The top of a resume needs your name, a professional email, a phone number, your city and region, and a link to a profile or portfolio if it supports the application. Leave out the full street address, date of birth, marital status, a national ID and anything that is not needed to contact you. Put the details in the body of the page rather than in a document header, so software and screen readers reliably find them. The header should take three or four lines, and the reader should not have to look for them.
This is a small part of the page that causes disproportionate trouble. A wrong digit in a phone number or a bounced email costs you an interview.
What to include
| Item | Notes |
|---|---|
| Full name | The name you want to be called, at the largest size on the page |
| Professional, based on your name, from a provider you check daily | |
| Phone | With country code if applying internationally; make sure voicemail is set up |
| Location | City and region or country, such as "Leeds, UK" |
| Profile link | LinkedIn or a professional profile, if it is current and consistent with the resume |
| Portfolio or code link | If relevant: design, writing, software, data work |
If you are open to relocating or remote work, say so once, near the top: "Leeds, UK. Open to remote or hybrid." That helps a recruiter who is checking location as a requirement.
What to leave out
- Full street address. City and region give recruiters what they need. Several security guides advise against sharing a home address in documents that circulate widely.
- Date of birth, age, marital status, nationality or national ID numbers. These are not job-related in most places and can lead to bias.
- Photo, unless the country or the field expects it. See photos on resumes.
- A second email or phone number, which causes confusion about which to use.
- Social media profiles that are personal or inconsistent with your professional image.
- References and "references available on request".
Work authorisation is a different case. If it affects your eligibility, state it plainly where the form or the posting asks. A short line such as "Authorised to work in the UK" can save a screening call, but do not state your nationality or visa category unless asked. See knockout questions for how employers usually ask.
Email address
Use a simple, professional address that includes your name. Avoid nicknames, dates of birth and jokes. If your current address is awkward, create a new one for job applications. Check the spam folder regularly. Recruiters' emails sometimes land there, and a late reply can cost a slot.
If your work email is your only one, do not use it. It signals you are applying from your employer's systems, and you may lose access when you leave.
Phone
Use a number you answer. Record a clear voicemail greeting with your name. If you work in a different time zone from the employer, add your working hours in the cover letter, not in the header. Text-only numbers confuse recruiters who prefer to call.
Links
A link is useful only if it works and helps. Before you add one:
- Open it in a private window to see what a stranger sees.
- Check that it matches your resume: same job titles, same dates.
- Shorten it. A custom URL looks cleaner than a string of characters.
- Remove it if the page is thin, outdated or personal.
For portfolio-based fields, a link to your best three pieces is more useful than a link to everything. See projects on a resume. Your professional profile also gets read by recruiters who search for candidates, so keep it consistent; see LinkedIn profile tips.
Layout
- Name at 14 to 18 points, bold.
- One line below with email, phone, location and links, separated by a vertical bar or spaces.
- No icons that stand in for text, since software may not read them. Write "Email:" or just the address.
- Contact details in the main body of the page, not in a header or footer area.
- A real hyperlink for links, but also print the visible text so the URL survives on paper.
See fonts and margins for the rest of the layout.
Name and file name
Use your usual professional name on the resume. If the name on legal documents differs, you can explain that later. Name the file clearly: "Maria-Lopez-Resume.pdf", not "resume-final-v7.pdf". See PDF or Word.
Check it twice
Read your phone number and email aloud, character by character, then send a test email to yourself and open the PDF on a phone. Ask a friend to try the links. These two minutes catch the typo that would otherwise silently cost you the call. The rest of the first impression is covered in common resume mistakes, and the whole layout in the resume writing guide.
Common inquiries regarding this topic.
What contact information should be on a resume?
Your full name, a professional email address, a phone number, your city and region or country, and a link to a professional profile or portfolio if it helps. You do not need a full street address.
Your full name, a professional email address, a phone number, your city and region or country, and a link to a professional profile or portfolio if it helps. You do not need a full street address.
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