U.S. Postage Rate Increase -- Effective May 11, 2009

On May 11, 2009, the U.S. Postal Service will implement a new postage rate increase for the majority of mail services including First–Class Mail®, First–Class International®, Postcards and Special Services. The price for one–ounce First–Class™ stamps has increased to $0.44 from $0.42.

U.S. Postal Service Mail Class New Postage Rates
(effective 5/11/09) Previous Postage Rates
First-Class Mail® letter (1 oz.) $0.44 $0.42
First-Class Mail® letter - each additional ounce $0.17 $0.17
Postcard $0.28 $0.27
First-Class Mail® flat (1 oz.) $0.88 $0.83
First-Class Mail® parcel (1 oz.) $1.20 $1.17
Certified Mail (in addition to postage) $2.80 $2.70
First-Class Mail® International to Canada (1 oz.) $0.75 $0.72
First-Class Mail® International to Mexico (1 oz.) $0.79 $0.72
First-Class Mail® International to all other countries (1 oz.) $0.98 $0.94
Priority Mail® (1 lb.) $4.95 (and up) $4.80 (and up)
Express Mail® (0.5 lb.) $13.05 (and up) $12.60 (and up)

According to the U.S. Postal Service, the average postage increase by class of mail will be at or below the rate of inflation (as measured by the Consumer Price Index).

How to Request a Letter of Recommendation

Leaving your job? It's always smart to get a letter of recommendation from your boss before you hit the road. But how do you ask?

If you feel awkward about making the request, read this advice first.

TIP: "Enclosure" Notations in Your Letters

Are you doing this right?

When a letter contains enclosures, type one of the following abbreviations...

Enc.
Encl.
Encs.

...flush with the left margin, one or two spaces under the combination of initials identifying first the writer of the letter, then the typist. Here's an example:

JRS/rh

Enc.

If there's more than one enclosure, indicate the number, like this:

Encs. 2

If the enclosures are especially important, identify them, like this:

Enc. Certified check $2,350
Mortgage -- Smith to Jones

If an enclosure is to be returned, make a note to that effect, like this:

Enc. Assignment (to be returned)

This and many other helpful topics are covered in the Legal Secretary's Complete Handbook, Fourth Edition, by Mary A. DeVries.

Is a Cover Letter with a Resume Necessary?

Believe it or not, sometimes a cover letter with your resume isn't necessary. But some of you should most definitely include one.

Do you need that letter? Find out here.

Microsoft Word -- FREE Online Help!

Wow, what a great site! We recently discovered Allen Wyatt's Word Tips, a well-organized, valuable site that gives you quick help with Microsoft Word. Help topics offered include:

- Bullets and Numbering
- Fields
- Find and Replace
- Footnotes and Endnotes
- Headers and Footers
- Macros
- Styles
- Tables

...and a whole lot more.

Next time you're ready to throw your monitor out the 53rd story window, reign in your frustration and check out Allen Wyatt's Word Tips!

Get Around Faster & Easier in Microsoft Word

Here are some tricks for navigating inside your Microsoft Word documents faster and more easily. You'll save a lot of time -- your boss will think you're a wizard and you can go back to IMing your cousin Sharon a lot sooner.

Selecting ALL the Text in an Entire Document

- Place your cursor in the left margin of your document
- Click the Control key (Ctrl) while pressing your left mouse button once.

Scrolling

See how your scroll bar has some space to move inside its skinny column over there? If you leave some space under the scroll bar and click inside that empty space, you will automatically scroll to the bottom of the screen. Or, if you want to go to the top of the screen in a big hurry, leave some space above the scroll bar and click there.

End of The Line

Take the express to the end of any line in Word. Just click the End key.

View Two Sections of Your Document at Once

- Click on the Window pull-down menu
- Click on Split
- A line will appear on your screen. When you move your mouse up and down, you'll also move the line. Left-click on your mouse when the line is where you want to divide the page. Presto! Your document will appear in two separate sections on-screen!
- To un-split the page, go back under Windows and choose Remove Split.

TIP: In Letters, Getting the Addressee's Title Right

Are you doing this right?

Here are some tips for addressing letters to individuals with specific titles or positions.

When you're typing the name of the person you're writing to with their address at the beginning of a letter, always precede a name with a title (like Mr., Ms., Dr., etc.) EXCEPT when the name is followed by:

-- initials indicating an educational degree (like Ph.D.)
OR
-- the abbreviation Esq.

So in other words, if you're writing to an attorney (which makes him or her an "Esquire" or "Esq."), the name should look like this:

John A. Smith, Esq.

NOT

Mr. John A. Smith, Esq.
(You shouldn't use both "Mr." and "Esq." -- just "Esq." by itself.)


If you're writing to someone with a name that incorporates initials indicating an educational degree, the name should look like this:

Anne B. Jones, Ph.D.

NOT

Ms. Anne B. Jones, Ph.D.
(You shouldn't use both "Ms." and "Ph.D." -- just "Ph.D." by itself.)


If the addressee has no special initials representing a degree and is not an "Esquire", you WOULD use an ordinary title, like these:

Mr. John A. Smith
Ms. Anne B. Jones


What if the addressee's name includes "Jr." or "Sr."?

You should still use a title like "Mr. or Ms.", like this:

Mr. John A. Smith, Jr.


What if the addressee is an "Esquire" and a "Jr." or "Sr."?

Then you would drop the title like "Mr." or "Ms.", like this:

John A. Smith, Jr., Esq.


What if the addressee has a business title, like "Vice President"?

You should still use a title like "Mr. or Ms.", like this:

Mr. John A. Smith, Vice President

Do not abbreviate a business title, like this:

Mr. John A. Smith, V.P.

These tips and many more are available in The Legal Secretary's Complete Handbook by Mary A. DeVries.