't be arsed. The only contact given was "Contracts Team". So I wrote "Dear Contract Team" and finished with "Regards".

Haven't heard back from them, though.