You’re filling in the top section of your resume and you’re not sure how much to share. Full address or just the city? LinkedIn URL? Photo? Date of birth?
The line between “helpful context” and “unnecessary personal detail” isn’t always obvious, and it shifts depending on where in the world you’re applying. Information that’s standard on a German CV will get your resume flagged at an American company. Details that feel natural to include in the Middle East will raise eyebrows in Canada.
Getting this wrong has real consequences. Too little contact information and recruiters can’t reach you. Too much personal information and you risk bias, identity theft, or simply looking out of touch with professional norms.
Here’s what belongs, what doesn’t, and why.
Information That Always Belongs on Your Resume
These are non-negotiable. Every resume in every industry in every country should include them.
Full Name
Use the name you go by professionally. If your legal name differs from your preferred name, use the one that matches your LinkedIn profile, email address, and the name you’ll give when someone calls you. Consistency matters because recruiters will search for you online.
Don’t include middle names unless you consistently use them professionally. “James T. Kirk” is fine if that’s how you’re known. Otherwise, “James Kirk” is cleaner.
Phone Number
Include one phone number where you’ll actually answer. If you’re job searching, that number should have a professional voicemail message set up. “Hey, it’s Mike, leave one” doesn’t cut it when a recruiter is calling from Goldman Sachs.
If you’re applying internationally, include the country code. +1 for the US, +44 for the UK, +49 for Germany. Recruiters calling from overseas need this.
Email Address
Use a professional email address. firstname.lastname@gmail.com or a similar variation. Not your college email that expires. Not your work email (which signals you’re job hunting on company time and will lose access when you leave). Not hotdog_lover_99@yahoo.com.
If your name is common and firstname.lastname is taken, add a middle initial or a number that isn’t your birth year. Your email address is one of the first impressions a recruiter gets. Make it unremarkable in the best way.
Location (City and State/Province)
Include your city and state (or city and country for international applications). This tells recruiters whether you’re local, whether relocation would be needed, and which time zone you’re in.
You no longer need to include your full street address. That convention has faded for good reason: it provides no useful information to a recruiter and creates an unnecessary security risk. A full address on a resume that gets emailed, uploaded, or printed exposes your home address to an unknown number of people.
If you’re willing to relocate, say so: “San Francisco, CA (Open to relocation)” or “Remote / based in Austin, TX.”
Information That Usually Belongs
These items aren’t mandatory, but they strengthen your resume in most situations.
LinkedIn URL
A LinkedIn profile is expected by most employers. Include a customized URL (linkedin.com/in/yourname rather than linkedin.com/in/yourname-38947a192). Make sure your profile is up to date and consistent with your resume before including the link.
If your LinkedIn profile is bare, outdated, or contradicts your resume, leave the link off until you’ve updated it. A bad LinkedIn page is worse than no LinkedIn page.
Portfolio or Personal Website
If your work is best shown rather than described, include a link. This is standard for designers, developers, writers, photographers, marketers, and anyone in a role where work samples matter.
Use a clean URL. If you have a custom domain (janedoe.com), use it. If your portfolio is on Behance, Dribbble, GitHub, or another platform, include the direct link to your profile.
GitHub or Technical Profiles
For software engineers and data professionals, a GitHub URL is nearly as important as a LinkedIn profile. It shows actual code, contribution history and project involvement. Include it if your profile demonstrates relevant work.
Other technical profiles (Stack Overflow, Kaggle, personal blog) can be included if they add credible evidence of expertise.
Information That Depends on Your Region
Here’s where resume norms diverge significantly by geography. What’s normal in one country is inappropriate in another.
Photograph
United States, UK, Canada, Australia: Do not include a photo. Anti-discrimination laws in these countries mean that many employers will reject or disregard resumes with photos to avoid unconscious bias claims. Including a photo can also trigger ATS parsing issues.
Germany, France, most of continental Europe: A professional photo is standard and expected on a CV. Use a recent, professional headshot with a neutral background. Passport-style is fine. Casual selfies are not.
Middle East and parts of Asia: Photos are commonly included and often expected. Follow local conventions.
Latin America: Photo inclusion varies by country. It’s common in some markets and optional in others. Research the specific country you’re targeting.
If you’re unsure, research the hiring norms for your specific target country. Applying to a US subsidiary of a German company? Follow US norms. Applying to a German office of an American company? Follow German norms. The local office’s standards take precedence.
Date of Birth / Age
United States, UK, Canada: Never include your date of birth or age. Age discrimination laws protect candidates from being screened on this basis and including this information gives employers data they shouldn’t have during the screening stage.
Much of Europe and Asia: Including your date of birth is common, sometimes expected. German CVs traditionally include it. Japanese resumes include it as standard.
General rule: If the country has strong age discrimination protections and a cultural norm against including age, leave it off. If the country’s CV conventions include it, add it.
Marital Status
Almost never include this. In North America, the UK and Australia, marital status has no place on a resume. It’s irrelevant to job performance and opens the door to bias.
In some European and Asian markets, it’s still listed on CVs as a formality. If you’re applying in these markets and want to follow local conventions, it won’t hurt. But it won’t help, either.
Nationality or Citizenship
Include this only when it’s directly relevant. If you’re a foreign national applying for a job in a country where work authorization is a concern, stating your citizenship or visa status can save both you and the employer time. “US Citizen” or “EU work authorization” prevents the recruiter from assuming you’d need visa sponsorship.
If you’re applying domestically and there’s no question about work authorization, leave nationality off.
Gender
Do not include gender on your resume in North America, the UK, or Australia. In some other markets, it’s included as part of standard personal information, but it’s becoming less common globally.
National ID Numbers
Some countries (particularly in Asia and the Middle East) require national ID numbers on employment documents. Include this only when the specific job application requires it. Never include Social Security numbers, national insurance numbers, or similar identifiers on a resume that will be widely distributed.
Social Media: What to Include and What to Hide
Social media profiles on resumes have become more common, but they’re not all equal.
Include If Professionally Relevant
- LinkedIn: Yes, almost always
- GitHub: Yes, for developers
- Behance/Dribbble: Yes, for designers
- Twitter/X: Only if you use it professionally (industry commentary, thought leadership). Not if it’s personal opinions and memes
- Personal blog: Yes, if it demonstrates industry expertise
- YouTube: Yes, if your channel relates to your professional field
Never Include
- Facebook: It’s a personal platform. Employers shouldn’t be looking at your Facebook page during screening, and including the link invites it
- Instagram: Unless you’re applying for a social media or photography role and your Instagram is a professional portfolio
- TikTok: Same as Instagram. Professional portfolio use only
- Dating profiles: This should go without saying, but it happens
- Reddit: No
Clean Up Before You Apply
Before you add any social media link to your resume, review the profile as if you were a hiring manager. Google your own name and see what comes up. If your public social media presence includes content that could create a negative impression, either clean it up or adjust your privacy settings before submitting applications.
A CareerBuilder survey found that 70% of employers check candidates’ social media during the hiring process. What they find matters.
Interests and Hobbies
This is one of the most debated resume sections, and the answer depends on how much space you have and what you’re trying to communicate.
Include hobbies if: You’re early in your career and your resume is short. You have a hobby that’s directly relevant to the role (competitive programming for a developer, marathon running for a sales role where grit matters). The hobby makes you memorable in a positive way.
Skip hobbies if: Your resume is already full of relevant professional content. Your hobbies are generic (“reading, traveling, cooking”). You’re at a senior level where the hobbies section looks out of place.
If you include interests, be specific. “Reading” says nothing. “Read 40+ books on behavioral economics and product strategy in the past year” says something. “Sports” is generic. “Captain of a recreational soccer league with 120 members” shows leadership.
References
“References available upon request” is a relic. Every hiring manager knows that you’ll provide references if asked. This line wastes space.
Do not include references on your resume. Don’t include reference names, phone numbers, or email addresses. Your references deserve a heads-up before their contact info is distributed and including it on a resume means it goes into ATS databases, gets forwarded to unknown parties, and sits in email inboxes indefinitely.
Prepare a separate reference sheet. Bring it to the interview or send it when asked.
Religious and Political Affiliations
Leave these off your resume unless they’re directly relevant to the position. Applying for a role at a religious organization? Include your involvement. Running for political office? Obviously relevant. For everything else, these affiliations create unnecessary opportunities for bias without adding professional value.
Salary History and Expectations
Do not include salary information on your resume. In many US states, it’s now illegal for employers to ask about salary history. Including it voluntarily puts you at a negotiating disadvantage.
If a job application requires salary expectations, provide them in the application form or cover letter, not on the resume itself.
How to Format Personal Information
Your personal information section should be clean and space-efficient.
Place it at the top of your resume, either centered or left-aligned. Your name should be the largest text on the page (14-18pt, bold). Contact details can be on one or two lines below in regular-sized text.
Use separators between items: pipes (|) or bullet points work well.
Example: Jane Smith San Francisco, CA | (415) 555-0123 | jane.smith@email.com | linkedin.com/in/janesmith
That’s clean, professional and contains everything a recruiter needs to contact you or find you online. No full address. No photo. No date of birth.
For more on avoiding common resume mistakes, including information choices, see our guide on common resume mistakes to avoid.
The Privacy Consideration
Your resume is a semi-public document. Once you submit it, you lose control of where it goes. It enters ATS databases, gets forwarded to hiring committees, gets printed and left on desks, gets stored on recruiter laptops.
Every piece of personal information you include is information that could be exposed, misused, or used against you unconsciously. Include only what helps you get the job. Everything else is an unnecessary risk with no upside.
A Quick Reference by Region
United States / Canada / UK / Australia
- Name, phone, email, city/state: Yes
- LinkedIn: Yes
- Photo: No
- Date of birth: No
- Marital status: No
- Nationality: Only if work authorization is relevant
Germany / Austria / Switzerland
- All of the above: Yes
- Photo: Expected
- Date of birth: Common
- Nationality: Include if relevant to work authorization
France / Belgium / Netherlands
- Photo: Common but becoming optional
- Date of birth: Common
- Nationality: Include if relevant
Japan / South Korea
- Photo: Expected
- Date of birth: Expected
- Marital status: Sometimes included
- Follow local CV format (rirekisho in Japan)
Middle East
- Photo: Common
- Nationality: Include
- Visa status: Include
- Date of birth: Common
What It Comes Down To
Your resume is a professional document, not a biography. Include the information that helps recruiters contact you, find you online and determine your eligibility. Exclude everything that creates bias risk, wastes space, or belongs in a conversation rather than on a page.
When in doubt about whether to include something, ask yourself: “Will this information help me get an interview?” If the answer isn’t a clear yes, leave it off. Your qualifications and experience should be doing the persuading, not your personal details.
