Making a mistake on the header of your resume is a nightmare when you’ve sent out your resume. You should avoid making this mistake as it puts off hiring managers who will deem you unprofessional.
It’s possible that you don’t know the best strategy to employ when creating your resume header. You might think that your name and email address are the only necessary items that will make you give less attention to footing and formatting.
This article will offer you the best samples of a resume header. Furthermore, it will enlighten you on different aspects of your resume and what you need to pay attention to.
Table of contents
What is a Resume Header?
A resume header is part of your resume that reveals itself as a business card. It’s part of your resume wherein you input your name and job title in addition to your contact details such as your phone number, email address, or LinkedIn URL.
There’s so much argument regarding whether the heading of a resume is its most important aspect. But it’s not completely correct to posit this, as many other sections of a resume play equally important roles.
Further Reading: How to Respond to a Recruiter: 10 Best Email Samples for You
How To Format Your Resume Header
Formatting your resume header is key to ensuring it comes out excellently. A good strategy would be to centre it and place it at the top left margin. Your name should be the most prominent item, with your phone number and email address heeling it. After this, you can add additional value like clickable social media and website links.
Whether you choose resume layouts, following this strategy will only guarantee a professional resume header.
Name
Your name should be the boldest thing on your resume. Your name is the only way to distinguish your resume from hundreds of others, especially when you use the same format. If you have a lot of common names, you can use your maiden name.
But in using this name, you must ensure the same name is reflected in the online profiles you want the hiring manager to find. So, if you use “Bob” in your resume, don’t use “Bobby” in your LinkedIn profile, Facebook handles, and portfolio website.
Title
It’s funny how many job applicants skip their work titles. It’s indeed poor practice to skip your title on a resume. Your title can be anything from “Barista”, “Educator”, “Chef” etc.
If you’ve gained any certification, input it in your professional resume header. For example, “Mary Hurt, Certified Actuary,” or “Kennedy Flann, Chef, CNA.”
Address
You can decide to input your address on your resume next even though it’s not a necessity. A hiring manager would never visit you, so you don’t need to give all the details. A better thing you would do is to just list the same city as the job, without a street address.
If you might need to leave your city to go for the job, you can add “open to relocation” to your resume headers. If you list your address, P.O. boxes make a good impression, but a permanent address is better since it looks more stable.
Phone Number
A phone number is the core process hiring managers use to set up interviews. Hence, outline the number you use most when listing a number. Don’t use your work phone, so it doesn’t pose a challenge if you might still be on a job. Furthermore, it poses a “questionable ethics” message to the hiring manager.
Email Address
Email is the second most reliable means that hiring managers reach out to applicants. Immediately you include your phone number, include a professional address. That means no [email protected]. Your first and last name and “@gmail.com” works great. If you can’t find it, take an initial and put it in front of your name.
One email address is sufficient for your resume header. Similar to phone numbers, ensure you avoid using your current work email.
Web Address
You don’t need a web address in any of the resume headers. The only exception is when your website has strong relevance to the job you’re applying for and you seek to impress your hiring manager.
Adding a portfolio works perfectly for projects that do well online. Hence, software engineers, architects, interior designers, and artists can all add portfolios.
Over 70% of all hiring managers use LinkedIn to make hiring decisions. Adding a good LinkedIn profile to your resume header helps to make the manager learn a lot about your personality.
When putting it in your resume header, ensure you personalize your LinkedIn link. Also, streamline your profile with the right photo, background image, summary, and resume keywords.
10 Best Samples of a Resume Header | Learn how to Write
Although you might learn to format your resume headers correctly, looking at its representation would help you change yours.
1. Full Top Resume Header Sample
This is the type of resume header that completely takes the top side of the resume.
Although it’s advisable not to use a picture, adding other contact information is crucial to this resume type.
2. Top Left Header
These two resume types form outstanding examples of where to use headers when drafting your resume.
3. Side Bar Resume Header
A sidebar resume header creates an interesting divide between two aspects of the resume, saving you space and including all the information you need.
A transparent top sidebar is similar to the one before this but doesn’t use colours. Instead, it makes a section more transparent than the other.
This is similar to the one above but uses another colour. In using colours, you must ensure you have knowledge of a perfect colour blend so you don’t mess it all up.
6. First Stop Resume Header
This is a type of resume header that has your name at the top right side of the horizontal bar and your details by the left.
It is a great header style that is easy for machines to read when going through your resume.
This is an important resume header type that follows a black on white design. It includes the name, address, job title, and social media profile of the resume recipient.
It is a great choice to use when you want a resume header.
8. Left Signal Header
This is a popular resume header tilted to the left with the job title framed in another unique colour.
9. Sectioned Middle Header Type
This is a header wherein two parallel lines cut across the top and bottom sides.
In this resume header, all information falls directly below the name tag.
10. Left Tilted Header
This type of resume header is adjusted to the left with space for a phone number, email and a LinkedIn address.
You don’t need to input a website in this resume header type.
Conclusion
Resume headers are one of the first contact points any hiring manager makes when they pick your resume. If you want to make an impression, this is a suitable spot to begin one.
After reading this article, you will surely not make the popular mistakes others make when creating resumes.
