Home / Resume header
Resume header: what to include (and leave out)
Your resume header is the name-and-contact block at the top of the page. It needs five things, fits on two or three lines, and should sit in the body of the page, not in a Word header area that some parsers skip.
Include: full name, target job title, phone, professional email, city and state, and one relevant link (LinkedIn, portfolio or GitHub). Leave out: full street address, photo (in the US, UK and Canada), date of birth, marital status and a second phone number.
Build your header and check it
Maya Okafor
Operations Coordinator
maya.okafor@email.com(555) 214-8830Columbus, OHlinkedin.com/in/mayaokafor
- Full name
- Target job title under your name
- Professional-looking email
- Phone with area code
- City and state only (no street address)
- Link without https:// or www.
Resume header examples
| Situation | Header line |
|---|---|
| Standard | Maya Okafor · Operations Coordinator · (555) 214-8830 · maya.okafor@email.com · Columbus, OH · linkedin.com/in/mayaokafor |
| Licensed professional | Grace Mitchell, RN, BSN · Medical-Surgical Nurse · … |
| Relocating | … · Relocating to Denver, CO (June 2027) · … |
| Remote job | … · Austin, TX (open to remote) · … |
| Designer or developer | … · leomarchetti.design · github.com/kevinzhao |
Details that trip people up
- Email: first.last@ on a mainstream provider. Avoid nicknames and your current employer's address.
- LinkedIn: customise the URL (linkedin.com/in/yourname) and drop the "https://www." prefix.
- Location: city and state are enough. Recruiters use it to judge commute and time zone; a full street address adds nothing and costs privacy.
- Name: use the name you go by. Add pronouns only if you want to.
- Photos: leave them off in the US, UK, Canada and Australia, where anti-discrimination practices mean many recruiters discard resumes with photos. Parts of Europe and Asia still expect them on a CV.
Questions
Should I put my full address on my resume?
No. City and state (or city and country) are enough, and safer for your privacy.
Should the header go in the Word header section?
No. Some parsers ignore document headers and footers, so put your name and contact details in the main body at the top of the page. All ResumeFlex templates do this.
Do I need a job title in my resume header?
It is optional but useful: a target title under your name tells a recruiter in one glance what you are applying for.