While you start the whole means of writing a résumé, your focus will possible be on successfully advertising your prime abilities, expertise and {qualifications} — and rightfully so. It’s in these sections, in any case, that employers will spend most of their studying time to evaluate whether or not you’re, one, certified for the job and, two, worthy of a job interview.
However what many jobseekers typically overlook is the header part. It’s simply your title and call info, proper? So, why does it deserve particular consideration?
Effectively, it’s the very first thing that employers will have a look at. And for those who mess it up, why ought to they trouble studying via the remainder of your résumé?
The excellent news is that the header part is the simplest and most simple of all résumé sections to craft. And this text will present you easy methods to just do that — full with sensible suggestions and provoking examples.
What’s a résumé header?
A header, additionally generally often called a letterhead, is the very first part of your résumé. Its goal is to inform readers who you might be, easy methods to contact you, and the place they’ll discover you on-line. It’s type of like a enterprise card.
When accomplished proper, it has the ability to seize the reader’s consideration and make them wish to study extra about you.
Why the résumé header is necessary
The résumé header is without doubt one of the 5 important sections of your résumé (together with the abstract, expertise, training and abilities sections) — which employers count on to see.
Not solely that, however by itemizing your contact info (and making it clearly seen), you make it simple for potential employers to get in contact with you. In any case, if there’s no method to contact you, you received’t get invited to any interviews.
A well-designed header additionally creates an expert first impression, units the tone for the remainder of your résumé, and helps distinguish your utility from others. Moreover, it reinforces your model by together with hyperlinks to your LinkedIn profile or on-line portfolio, showcasing your digital presence.
write the header part
Your résumé header should embody, on the very least, your title, telephone quantity, electronic mail handle and placement. It’s also possible to embody some further info, like your job title or a headline, hyperlinks to your on-line profiles, some private particulars, and an expert picture.
Right here, we’ll stroll you thru the assorted elements of an efficient header, and give you helpful suggestions and examples alongside the way in which.
1. Begin along with your title
Maybe crucial a part of the header is your title. This could seem on the very prime, and needs to be the identical title you employ throughout all of your on-line profiles {and professional} paperwork.
Right here’s what it seems like:
2. Add your job title or a headline
On a separate line instantly after your title, you’ll be able to checklist your job title, for instance:
Alternatively, you’ll be able to add a headline (which is an extension of your title, together with a notable achievement), like so:
EXAMPLE
Authorized Secretary with 15 Years’ Expertise in Massive and Small Regulation Corporations
3. Listing your telephone quantity
Beginning one other line, add your most accessible telephone quantity (however by no means your work quantity). Keep away from utilizing hyphens or intervals between quantity elements, and as a substitute use areas, for instance:
EXAMPLE
Cellphone: 800 555 1234
When you’re making use of for jobs exterior the nation, in the meantime, ensure so as to add the nation code earlier than your telephone quantity. In case you have a US quantity, the code needs to be formatted as both “001” or “+(1)”.
4. Embody your electronic mail handle
Electronic mail is the commonest approach that recruiters will get in contact with you (proper after by telephone), so together with your electronic mail handle within the header is important.
Right here’s an instance:
Be sure you have a professional-sounding electronic mail handle — one thing like [email protected] will certainly go away an impression, however not the correct.
5. Point out your location
Subsequent, add your normal location — not your full mailing handle (which is pointless, takes up more room, and opens you as much as all types of privateness and discrimination points).
Solely checklist your metropolis and state, like so:
EXAMPLE
Location: Washington, DC
When you’re exterior the US or making use of for jobs overseas, embody the nation you’re primarily based in, as proven beneath:
EXAMPLE
Location: Paris, France
6. Embody your LinkedIn profile
Though elective, together with a hyperlink to your LinkedIn profile (the place you’ll have hopefully expanded in your expertise and accomplishments) is extremely inspired, like so:
EXAMPLE
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/careeraddict
While you signal as much as LinkedIn, a profile URL might be robotically generated for you, which often incorporates a string of random numbers. It’s a good suggestion to customise the URL, which you are able to do by navigating to the public profile settings web page.
7. Add your web site
In case you have a weblog, an on-line portfolio or a private web site that showcases your work and trade experience, make sure you add a hyperlink to it in your header. It ought to appear to be this:
EXAMPLE
Web site: careeraddict.com
8. Listing your social media hyperlinks
Together with hyperlinks to your Fb, X (previously Twitter) and different social media profiles in your header is extremely advisable — offered, in fact, that they add worth to your utility (you’re a social media supervisor, for instance, otherwise you use your social accounts to put up about trade developments, information and opinions).
Right here’s an instance of social media hyperlinks:
EXAMPLE
Fb: fb.com/careeraddict | X: x.com/careeraddict
Keep away from utilizing your private social media accounts (a minimum of not with out giving them a bit of spring-clean first). Ideally, it’s best to arrange separate accounts in your skilled on-line presence.
9. Listing your private particulars (when acceptable)
For probably the most half, it’s best to keep away from together with private particulars like your date of beginning and marital standing in your résumé, because it places you liable to discrimination. There are, nonetheless, a number of exceptions, corresponding to:
- You’re in a career the place your bodily attributes (like your top, weight, and hair and eye colour) are necessary to the function you’re making use of for, corresponding to an actor
- You’re making use of for a authorities place, which requires the inclusion of your nationality and citizenship
- You’re making use of for a job in a rustic the place it’s customary apply to incorporate some private particulars (in most EU nations, for instance, you’re anticipated to say your gender and date of beginning)
When you do embody private particulars in your header, add all the things collectively on a separate line out of your contact info, like so:
EXAMPLE
Date of Beginning: June 25, 1970 | Nationality: British | Marital Standing: Married
10. Connect a photograph
Usually talking, you shouldn’t add a picture in your résumé — until you’re making use of for modeling, appearing or information presenting positions, or for jobs in nations the place a photograph is required (like Germany and the United Arab Emirates, for instance). On this case, it ought to ideally be positioned within the prime proper nook of the web page, and it typically shouldn’t be any bigger than a typical passport-size picture.
Be sure to put money into a skilled headshot for those who’re going to make use of one in your résumé — a selfie received’t minimize it!
Styling and formatting suggestions
Now that you already know what to incorporate in your header (and the way), right here are some things to think about when placing it collectively:
1. Select the best font and font measurement
The font you employ in your header needs to be in line with the one utilized in the remainder of your résumé. You possibly can, nonetheless, use a unique font in your title so it stands out extra (so long as it’s complementary to your most important font), or perhaps a totally different font weight or bolding.
Though the font sort you select will typically decide the font measurement, listed here are some normal pointers to remember:
- Your title needs to be set to wherever between 20 and 28 factors
- Your job title or headline needs to be 14–18 factors
- Your contact info and private particulars needs to be set to 10–12 factors
2. Be in line with textual content alignment
Not like the principle textual content of your résumé, which ought to at all times be aligned to the left, you’ll be able to play along with your header’s horizontal alignment and place it on the left, middle or proper of the web page.
That mentioned, ensure all the things is constant. In case your title is aligned to the middle of the web page, for instance, so too ought to your job title and call info.
3. Be sure hyperlinks are clickable
This makes them simply accessible and spares the recruiter a number of seconds from having to repeat and paste URLs into their browser’s handle bar.
On that word, keep away from hyperlinking generic textual content (eg: “Web site”) and as a substitute checklist hyperlinks as bare URLs (eg: “careeraddict.com”). This manner, if the recruiter can’t open the hyperlink for no matter motive, they’ll nonetheless know the place to go.
PRO TIP
Contemplate eradicating the “https://www.” half from URLs. This helps you save area, and finally makes your header look uncluttered.
4. Label your info
Although a recruiter can hazard a reasonably good guess that +(1) 800 555 1234 is your telephone quantity, it is going to solely appear to be a string of random numbers to an applicant monitoring system.
And as your résumé will possible be scanned by an ATS earlier than it’s even reviewed by a human recruiter (and can discard purposes it deems problematic), including acceptable labels to your info within the header part is extremely necessary.
That mentioned, you solely must label your contact info (eg: “Cellphone” and “Electronic mail”) and any listed private particulars (eg: “Date of Beginning” and “Marital Standing”). There’s no must label your title or job title.
5. Use icons rigorously
Usually talking, it’s best to keep away from utilizing icons in your résumé, as ATSs received’t have the ability to learn them. That mentioned, you can use them (as a substitute of labels, for instance), so long as you accomplish that thoughtfully — including related alt textual content to every icon will be a good suggestion right here.
No matter you do, although, don’t use icon fonts like IcoFont and Font Superior, and as a substitute go for icon vectors.
6. Don’t use the web page header operate
When creating your résumé header, ensure it’s positioned inside the doc’s most important content material space — not inside its header space (that’s to say the part within the prime margins).
Most ATSs ignore any textual content positioned contained in the header and footer areas of a Phrase doc and can discard your utility if it could possibly’t determine fundamental info like your title and call particulars.
7. Use white area successfully
Be sure your header — and your résumé as an entire, for that matter — incorporates loads of white area (the empty area round content material and design parts), significantly vertical spacing between the totally different header elements.
As a substitute of including a brand new line to create area between the totally different parts of your header, although, it’s higher to regulate the road top. In Phrase, you are able to do this by deciding on the textual content whose line top you wish to modify and adjusting the “Earlier than” and “After” settings within the line spacing field.
8. Don’t add a “Résumé” title
I’ve seen many résumés through the years which have “Résumé” or “Curriculum Vitae” written on the prime of the web page.
Don’t do that. Not solely does it waste worthwhile area, however it additionally insults the recruiter’s intelligence. They know that what they’re studying is your résumé, in any case — you don’t must level out the plain.
9. Hold it on the primary web page solely
In case your résumé goes over one web page, you may be questioning whether or not it’s best to embody your header on all subsequent pages. The reply is: no. It ought to solely be used on the primary web page.
That mentioned, you’ll be able to — and may — add it to the opposite paperwork of your utility package deal, together with your checklist of references and cowl letter. This helps to create an immediately recognizable private model.
10. Verify for typos
Lastly, proofread the header (and the remainder of your résumé) to test for typos and formatting points. After which proofread it once more. The very last thing you need is to checklist an previous telephone quantity or a misspelled electronic mail handle — and, consequently, no approach for recruiters to contact you.
Résumé header template
Use the next template as a place to begin in your personal résumé header:
[Name]
[Job title/Headline]
Cellphone: [Phone number] | Electronic mail: [Email address] | Location: [City, State/Country]
Web site: [Website link] | LinkedIn: [LinkedIn profile link]
[Personal details, as required]
Résumé header examples
Need to see a résumé header in motion? Listed here are a number of examples to make use of as inspiration:
Normal résumé header instance
Résumé header instance with picture
Get the Revolutionary template
Résumé header instance with private particulars
Key takeaways
Making a résumé header part is kind of simple, and the ideas and examples shared on this article could have hopefully helped you all through the method. Simply preserve the next pointers in thoughts:
- All the time embody your title, telephone quantity, electronic mail handle and placement. It’s also possible to add your job title or a headline, hyperlinks to your on-line presence and, in sure conditions, your picture and a few private particulars.
- Place it on the prime of the primary web page solely (not on any subsequent pages), however don’t place it inside the doc’s header space.
- Label the data inside your header, guarantee hyperlinks are clickable, and steer clear from including the phrase “Résumé”.
Obtained a query about résumé headers? Tell us within the feedback part beneath.
This text is a partial replace of an earlier model initially printed on July 12, 2022.
