Include your name, professional email, reliable phone number, and useful professional links.
City or region can help when location matters, but a full street address is often unnecessary.
Leave out sensitive personal details that do not help the application.
What to include in a resume header
At minimum, include your name, a professional email address, and a phone number you actually check. Add a city, region, LinkedIn URL, portfolio, or professional website only when it supports the job search.
Keep the header as selectable text. If your contact details sit inside an image or decorative icon row, a parser may miss them and a recruiter may have to work harder than necessary.
- Full professional name.
- Professional email address.
- Reliable phone number with country code when useful.
- City, state, province, or country when location matters.
- LinkedIn, portfolio, GitHub, or website when relevant and updated.
What to leave out
Do not include details that are unnecessary, sensitive, or likely to distract from your qualifications. Rules vary by country and role, but for many job applications, the resume does not need a full street address, marital status, religion, age, passport number, national ID, or personal photo.
If a local application requires a specific detail later, provide it through the employer's secure form instead of putting it in every resume version.
- Full home address unless the employer specifically needs it.
- Birth date, age, marital status, religion, or family details.
- Government ID numbers or passport information.
- Personal photo unless it is expected in your market and role.
- Unprofessional email addresses or inactive social profiles.
Contact information examples
A strong header is not complicated. It uses consistent separators, readable spacing, and links that lead to pages you are comfortable showing an employer.
If you apply across countries or time zones, add enough location context to reduce confusion. If you apply locally, city and region are often enough unless the posting asks for more.
Resume header examples
| Situation | Header detail to include | Why it helps |
|---|---|---|
| Local job application | Name, email, phone, city or region. | Shows contact path and practical location fit without oversharing. |
| Remote role | Name, email, phone, country or time zone, LinkedIn or portfolio. | Helps reviewers understand communication context and online proof. |
| Developer or designer | Name, email, phone, LinkedIn, GitHub or portfolio. | Gives a path to work samples when the role depends on them. |
| Fresh graduate | Name, email, phone, city, LinkedIn if updated. | Keeps the header professional while the rest of the resume proves skills. |
Make links useful before adding them
A link is useful only if it supports the application. Before adding LinkedIn, GitHub, a portfolio, or a website, open it in a private browser window and check what an employer can actually see.
Make sure names, job titles, dates, projects, and skills do not conflict with the resume. Small inconsistencies can create avoidable doubt.
- Use a clean LinkedIn URL if possible.
- Check that the profile is visible enough for a recruiter.
- Remove broken portfolio links.
- Update old job titles, dates, or skills that conflict with the resume.
- Do not link to personal accounts that weaken your professional story.
Run a final readability check
Paste the resume into ApplyReadyCV and confirm the contact section is still visible in the extracted text. Then check whether the rest of the document has clear sections, useful role keywords, and enough proof for the target job.
A clean header will not carry a weak resume, but a messy header can create friction before anyone gets to your experience.
- Your name appears first or near the top.
- Email and phone are spelled correctly.
- Links are current and open correctly.
- Location details match the job search context.
- No sensitive details appear by accident.
FAQ
Should I put my full address on my resume?+
Often no. City and region are usually enough unless the employer specifically asks for a full address or the location detail is important for the role.
Should I include a photo on my resume?+
It depends on the country and role. For many applications, a photo is not needed and can distract from qualifications. Follow local norms and employer instructions.
Should my LinkedIn URL be in the contact section?+
Yes, if the profile is updated, professional, visible enough, and consistent with the resume.
Sources and further reading
These references support the research and practical guidance used in this article.