Since most resumes these days are not delivered by regular mail and your privacy and security come into play with Internet use, the issue of contact information has shifted.
These days I rarely, if ever, include a physical address on executive resumes. I doubt that recruiters and hiring decision makers will take the time to write you a letter, and they probably don’t need to know where you live. You may, or may not, choose to just include your general geographic location (“Atlanta, GA area”).
Here are some mostly common sense suggestions on resume contact information:
→ Most importantly, make it easy for people to get hold of you. Since you’re likely to be contacted during business hours, include a phone number where you can be reached directly during the day, and an email address that you check frequently.
→ To avoid confusion and keep your resume header clean, it’s probably best to include just one phone number. Most of my clients choose their cells. I know that, as an executive, you have hectic days and can be hard to reach, but it’s important to check your voicemail frequently and return calls quickly when you’re in a job search.
→ Get a new email address if yours is inappropriate or off-color. I’ve seen some downright offensive email addresses. Don’t turn people off before you give them the chance to consider you. And a silly, unprofessional email address may land your email message with resume in a spam filter.
→ For obvious reasons, it’s not wise to use a phone number or email address that’s connected to the company you work for.
→ List the same phone number and email address that’s on the first page of your resume at the top of the second page. Again, this just makes it easier to locate where to contact you and provides the info on each page, in case the pages of your paper resume become detached.
→ If your job search is confidential or you have other specific privacy issues, and/or you’re posting your resume to online job boards, you may need to put other safeguards in place. For more useful tips and advice, check out job-hunt.org’s articles on cyber-safe job searching.
For the whole story on putting together a top interview-generating executive resume, see my series, Think Like an Executive Resume Branding Expert.
