There are many different opinions in terms of how to present your address on your resume. Here are ResumeHelp’s pros and cons for each option, plus more tips!
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If you put your address on your resume, it will go at the top. A full home address will look like this:
#### N. Name St.
City, State, ZIP Code
If you’re only including a shortened form of your address, you’ll typically include your city and state, but nothing else. If you have a separate P.O. Box or mailing address, put it on your resume instead of your home address.
There are a few positive aspects to putting your address on your resume. Most importantly, it can indicate that you’re geographically close to a job. In the hiring process, it’s often important that a hiring manager is looking for local candidates. If you do live near the job posting, adding your address can showcase that you live nearby.
Another reason to add your address to your resume is that it may be important to the applicant tracking system (ATS) that an employer might use to scan your resume. The thought is that it helps recruiters file your resume, and if you don’t include your address in your contact section, you might not get a job offer. However, this argument likely traces back to a Time Magazine article from 2012, which is both out of date and doesn’t include any sources for this claim. It’s probably not an effective reason to put your full address when you’re job hunting.
What about the cons? There may actually be more cons than pros when it comes to putting your full address on a professional resume. First of all, it just takes up extra space. If you have a lot of work experience, adding your address to your contact information can make it more difficult to put everything on a one-page resume.
Next, if you’re willing to relocate, the address can show that you’re not close enough. Your job application shouldn’t include things that might negatively impact your job search, and if you live very far away, your address will showcase that. If you’re open to relocating, however, you should mention this in either your resume or your cover letter.
Some people also worry that adding your address can raise privacy concerns. You may say, “If I put my address on my resume along with things like my full name, email address, and phone number, anyone who gets that resume can steal my identity!” However, your home address is typically public information, and these things will show up during background checks. Typically, you don’t need to worry about putting contact information on your resume.
Remember that in general, your professional experience says more about whether you’ll get a new job than your location. If you’re concerned about this, you can definitely check the job description and see whether the company notes that they’re mostly taking job seekers from the local area. However, the address section of your resume says very little about the quality of the work you’ll be able to do for a company, and hiring managers know that. Focus more on your skills, work history, and other important elements of your resume.
If you include your address in one place, it’s best to include it everywhere. Include it in each part of your job application, including in your cover letter heading. This way, a hiring manager will be able to see your address at a glance no matter which piece of your job application they’re looking at.
If you live very far away, you might not want to include your address at all due to concerns that it’s a red flag. However, you can still include your city and state on your resume as long as you also openly note that you’re willing to relocate if necessary. Include this information in your cover letter and mention it in any notes if you’re able to talk directly to the hiring manager.
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