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9. CHECK, RECHECK, AND TRIPLE-CHECK
If you’re new to the jobhunting process, you will find the following reminders
helpful. Do triple-check your letters for proper presentation.
Do take the time to ensure that you’ve correctly identified the name of the
company or organization. While we may refer to Time magazine, for example, as
Time, it is actually one of the publications of AOL Time Warner, Inc. The manu-
facturer of the famous Reebok footwear is actually Reebok International LTD.
What we call Prudential is correctly titled Prudential Financial, Inc. Disney is re-
ally The Walt Disney Company. Virtually every company in the United States is
listed in Standard and Poor’s Register of Corporations, which is published yearly and
is available online at www.standardandpoors.com. Most public libraries have
such directories in their reference sections that list company names in full, and
more for those who wish to do additional research. Hoover’s Handbook of American
Business, for example, provides overviews of most American companies, the prod-
ucts and services they offer, primary competitors and recent sales figures, the
names and titles of key executives, addresses, and telephone and fax numbers for
the firm’s main headquarters. You can access this site online at www.hoovers.com.
Do direct your letter to the reader. Remember Terry Muldour from the sam-
ple employment ad earlier in this chapter? It was impossible to discern from the
ad whether Terry Muldour was male or female. In fact, some recruiters purpose-
ly make an ad vague to test the resourcefulness of the jobhunter, a ploy Terry Mul-
dour may have used. If you are faced with this ambiguity, don’t rely on the stan-
dard “To Whom It May Concern” salutation because it’s standard. Try to contact
the company in question or visit its Web site to obtain the information you need.
If that fails, use the entire name (as did the writer of Letter 2-2) or the person’s title
(as did the writer of Letter 2-4).
Do check your spelling before mailing your letter. Poor spelling creates a
sloppy, negative impression quickly. Proofreading backwards from the end of the
letter to the beginning will help you catch errors that you might overlook when
reading forwards. If you don’t trust your own spelling abilities, ask a friend to
proofread your letter. At the very least, use your computer’s spell check program.
Do be sure to use the same paper type and color for your resume, letter, and
envelope. Your resume and letters should bear the same heading—one that in-
cludes your name, address, e-mail address and the telephone numbers at which
you can be reached. Be sure to identity whether the telephone numbers you pro-
vide are for work, at home, or mobile. (For printing purposes, the sample letters
contained in this book do not have such headings on them—but yours should.)
Do check to be certain that you have matched the letter you send Ms. Smith
with the envelope addressed to the same Ms. Smith. Always type names, titles,
and addresses on each envelope; never address them by hand. It’s astonishing
how many times jobhunters make these silly, but crucial errors!

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