Cover Letter Question

[emily]

I'm sending off a resume to Whole Foods and the contact's first name is Frances. Is this the masculin spelling? Do I address is Dear Mr. Last Name? Is there another route to go to avoid any gender distinction???

Emily

[ktg0930]

I think Frances is the female spelling, but hopefully someone else will know for certain. You could address it as Dear First name Last name...it looks funny but I have received letters addressed that way and it does take care of the gender issue.

Hope you get the position!
Kathy

[paula]

Unfortunately, I think the lines have blurred and both men and women spell their names Frances.

[jphilg]

My vote is for female....male is Francis. I think it is a safe bet that s/he's a woman

[goaliemom]

Why don't you put a quick call into the Whole Foods main line and ask the operator? You won't even have to identify yourself, just explain the situation. It's worth a shot.

[Jessica]

I agree with goaliemom. The Frances spelling is typically female but you just never know.

[aggie94]

I was just having this conversation with Che yesterday, because he was sending to an email to a person whose gender he wasn't sure about but had assumed was male. I told him he shouldn't assume that, so he changed the salutation to: "Dear Firstname Lastname." I told him I thought that was just as unprofessional, because no one addresses letters that way, and that he really needed to call and check for sure. If I got a resume/cover letter addressed to me as Mr. Lastname or as Eva Lastname, I would be offended that the person didn't care enough to bother to find out if I was male or female, and probably just pitch it.

[AzAnne]

My GM was Frances and my GF (her husband) was Francis. The only way I could remember the whole i e thing... I is for his, E is for her(s)

[tbb113]

Originally posted by aggie94
If I got a resume/cover letter addressed to me as Mr. Lastname or as Eva Lastname, I would be offended that the person didn't care enough to bother to find out if I was male or female, and probably just pitch it.

I got a rejection letter in college address to Mr. Tyra B. I so much wanted to call up the company and ask them what they felt about Ms. Tyra B but didn't think it would go over well :D

I agree, I would call up Whole Foods and ask. The alternative of 'Dear Frances' is probably to informal for a cover letter.

[Escher]

Gender neutral names invariably trend female over time.

FTR, sounds like a her to me, as well.

But I'd go w/ the Dear First/Last approach, to be sure....

[brykate]

Just wanted to say good luck for the job! :)

[ErinM]

I am CONSTANTLY getting letters addressed to me that say Dear Mr. Erin _______. This has sometimes happened even AFTER I've talked to a person.

IMO, you can't go wrong with calling. It may seem like a small point, but it can make all the difference in the world!

[crlykat]

If you can't get a hold of the operator, I think you can go ahead with Dear First name Last name. I have to do that sometimes at work when dealing with international authors and it's never been a problem as long as the rest of the letter is super polite.

Funny--my DH's name is Attila (like the Hun) but since there are many feminine Spanish names that end in 'a', especially here in Southern California, he always gets unsolicited letters that open with Dear Ms Attila _____,
heh heh cracks me up thinking of Attila the Hun as a woman!! :D

[emily]

Thanks for all the replies. I still haven't sent it off. The number that they have listed in the post I believe is the direct number and I'd feel a little foolish calling to say "um, I was just wondering if you're a guy or a girl" but it seems like that's the consensus about what I should do and since it's still business hours on the west coast, I guess I should stop procrastinating...

Emily

[tbb113]

Emily:

The other option is to wait until AFTER business hours. If its a direct line...hopefully the person will have personalized the voice mail message and you can tell by the voice. However, that might not be 100% accurate.

If you do get the person, I don't think they would be offended if you said you wanted to send them a resume and wanted to make sure you addressed it correctly. Who knows a personal touch/contact might make all the difference. At least they will have spoken with you which might make them remember you better.

[crlykat]

Emily, what about calling under the pretense of asking a question about the job ahead of time? That would make you look proactive and solve the problem!
By the way, I know three Francess and they are all female.

[aggie94]

I like Tyra's suggestion of calling after hours to get their voicemail. Alternatively, if they answer the phone during business hours and say "Hi, this is Frances Smith," you can probably tell right away if it's a man or woman and just hang up. :eek: ;)

[Escher]

Originally posted by tbb113
Emily:
If you do get the person, I don't think they would be offended if you said you wanted to send them a resume and wanted to make sure you addressed it correctly. Who knows a personal touch/contact might make all the difference. At least they will have spoken with you which might make them remember you better.

100% agree. You don't have to say that you are determining their gender....suggest you were missing zip or something else....

[emily]

Man, who knew so many would respond so quickly. Well, turns out calling was a good thing. I talked to Frank (thinking, ok, it's a guy) for a while under the pretext of looking to see how soon they were looking to hire someone since I won't even be out there until the beginning of May. We had a great conversation in which he said that he and his partner Frances would be going through the resumes (back to square one). Then I asked who I should address the cover letter to, him or Frances. He says Frances, again no mention of gender, so finally I just asked if I should send it to Ms. or Mr. She's a she :)

And in case you're curious, this is the position "Whole Foods Market voted 100 best places to work 6 yrs by Fortune Magazine is looking for a creative& artistic Cake & Pastry Production team member to support our Bakehouse Facility"

Part of the benefits are a 20% discount :D

Emily

[tbb113]

Glad the phone call worked out for you. When I first got hired here I need to send an email to 'Lee' asking Lee to do something for me. Let me tell you, its pretty hard to write an entire email with ever saying she/he her/him since I didn't know 'Lee's' gender. It was a man....

[Leisa M]

Originally posted by tbb113
Emily:

The other option is to wait until AFTER business hours. If its a direct line...hopefully the person will have personalized the voice mail message and you can tell by the voice. However, that might not be 100% accurate.

If you do get the person, I don't think they would be offended if you said you wanted to send them a resume and wanted to make sure you addressed it correctly. Who knows a personal touch/contact might make all the difference. At least they will have spoken with you which might make them remember you better.

Good thoughts Tyra. I will have to let my DH know, he is looking now.

[Leisa M]

Originally posted by tbb113
Glad the phone call worked out for you. When I first got hired here I need to send an email to 'Lee' asking Lee to do something for me. Let me tell you, its pretty hard to write an entire email with ever saying she/he her/him since I didn't know 'Lee's' gender. It was a man....

Try sir/madam, that way you get both. When my DH goes to send a resume on the Internet it is usually late (therefore noone to talk to), so I suggest sir/madam.

[Jewel]

Originally posted by emily
Part of the benefits are a 20% discount :D

Em, I've always told you I wanted to trade places with you for just one year...and now you've gone and made that dream even more enticing! :p Good luck on the job!