Resume Header Design: First Impressions That Count

Your Header Sets the Tone

The header of your resume is the first thing anyone sees — whether it is a recruiter scanning quickly or an ATS extracting your contact details. A well-designed header immediately establishes your professionalism and makes it easy for anyone to identify who you are and how to reach you. A poorly designed header can cause confusion, missed contact information, or a negative first impression.

Essential Header Information

Your header should include these elements, in this order:

1. Full Name — Large, bold, and prominent. Use your professional name (the name you use at work, which may differ from your legal name).
2. Phone Number — Include country code for international applications. Make sure voicemail is set up professionally.
3. Professional Email — Use a clean, name-based email. Avoid funny or outdated addresses.
4. Location — City and state (or country) is sufficient. A full street address is no longer necessary or expected.
5. LinkedIn URL — Use a customized LinkedIn URL (linkedin.com/in/yourname) rather than the default random string.
6. Portfolio/Website — Only if relevant to your field (tech, design, writing).

What to Leave Out

• Photo: Do not include a photo on US, UK, or Canadian resumes. It can trigger unconscious bias and is not expected. (Exception: some European and Asian markets expect photos.)
• Date of birth: Never include your age or date of birth. It is irrelevant and can lead to age discrimination.
• Marital status, nationality, or gender: None of these belong on a professional resume.
• Full street address: City and state are sufficient. Including your full address is outdated and raises privacy concerns.

ATS-Safe Header Placement

Critical rule: place your header information in the main body of the document, not in the document's actual header/footer area. Many ATS systems skip the Word or PDF header/footer when parsing, which means your name and email could be completely missing from the extracted data. Keep everything in the main content area.

Header Design Tips

• Make your name the largest text on the page (18-24pt)
• Use a single line or two lines for contact details below your name
• Separate contact items with pipes (|) or bullet points for clean visual separation
• Keep the header to 3-4 lines maximum — it should not dominate the page
• Use the same font as the rest of your resume for consistency

Example Headers

Clean and professional: Sarah Mitchell on line one (large, bold), followed by "New York, NY | (555) 123-4567 | sarah.mitchell@email.com | linkedin.com/in/sarahmitchell" on line two (smaller, regular weight).

Our free resume builder creates professionally formatted headers automatically. Just enter your contact details and our templates handle the design, ensuring your header looks great and parses perfectly with any ATS.