Resume Header Examples: What to Include (and What to Leave Out)

Your resume header is the first thing a recruiter or ATS system processes — and it is the section with the most avoidable mistakes. Including the wrong information (full address, photo, date of birth) signals inexperience. Missing the right information (LinkedIn, portfolio link) leaves value on the table.

Here is exactly what to include, what to cut, and how to format it for maximum impact.

What to Include in Your Resume Header

Required Elements

1. Your Full Name

Use the name you are professionally known by. If your legal name is "Robert" but everyone calls you "Bob," use "Bob Smith" — consistency with LinkedIn matters more than formality. Make your name the largest text on the page: 18-24pt for most candidates.

2. Professional Email Address

Your email should be based on your name: firstname.lastname@gmail.com or firstnamelastname@gmail.com. Avoid:

• Old addresses with numbers (jsmith1987@...) — suggests you have not updated it in decades
• Joke or informal addresses (partyguy@... or cutiepie@...)
• Employer email addresses — you should not job search from work

If your preferred name combination is taken on Gmail, add a middle initial or profession suffix: jsmith.dev@gmail.com.

3. Phone Number

Include one phone number — your mobile. Format: (555) 123-4567 or 555-123-4567. Both are standard. Do not include a landline unless you specifically want calls there.

4. Location: City and State Only

Modern resumes do not include your full street address. City and state is sufficient. Examples: "San Francisco, CA" or "Remote" if you work remotely and are targeting remote roles.

5. LinkedIn URL

Customize your LinkedIn URL first: go to LinkedIn → View Profile → Edit Public Profile URL. A clean URL looks like: linkedin.com/in/janesmith. A default URL looks like: linkedin.com/in/jane-smith-3b4c782a. The former is professional; the latter signals inattention to detail.

Optional Elements (Include When Relevant)

Portfolio or Personal Website

Include if you work in a field where showing your work matters: design, writing, development, architecture, photography. Format: portfolio.janesmith.com or janesmith.design.

GitHub

For software engineers and data scientists, a GitHub URL with active, relevant repositories significantly strengthens your header. Ensure the profile is clean: remove empty repositories and ensure key projects have README files.

Certifications or Credentials

For some professions, abbreviations appear next to your name: "Jane Smith, CPA" or "Dr. James Park, MD." Use this convention only for recognized professional designations, not self-described titles.

What to Leave Out

Street address: "123 Main Street, Apt 4B" — Remove it. Unnecessary, takes up space, and raises privacy concerns.

Date of birth: Illegal to consider in hiring decisions in the US; omit entirely.

Photo: Not standard in US/Canada. Creates bias risk and is flagged as inappropriate by many ATS systems.

Marital status or family information: Legally irrelevant and inappropriate in modern US hiring.

Social media profiles (unless relevant): X/Twitter, Instagram, Facebook — leave off unless you are a social media professional where these are portfolio samples.

Second phone number: One number is sufficient.

Fax number: It is 2026.

Resume Header Examples

Standard Professional (Most Job Seekers)

ALEX JOHNSON
alex.johnson@gmail.com | (555) 234-5678 | Chicago, IL | linkedin.com/in/alexjohnson

Clean, complete, nothing extra. Works for the vast majority of professionals in most industries.

Software Engineer (With GitHub)

PRIYA PATEL
priya.patel@gmail.com | (555) 876-5432 | Seattle, WA
linkedin.com/in/priyapatel | github.com/priyapatel

GitHub is standard for engineering roles and signals active coding practice.

Designer or Creative (With Portfolio)

MARCUS RODRIGUEZ
marcus@marcusdesign.com | (555) 345-6789 | Brooklyn, NY
marcusdesign.com | linkedin.com/in/marcusrodriguez

Portfolio link replaces or supplements LinkedIn. The professional email domain (on the personal website domain) signals credibility.

Remote Worker

JENNIFER PARK
jennifer.park@gmail.com | (555) 567-8901 | Remote (PST) | linkedin.com/in/jenniferpark

"Remote (PST)" communicates time zone for scheduling without disclosing a physical location.

Executive / Senior Leader

MICHAEL CHEN
michael.chen@gmail.com | (555) 987-6543 | Boston, MA | linkedin.com/in/michaelchen

Executives often keep headers simple. The substance is in the summary and experience — no need for elaborate header formatting.

Credential-Heavy Professional (Nurse, CPA, etc.)

SARAH WILLIAMS, RN, BSN, CCRN
sarah.williams@gmail.com | (555) 432-1098 | Dallas, TX | linkedin.com/in/sarahwilliams

Recognized credentials after the name signal qualification at a glance for licensed professions.

Entry-Level / Recent Graduate

DAVID KIM
david.kim@gmail.com | (555) 678-9012 | Austin, TX | linkedin.com/in/davidkim
github.com/davidkim | University of Texas Portfolio: portfolio.utexas.edu/davidkim

Recent graduates can add academic portfolio links and GitHub to compensate for limited work history.

Career Changer

EMMA TORRES
emma.torres@gmail.com | (555) 789-0123 | Atlanta, GA | linkedin.com/in/emmatorres

Keep it standard. The career change context is handled in the professional summary, not the header.

Academic / Researcher

DR. JAMES PATEL, Ph.D.
j.patel@universitydomain.edu | (555) 890-1234 | Cambridge, MA
linkedin.com/in/jamespatel | scholar.google.com/citations?user=xxxxx

Academic and research roles follow different conventions — institutional email, Google Scholar profile, and full credentials after the name are standard.

Bilingual Professional (When Relevant)

ANA GARCIA
ana.garcia@gmail.com | (555) 901-2345 | Miami, FL | linkedin.com/in/anagarcia
Languages: English (Native), Spanish (Native), Portuguese (Fluent)

Language skills belong in the skills section, but if bilingualism is a primary selling point for the role (e.g., sales in Latin American markets), a brief mention in the header can differentiate immediately.

Resume Header Formatting Rules

Name Size and Weight

• Name: 18–24pt, bold
• Contact info: 10–11pt, regular weight
• Use consistent font throughout

Separator Style

Standard options for contact info separators:

• Pipe: email | phone | location
• Bullet: email • phone • location
• Comma: email, phone, location

Choose one and use it consistently. Pipe is the most common and cleanest.

Single Line vs. Multi-Line

Single line (preferred for most):

alex.johnson@gmail.com | (555) 234-5678 | Chicago, IL | linkedin.com/in/alexjohnson

Multi-line (for those with more links):

alex.johnson@gmail.com | (555) 234-5678 | Chicago, IL
linkedin.com/in/alexjohnson | github.com/alexjohnson

Alignment: Centered vs. Left-Aligned

Both work. Centered headers look traditional and balanced. Left-aligned headers look modern and are slightly better for ATS parsing. Most professional templates use one or the other consistently — do not mix.

ATS Considerations for Resume Headers

Some ATS systems fail to parse information inside text boxes, tables, or in headers/footers of Word documents. To ensure your contact information is actually read:

• Do not use Word's native Header feature for your contact block — put it in the main document body
• Avoid tables or text boxes in your header
• Do not embed phone or email as hyperlinks only — write them as plain text
• Keep your LinkedIn URL short enough to read as text, not just as a clickable element

Build a Professional Resume

Our AI Resume Builder formats your contact information correctly for ATS from the start, so you never have to worry about parsing errors. Explore 300+ resume examples to see professional headers across every industry.

Sources & Further Reading

• Jobscan — ATS Resume Parsing Research — How ATS systems parse contact information from headers
• CareerOneStop — Resume Writing Guide — U.S. Department of Labor resume structure guidance

Related Resources

• How to Write a Resume: Complete Step-by-Step Guide
• Resume Summary Examples: 20+ Professional Summaries
• LinkedIn Profile Optimization: Complete Guide
• Top Resume Mistakes to Avoid
• Check Your Resume ATS Score

How ATS Systems Work in 2026

Applicant Tracking Systems have evolved significantly. Modern ATS platforms like Workday, Greenhouse, Lever, and iCIMS use advanced parsing algorithms that go beyond simple keyword matching. They analyze context, evaluate skill relevance, and even assess candidate-job fit using machine learning.

When you submit your resume, the ATS extracts text and organizes it into structured data fields: contact information, work experience, education, and skills. The system then scores your application against the job requirements. Resumes that score below a threshold may never reach human eyes.

To optimize for ATS success, use standard section headings that the system can recognize. Avoid headers and footers — many ATS platforms cannot read content placed there. Stick to common fonts and avoid text boxes, tables, or graphics that can confuse the parser. Submit in PDF or DOCX format as specified in the job posting.

Keyword optimization is essential but must feel natural. Mirror the exact phrasing from the job description — if they say "project management," do not substitute "managed projects." Include both acronyms and full terms (e.g., "Search Engine Optimization (SEO)"). But avoid keyword stuffing — modern ATS algorithms can detect and penalize this practice.

Step-by-Step Checklist

Follow this checklist to ensure your application materials are polished and competitive:

1. Research the company — understand their mission, products, and recent developments before tailoring your documents
2. Match keywords — identify the top 8-10 keywords from the job description and weave them naturally into your content
3. Quantify achievements — replace vague descriptions with specific numbers, percentages, and dollar amounts wherever possible
4. Choose the right format — chronological for steady career progression, functional for career changers, combination for experienced professionals
5. Write a compelling summary — your professional summary should be a 3-4 sentence elevator pitch that hooks the reader
6. Proofread thoroughly — read your document backwards sentence by sentence to catch errors your brain normally autocorrects
7. Get a second opinion — ask a trusted colleague or mentor to review your final draft for clarity and impact
8. Save in the right format — PDF preserves formatting across all devices; DOCX only when specifically requested
9. Follow up strategically — send a brief follow-up email 5-7 business days after applying if you have not heard back
10. Track your applications — maintain a spreadsheet with company names, dates, contacts, and status to stay organized

This systematic approach ensures nothing falls through the cracks during your job search. Consistency and attention to detail set successful candidates apart from the competition.