Putting your name and contact details in the document header looks tidy and saves space. It can also be the reason a recruiter cannot find your phone number in the ATS.
Why headers and footers are risky
In a Word document, the header and footer are stored separately from the main body text. Some resume parsers read only the body, and others handle those areas inconsistently. When that happens, anything you placed there may never reach your candidate profile. Parsers differ and you cannot know which one an employer uses, so the safest assumption is that header and footer text may be ignored.
What should never go only in a header or footer
- Your full name
- Email address and phone number
- City and state or country
- LinkedIn or portfolio URL
What is fine to put there
- Page numbers, such as "Page 2 of 2"
- Your name repeated on page two, as long as it also appears in the body on page one
A safe contact block
Place something like this as the very first lines of the page body:
JANE DOE Senior Financial Analyst Chicago, IL | (312) 555-0123 | jane.doe@email.com linkedin.com/in/janedoe
How to move content out of the header
- Double-click the header area to open it.
- Select your contact details and cut them (Ctrl+X, or Cmd+X on a Mac).
- Close the header, click at the very start of the first page and paste.
- Check that the header is now empty, then tidy the spacing.
In Google Docs the steps are the same: click into the header, cut the text, and paste it at the top of the body.
Contact details that help you get called
- Location: city and state or country is enough; a full street address is not needed.
- Email: a simple, professional address.
- Phone: include the country code if you apply internationally.
- Links: written as readable URLs. See how to add links safely.
Once your contact details are in place, run through the rest of the ATS-friendly resume checklist.