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When writing a cover letter for OCI that will be submitted on symplicity, is it better to put a date on the letter or not? I ask because the dates on my letters are from July. I don't want employers to see it and think that it's a typo, but I also don't want to change it to an August date and have it look like I waited until the last minute to write the letter. Or, is it better just not to have a date on it? I realize that it's probably a stupid question with a clear answer, but I have no idea what that answer might be.

I actually put July 4th, I thought it added a subtle psychological touch.

Cupidity wrote:I actually put July 4th, I thought it added a subtle psychological touch.

That you were so poor at time management you had to shut yourself in on the 4th to write cover letters?

I put the date of the day that the bids were due on Symplicity on my letters.

Put a date and make sure there are no typos. If you do not put a date it can make it look like this is a form letter you did not even bother putting a date on. More importantly, proper correspondence has a date and these dates are important in the legal profession (cases turn on the date a letter was sent).

I just put the date that symplicity closes for bidding. That makes it the most recent date that guarantees it is in the past when it is read. You would not want someone reading your letter dated from the future. It isn't a big deal to have a letter dated from a week or two before they read it. That is the way things go. Why are you concerned about having an old date?

Glock wrote:Put a date and make sure there are no typos. If you do not put a date it can make it look like this is a form letter you did not even bother putting a date on. More importantly, proper correspondence has a date and these dates are important in the legal profession (cases turn on the date a letter was sent).

I just put the date that symplicity closes for bidding. That makes it the most recent date that guarantees it is in the past when it is read. You would not want someone reading your letter dated from the future. It isn't a big deal to have a letter dated from a week or two before they read it. That is the way things go. Why are you concerned about having an old date?

Concerned about having an old date because I didn't want it to look odd/draw attention for being dated a month before OCI.

I dated letters for the day I wrote them (or if I was writing them on the day bids were due, a few days before).

I wouldn't expect the date on the letter to have any effect on your prospects for OCI.

doesn't matter a bit

PirateCap'n wrote: Concerned about having an old date because I didn't want it to look odd/draw attention for being dated a month before OCI.

Having no date will look much worse. Having a date in the future would be terrible. Having an older date might actually look better because it shows you get things done early.

None of this really matters. Just put a typo-free date on there.

Yeah, don't choose a date that is obviously later than when you wrote the letter. That would be, essentially, a lie.

Think about it like this: You're going to mail a letter to your mom today, but you know she's on vacation and won't read it for a week. Are you going to put down the day you wrote it or the day you anticipate she's going to read it?

What's the right format (July 27, 2011) ?

Yes. You should probably google sample law cover letters for more help re: formatting.