Resume Header: Exactly What to Include (and What to Cut)

Most resume advice treats the header as an afterthought. Put your name at the top, add your phone number, done. But the header is actually where a surprising number of resumes fail before anyone reads a single bullet point.

ATS systems parse your resume from the top down. If your contact information is trapped inside a Word document header, the system cannot read it. If your name is formatted as an image or text box, it gets skipped entirely. If your LinkedIn URL goes to a blank profile, a recruiter who clicks it immediately forms a negative impression before reading your experience.

This guide covers exactly what belongs in a resume header, what does not, how to format it for both ATS parsing and human readability, and the specific mistakes that quietly kill applications every day.

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What a Resume Header Actually Does

The resume header serves two separate functions that most people treat as one.

The first function is ATS parsing. When you submit your resume through an online portal, the ATS software reads your document and extracts structured data, your name, email, phone number, location, into its database. This happens before any human sees your resume. If the system cannot extract your contact information accurately, your application may be filed with missing data, making it harder for recruiters to contact you even if they want to.

The second function is first human impression. When a recruiter opens your resume, the header is the first thing their eyes land on. It takes about two seconds to scan. In those two seconds they are absorbing your name, your professional identity, and whether the document looks clean and credible. A cluttered, over-designed, or incomplete header immediately signals something about the quality of everything that follows.

These two functions have slightly different requirements. ATS needs plain text it can parse. Humans respond to clean visual hierarchy. A well-built header satisfies both simultaneously.

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Exactly What to Include in Your Resume Header

Let us go through each element in detail because the specifics matter more than the general list.

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Your Name

Your name should be the largest text element on the entire resume. Not dramatically larger, 18 to 22pt is appropriate when body text is 10 to 11pt. This creates visual hierarchy that directs the eye naturally.

Use your professional name consistently. If you go by a shortened version of your legal name professionally, “Alex” instead of “Alexandra”, use that. If you have a name that is difficult for English-speaking recruiters to parse, you can add a commonly used name in parentheses: “Xiuying (Sherry) Chen.” This is a practical decision, not a cultural compromise.

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Email Address

The email address on your resume communicates something about your professional judgment before a recruiter reads a single word of your experience. This sounds like an exaggeration but it is not.

The standard for a professional email in 2026 is firstname.lastname@gmail.com or a close variation if that is taken. firstnamelastname, firstname_lastname, or firstnamelastnameXX (with a short number) are all acceptable.

One additional note: use a personal email, not your current work email. Applying to jobs using your employer’s email domain is unprofessional and signals that you are using company resources for personal job searching. It also creates a practical problem, if you leave that job, the email address becomes inaccessible.

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Phone Number

List one phone number, your mobile. Do not list a home landline and a mobile. Do not list your work number. One number, the one where you can be reached and where you check voicemail regularly.

Format it consistently and readably. In the US: (555) 123-4567 or 555-123-4567. For international applications, include the country code: +1 (555) 123-4567.

Make sure your voicemail greeting is professional. A recruiter who calls and hears a joke greeting, background music, or a greeting that is clearly not yours will form an immediate impression. Record a simple, clear voicemail: “Hi, you have reached [Name]. I am unable to take your call right now. Please leave your name, number, and a brief message and I will return your call shortly.”

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Location

The full street address on a resume is outdated and creates unnecessary privacy risk. City and State (or City and Country for international applications) is the current standard and is all that ATS systems and recruiters need.

Location matters on a resume for one reason: recruiters filter by location. A company hiring for an in-office role in Chicago will filter out resumes from candidates in Los Angeles unless relocation is offered. Including your city makes you visible in location-filtered searches.

If you are actively open to relocation, add “Open to relocation” in parentheses next to your location. If you are applying for remote roles, “Remote, [City, State]” works well and signals both your location and your availability for remote work.

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LinkedIn URL

Every resume submitted in 2026 should include a LinkedIn URL. Recruiters check LinkedIn profiles for virtually every candidate they consider seriously. If your resume does not include the link, they will search for you anyway, and if they find a weak, incomplete, or inconsistent profile, it will hurt your chances regardless of your resume quality.

Before adding your LinkedIn URL to your resume, do two things. First, customize your URL. Go to LinkedIn → Edit public profile and URL → Edit your custom URL. Change it from the auto-generated string of numbers to linkedin.com/in/yourname. This takes 60 seconds and looks significantly more professional.

Second, make sure your LinkedIn profile is consistent with your resume. Every employer, every job title, every date must match. A recruiter who sees different dates or a job on your LinkedIn that is not on your resume will flag it immediately.

For a complete guide to optimizing your LinkedIn profile to support your job search, read our LinkedIn profile optimization guide.

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Portfolio and GitHub Links

For certain roles, a portfolio or GitHub link is as important as the email address. These roles include: graphic designers, web developers, software engineers, writers, photographers, UX designers, video producers, architects, and anyone in a field where the work product is visible and evaluable.

If your role is one where a portfolio is expected and you do not include the link, the absence is noticed. A graphic designer who lists “Adobe Creative Suite, Figma, Illustrator” in their skills section but provides no link to actual work creates immediate doubt about whether those skills are real.

The link must go to a live, working, current portfolio. A broken link is worse than no link. A portfolio that has not been updated since 2019 is almost as bad. Before adding any URL to your resume, click it yourself to confirm it works and that the content it points to represents your current best work.

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Optional: Professional Title Line

Some resume formats include a professional title line directly below the name, a one-line descriptor that acts as a label for your professional identity. This is optional but can be effective when used well.

The title line should never be three soft skills separated by pipes. It should communicate your professional category, your specialization, and one or two of your most important credentials or differentiators. Think of it as a six-word version of your resume summary.

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The Biggest ATS Trap in Resume Headers

This is the mistake that kills the most otherwise strong resumes: putting the header inside a Word document header element.

When you use Microsoft Word’s built-in header feature to create a visually clean name-and-contact section at the top of the page, it looks perfect on screen. The problem is that most ATS software does not parse Word document headers. The system reads the main body of the document only. Everything inside the header element is either skipped entirely or extracted as garbled text.

The result is that your name, email, and phone number, the most critical information on the entire resume, are invisible to the ATS database. A recruiter who downloads your resume as a candidate can see the information, but the ATS record for your application shows a nameless candidate with no contact details.

To fix it: select all the content from the Word header, copy it, press Escape to exit the header, paste the content at the very top of the main document body, then delete the Word header entirely.

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Resume Header Format Examples

Here are three correctly formatted resume headers for different career contexts. All three work for both ATS and human readers.

Notice what all three have in common: clean single-line contact details separated by a simple character, a professional title line that is specific rather than generic, and no unnecessary decoration. They are scannable in under three seconds and fully parseable by ATS.

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What to Leave Out of Your Resume Header

The header is not a biography. Every element that does not directly help a recruiter contact you or immediately identify your professional level is wasting prime real estate at the top of your resume.

Full street address. No longer standard or necessary. City and state is sufficient for location filtering. Listing your full home address exposes you to privacy risks and clutters the header with information no one needs at the application stage.

Photo. In the US, Canada, UK, and Australia, photos on resumes are not standard practice and actively discouraged. They can introduce unconscious bias before the recruiter has read a single qualification. In some European and Middle Eastern markets, photos are still expected, know the convention for your target market.

Date of birth. Never. This is an invitation for age discrimination.

Marital status or nationality. Irrelevant to job qualifications in most roles and markets. Do not include either.

The word “Resume” or “CV” as a title. The recruiter knows what they are reading. Putting “RESUME” as a large heading at the top of the document wastes the most valuable real estate on the page.

Objective statements in the header. Objectives belong in your summary section, not the header. The header is for contact and identity information only.

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Special Cases: Remote Work and International Applications

If you are applying primarily for remote positions, your location line should reflect that clearly. Recruiters filtering for remote-eligible candidates sometimes use location as a filter even for remote roles, they want to know your timezone and whether you are authorized to work in the relevant country.

Format for remote applications: “Chicago, IL, Open to Remote” or “Remote (US-based, CT timezone)”

For international applications, include your country dialing code with your phone number and note your work authorization status if it is not obvious from your location. “London, UK · +44 7700 900142 · UK work authorization” gives a recruiter everything they need at a glance.

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The 7 Most Common Resume Header Mistakes

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Frequently Asked Questions

Should my resume header be centered or left-aligned?

Either works for ATS parsing, the system reads text regardless of alignment. For human readability, centered headers work well for creative and design roles. Left-aligned headers feel more formal and are standard for corporate, finance, legal, and technical roles. Pick the alignment that matches the professional culture of the industry you are targeting and apply it consistently.

Do I need to include my LinkedIn URL if my profile is not complete?

No. A LinkedIn URL that leads to a profile with no photo, no summary, and minimal experience is worse than no link at all. Either complete your LinkedIn profile before job searching, which you should do regardless, or leave the URL off until it is ready. Recruiters will search for you anyway, so a complete profile is worth the investment of a few hours.

Can I use a custom domain email instead of Gmail?

Yes, and for senior professionals or those in creative fields, a custom domain email (name@yourname.com) actually looks more polished than Gmail. The only requirement is that it must be active and checked regularly. If you have a personal website or portfolio site, using an email at that domain reinforces your professional brand.

How do I format my resume header if I have a very long name?

You have two options. Use your commonly known professional name if it is shorter than your full legal name. Or simply reduce the font size slightly, 16pt instead of 20pt, so the name fits on one line without wrapping. A name that wraps to a second line in the header creates a formatting irregularity that disrupts the visual flow of the entire document.

Should I include my pronouns in my resume header?

This is a personal choice with no universally correct answer. In progressive industries, tech, media, education, non-profit, including pronouns (she/her, he/him, they/them) is increasingly common and well-received. In more traditional industries, finance, law, manufacturing, it remains uncommon and could draw unnecessary attention. If you choose to include them, place them directly after your name in a slightly smaller font: “ALEX MORGAN (they/them).”

With your header built correctly, the next step is writing a summary that gives recruiters a reason to keep reading. See our complete resume writing guide for a section-by-section walkthrough of every element after the header.

Want to know if your current resume header is passing ATS? Run your full resume through our free AI Resume Checker for an instant parse test and compatibility score.

Also check our guide on 15 common resume mistakes, several of the most damaging ones happen in the header.