Resume Header: What to Include in Your Contact Section

Your resume header is the block at the top of the page with your name and contact details. It needs five things: your full name, one phone number, one professional email, your city and state, and a LinkedIn or portfolio link. Keep it to two or three lines. Type it in the main body of the page, not in Word's header area, which some hiring software skips.

It sounds simple, which is why people get it wrong. Common slips include a full street address, an old college email, and a LinkedIn link full of random characters. Another is contact details hidden where the software never looks.

This guide covers what to include, what to leave out, and how much of your address to show. It also shows how to format the block so applicant tracking systems read it, with a copyable template and examples for different situations.

What a resume header is (and what it isn't)#

A resume header is the top section of your resume with your identifying and contact information. At minimum, that's your name, phone number, email, and general location. Most modern headers also include a LinkedIn or portfolio link, and sometimes a short headline.

The word "header" causes confusion because it gets used for several different things. This table separates them.

This article covers the first one. For the one-line label underneath, see the guide to resume headline examples. As you'll see below, the software header area is usually the wrong place for your contact details.

Three ways a header quietly costs you interviews#

A weak header rarely gets a resume rejected on its own. Instead, it creates friction at exactly the moment a recruiter wants to move forward. Watch for these three problems:

• You're unreachable. A typo in your email, an old phone number, or a full voicemail box means the invitation never lands. Recruiters with dozens of candidates rarely try twice.
• You're unfindable. If your resume name doesn't match your LinkedIn profile or application form, a recruiter may not connect the records later. The same happens when your header sits in a part of the file the ATS skips.
• You're filtered out. Leave location off and you may not appear when a recruiter filters for candidates near the office. List a distant city without a relocation note, and you may lose out to someone local.

Every recommendation below is designed to prevent one of these three problems.

What to include in your resume header#

Here's the complete list of what belongs in a resume header, with how to format each item.

The minimum viable header#

If you only do five things, do these:

• Name in larger, bold type
• One phone number you answer, with a professional voicemail greeting
• One email address that's simple and based on your name
• City and state, or "Remote" plus your time zone for remote roles
• A LinkedIn link if your profile is current

Everything else is optional and should earn its place. Here is a template you can copy and fill in.

How to write your name on a resume#

Your name is the largest text on the page and the anchor for everything else. Recruiters will type it into LinkedIn, an ATS search, and email, so it needs to be the same everywhere.

Use the name you go by#

Use your first and last name as you want to be addressed at work. If you go by a middle name or a shortened first name, use that. If your preferred name differs from your legal name, put the preferred name on the resume. Your legal name will be collected later for payroll and background checks.

Make sure the name matches your LinkedIn profile and your email signature. Mismatches make you harder to find and can look like an error.

Credentials after your name#

Add letters after your name only when they matter for the target job:

• Licenses that the job requires: RN, CPA, PE, LCSW
• Degrees that signal expertise for the role: PhD, MD, PharmD, MBA (for some business roles)
• Certifications that the posting names as required or preferred: PMP, CFA, SHRM-CP

Limit it to two or three, separated by commas, in the order your field expects. That is usually highest degree first, then licenses, then certifications. Write them after your name, as in "Ethan Park, PhD," rather than adding "Dr." in front. List every credential in full with dates in your certifications section.

Names from other languages and naming orders#

If your name puts the family name first, decide how you want U.S. readers to address you, and write it that way. Many candidates put the given name first on U.S. resumes. Others keep their original order and set the family name in capitals, so readers can tell which part is which. Either works, as long as it matches your LinkedIn profile and email.

If your name is often mispronounced, you can add a short guide in smaller text, such as "Fatima Siddiqui (sid-DEE-kee)." It's optional, but it can make the first phone call easier. LinkedIn also lets you record your name's pronunciation on your profile.

Pronouns#

Adding pronouns is optional. If you include them, put them in smaller text next to or under your name, for example "Noah Fischer (he/him)." Some candidates put them only in their email signature or LinkedIn profile instead. Either approach is fine.

Phone number and email address#

These two lines are how you get the interview call, so they need to work and look professional.

Phone number#

List one number that you'll actually answer during business hours, almost always your cell phone. Set up a short voicemail greeting with your name. Don't list a current work number; taking recruiter calls on an employer's line is risky.

Use a standard U.S. format like (555) 555-0123 or 555-555-0123. If you're applying from another country, add the country code, such as +1 555 555 0123 for a U.S. number.

During an active search, expect calls from unfamiliar numbers. Recruiters and schedulers often call from blocked or main-line numbers, and some phones send those straight to voicemail. Check your spam-call filter and your voicemail daily. If you miss a call, return it within one business day.

Email address#

Your email should be boring in the best way: your name at a mainstream provider. Avoid nicknames, birth years, and current work addresses. Here are some patterns that work and some that don't.

If your email is from a provider some readers see as dated, that's rarely a real problem. A clean, name-based address matters far more than the domain.

One email for your search, used everywhere#

A separate address for your search keeps recruiter messages from getting buried under newsletters. It is easier to filter, and you can retire it when you're hired. If you own a domain, an address like hello@yourname.com looks polished, as long as you check it daily.

Use the same details everywhere you apply. Online forms ask you to retype your name, email, phone, and LinkedIn URL, so keep a plain-text copy of your header to paste from. Mirror it in your email signature too, so your resume, email, and profile all match.

Location: how much of your address to include#

Location is the header element with the most outdated advice. You don't need a street address. In almost every case, city and state are enough.

Recruiters do care about location. In Jobscan's 2025 recruiter survey, 43.4% of recruiters said they filter candidates by location in their ATS. Leave location off entirely, and you might drop out of those searches. But a filter needs a city, not a house number.

There's also a privacy reason. Your resume goes to people and systems you don't know, and fake job postings exist to collect personal information. The Federal Trade Commission warns that job scams are designed to get your money and your personal information. Sharing less is the safer default.

Location decision table#

Use this table to choose the right location line for your situation.

For remote-only searches, see the guide on how to find remote jobs. It covers how to signal time zone and availability throughout your application.

Links: LinkedIn, portfolio, and GitHub#

Links are now a standard part of the resume header, and for good reason: recruiters look you up. In the same Jobscan survey, 73.3% of recruiters said they always or often evaluate a candidate's LinkedIn profile. About 47% check whether the profile matches the resume.

If recruiters are going to look anyway, a link saves them a search and makes sure they find the right person.

LinkedIn#

Customize your LinkedIn URL before you put it on your resume, because the default ends in random numbers and letters. LinkedIn lets you set a custom URL of 3 to 100 characters, without spaces or symbols. You can change it only five times in six months, so pick one you'll keep.

Write it without the prefix: linkedin.com/in/luciaromero, not https://www.linkedin.com/in/luciaromero. In a PDF, make it a clickable link. Before you add it, make sure the profile matches your resume. The LinkedIn profile optimization guide and the free LinkedIn profile review help you close any gaps.

Portfolio, GitHub, and other links#

Add a second link only when it shows work the employer will want to see:

• Designers, writers, photographers, and marketers: a portfolio site or a curated portfolio page
• Software engineers and data scientists: a GitHub profile with pinned, documented repositories
• Researchers and academics: a Google Scholar or ORCID profile
• Content creators and social media roles: the one professional channel that matches the job

Don't add personal social media accounts. If a link leads to anything you wouldn't want a hiring manager to scroll through, leave it off. Two links is a sensible maximum. When you list two, a short label such as "Portfolio:" tells the reader which is which.

Header extras by field#

Different fields reward different extras in the header. Use this table to decide what, beyond the basics, is worth adding for your target role.

The pattern is simple. Add the one or two items that answer the first screening question for that field, and leave the rest for later sections.

What to leave out of your resume header#

Some details that used to be common on resumes now create risk or waste space. Leave these out of U.S. applications:

• Photos. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission advises employers not to ask applicants for a photograph, and to collect one only after an offer if needed. A photo shows traits employers are told not to weigh, so it can only work against you.
• Date of birth or age. It invites age bias and isn't relevant to your qualifications.
• Marital status, number of children, religion, or nationality. The EEOC says pre-employment questions should generally stick to what's needed to judge qualifications.
• Social Security number, driver's license number, or passport number. No legitimate employer needs these on a resume.
• Professional license numbers. Your RN or CPA letters can go after your name. The license number itself belongs in your certifications section, and only when the posting asks for it.
• Full street address. City and state are enough, as covered above.
• A "Resume" or "Curriculum Vitae" title. The reader knows what they're looking at, and a parser may mistake it for your name.
• Labels like "Phone:" or "Email:" They take up space without adding information.
• Multiple phone numbers or email addresses. One of each, so the recruiter never has to guess.

When the rules change abroad#

Resume conventions vary by country. In parts of Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, a photo, date of birth, or nationality is common or even expected. Where a CV header includes a photo, it usually sits in the top corner beside your name. Use a recent, passport-style headshot against a plain, professional background.

Those norms don't carry over to U.S. applications, where the photo stays off. The guide to international resume formats covers the major differences by country.

How to format your resume header#

Good header formatting is quiet. The name stands out, the contact line is easy to scan, and the whole block takes up as little vertical space as possible.

Size and weight#

Make your name the largest text on the page, typically 18 to 24 points, in bold. Set the contact line in your body font at 10 to 11 points. If you use a headline, make it bold at a size between the two. The guide to the best resume fonts covers typeface choices.

Layout options#

There are four common header layouts. All of them work if you keep the block compact.

Space budget#

On a one-page resume, the header should be the smallest content block. The chart shows a sensible split of vertical space.

If your header takes up more than about a tenth of the page, tighten it. A bloated header pushes your strongest evidence further down, where a quick first read may never reach it.

Separators and icons#

Separate contact items with a vertical bar ( | ), a bullet ( • ), or generous spacing. Small icons for phone and email are fine visually, but always include the text next to them. An icon alone carries no information for software.

How to make your resume header ATS-friendly#

Applicant tracking systems need your name, email, and phone to create your candidate record. If the header doesn't parse, a recruiter may not be able to contact you, even if your resume ranks well. Follow these steps:

1. Put the header in the document body. Don't use the built-in header area in Word or Google Docs for page one. Some systems read that area inconsistently.
2. Avoid text boxes, tables, and columns for contact details. Keep each item as plain text on a line.
3. Write the email and phone in full. Don't rely on icons or embedded links alone.
4. Use a standard font and avoid special characters in your name line.
5. Save in the format the employer asks for. The guide to sending a PDF or Word resume explains when each works best.
6. Test it. Copy all the text from your file and paste it into the free resume parser. Check that your name, email, and phone land in the right fields. The ATS resume checker flags other formatting problems.

If your name or email comes back blank or garbled, rebuild the header as plain text in the body. The guide to resume parsing errors covers the most common causes and fixes.

How to make a resume header in Word#

Word has two places that look like a header, and only one is right for your contact details. The resume header is the first lines of your document body. Word's header and footer are separate areas in the top and bottom margins. Text there repeats on every page, and some applicant tracking systems skip it.

Here is how to build the header in the right place:

1. Click at the very top of page one, in the body. Don't use Insert, then Header.
2. Type your name on the first line and make it bold, 18 to 24 points.
3. Type your contact line below it as plain text, separated by vertical bars. Don't use a table or a text box to line things up.
4. To make your LinkedIn link clickable, select the text and press Ctrl+K (Cmd+K on a Mac). Paste the full URL as the address, and keep the short version as the visible text.
5. Double-click the top margin to check that Word's own header area is empty on page one.

Check how it looks on a phone#

Open your PDF on your phone and check that the name reads without zooming and the links open when tapped. If the contact line wraps in the middle of your email, split it into two deliberate lines.

Resume header examples#

These examples use made-up names and reserved 555 phone numbers. Adapt the layout and the choices to your situation.

Standard professional header#

Student or recent graduate#

Students can add the degree line under the contact details to make the target field obvious. For more, see the college student resume guide.

Hourly or service job#

Here is the same student applying for a part-time café job instead. The degree line gives way to availability, which is often the first screening question for hourly work.

A LinkedIn link is optional for retail, food service, and hospitality jobs. Leave it off if you don't keep a profile up to date.

Remote software engineer#

Healthcare professional with credentials#

Career changer#

The headline line does the bridging work for career changers. Pair it with a short objective or summary, as covered in the guide to resume objective examples. Executives can use the same third line for scope: title, sector, and company size.

Academic or research role#

Academic headers often include a current institution and research profile links. For the full format, see the guide to the academic CV.

Special situations#

A few situations need a little more thought than the standard template.

Name changes#

If you've changed your name, use your current name in the header, even if past employers or degrees list a former name. Background checks collect former names separately. If a key credential is under a former name, you can add "(formerly [former name])" in small text under your name. Most candidates don't need to.

Privacy and safety concerns#

If you have a safety reason to limit what you share, list only a metro area or state. You can also use a dedicated email address and a free call-forwarding number instead of your personal phone. These are normal choices that won't hurt your application.

Work authorization and clearances#

If you're applying from abroad, a short, accurate note can head off sponsorship questions: "U.S. citizen" or "Authorized to work in the U.S." For defense and government contractor roles, an active security clearance often goes in the header or headline. It's a screening requirement: "Active Secret Clearance."

Internal applications#

When you apply for a role inside your current company, your work email and desk phone are acceptable, because the hiring team already has them. Many internal candidates still use a personal email, so the thread stays private until they're ready to tell their manager.

Add your current department and title in the headline so the reader can place you quickly. See the guide to an internal position cover letter for the note that goes with it.

Federal applications#

Federal resumes follow different rules and can ask for more personal and job detail than a private-sector resume. Read the job announcement closely and include exactly what it requests. See the federal resume guide for the full format.

Common resume header mistakes#

Most header mistakes take seconds to fix. Here's a before-and-after showing several at once.

The fixed version drops the redundant title, the street address, the second phone number, the labels, and the nickname email. It also customizes the LinkedIn URL and shrinks six lines to two.

What the free resume parser made of each version#

Both versions above were pasted into the free resume parser, each followed by the same short work history. The parser runs in your browser on fixed rules, so you'll get the same result if you try it. Here are the fields it pulled out.

The parser treats the first short line as your name, so it filed "RESUME" as the candidate's name. Her real name ended up in the headline field. The cluttered version also offered two phone numbers, and the parser kept only the first one, which happened to be right.

Real applicant tracking systems use their own rules, but the lesson holds: put your name alone on the first line. The parser reads pasted text, so it can't show what happens to text in Word's header area. That is why the Word steps above matter.

Your next steps#

Your header is the fastest section to perfect. Run through this checklist before your next application:

• Name alone on the first line, in bold, 18–24 points, matching your LinkedIn name
• One phone number with a professional voicemail greeting
• One name-based personal email address
• City and state only, plus relocation or remote details if relevant
• Customized LinkedIn URL, written without https or www
• Portfolio or GitHub link only if it shows relevant work
• No photo, date of birth, ID numbers, "Resume" title, or labels
• Contact block in the document body, tested with a resume parser
• Header takes no more than two or three lines

With the header done, move to the line right under it. A sharp headline or summary tells the reader why to keep going. The guides to resume headline examples and resume summary examples show how to write each one.