Using a Post-it note instead of an accompanying letter when sending documents

manpreet Best Answer 2 years ago

I received a job offer on relative short term notice. Everything was settled by phone, but obviously I had to sign a contract and send it back to the company.

Instead of writing and printing a full cover letter, I simply stuck a small note (post-it) on top of the document-folder, saying something like 'Dear Mrs. X, as discussed on phone I'll hand in document Y later. Thanks, ...'.

Was this rude? When is it appropriate to use post-its instead of cover letters?

If it matters: country was Germany, the company quite large, the communication was with my future contact person in HR. We had contact via mail and phone about the contracting process beforehand.

manpreet 2 years ago

When is it appropriate to use post-its instead of cover letters?

A post-it conveys, "FYI, this is not super important but wanted to remind you!" They are also, generally, not intended to be permanent.

A more formal letter conveys, "this is important."

Was this rude?

This is really a personal preference thing. Some people will see it as informal and find it annoying. But other people will not even consider this as a "rude or not rude" thing.

Also, I wouldn't worry about this. It's almost assuredly not a big deal to the person who received the mail.