Your resume heading is important. It provides identifying information to let a potential employer know who you are and how to contact you. The three most important data elements in this section are your name, your phone number, and your email address.
I can’t tell you how many times people have submitted a resume with solid qualifications, but I couldn’t interview them, because I could not contact them. What a wasted opportunity for them! Fortunately, you can avoid this happening to you. Make sure you follow each step carefully.
Name
Your name should be one of the focal points on your resume. It should stand out. You can make your name stand out by using bold font, using all capital letters, or small caps.
Residence
Include your street address and P.O Box, if appropriate. On a separate line, include the City, State, and Zip Code.
Phone Number
You want to make sure you can be reached so use a reliable home, mobile, or cellular phone number. Include your 10-digit telephone number with area code. To use a more current style, try using periods in place of parenthesis and dashes as occurs with International telephone listings. For example: 123.421.7744.
Should you include your business number? Well, it depends. You may consider using a business number if it is your own direct line and it’s private (meaning your calls are not recorded or others can’t listen in). However, I recommend you try to avoid using your business number altogether. Sometimes, it can strain working relationships if your boss learns you are searching for a new job. So be careful.
On the otherhand, you may decide to include multiple phone numbers on your resume. If you do, make sure to label each number. Example:
- Home: 123.421.7744
- Cell: 123.771.2878
Email Address
Including an email address is important. I suggest you create a professional email address if you do not already have one. What do I mean by this? Well, you want to avoid using email addresses such as the following (Disclaimer: these are example emails I made up. If they mirror real email addresses, it is not intentional):
- superstud@hotmail.com
- petesgurl@gmail.com
- hockeyfan7@comcast.net
Also, if you need to create a new email address, I recommend you use one of the free email accounts such as Google’s Gmail.
Are you wondering how to create an appropriate email address for a resume?
Try using your first initial and last name. If not available, try including a middle name initial. If the email address is still not available, try using you last name along with your numbers in your address. Example: 225Anderson.aol.com. This is definitely an approvement over the examples above.
Remember, you want to make sure that everything included on your resume makes a good impression. Personally, I have rejected resumes because of the email address. Don’t let this happen to you.
Important Point
Now that we have covered the basics of a solid resume heading (header), you want to ensure that you include a divider line between your header information and what is to follow. Why? because it really helps your resume header stand out. Here is an example of a completed resume heading with a divider line:
Jane Smith
1234 Main Street
Anywhere, California 929292
284.777.7777
JSmith1234@hotmail.com
You now have a solid beginning for a great resume. Remember, as you go through the resume writing process, take things one step at a time. After all, this is all about you and the great things you have to offer a potential employer. You CAN do this!