Home » Writing a Good Resume » Creating the Right Header
Designing a heading that makes your name stand out
The heading section of a resume should appears at the top of the page, as shown below. The heading includes your name and contact information.
Street,
City, State, Zip.
Phone, Fax, E-mail
You've been putting your name at the tops of papers since you learned how to write in first grade. It's so automatic you probably just plop it there without thinking. Before you do that on your resume, read on for some tips on how to make your name and other contact information stand out.
What's in a Name?
You may have a non-gender-specific first name (such as Chris, Pat, or Robin) and want to know if there are some tricks to hint at whether you're male or female. There are, but before you let your secret out, be sure that you want the employer to know. The following two scenarios may help you decide whether you want to keep your gender a mystery.
Job Hunt Hint
It's important that your name and contact information appear at the top of your resume, not at the bottom of the page because that's where it's traditionally placed and where an employer will expect to find it.
Giving a Clear Signal
In some cases, it's to the job seeker's advantage for the employer to know the applicant's sex. For instance, Robin Harris (a man) knew that even though sex discrimination is illegal in the job-placement process, the company for whom he wanted to work gave its most productive sales territories to men. Therefore, he wanted the employer to know right off that he was a man, because that would put him ahead of all the women candidates in the stack of resumes.
Bonus Check
Contrary to what you might think, your resume is not a formal document--it's a market-ing piece that introduces you. So refer to yourself the way you would like to be addressed. If your first name is Elizabeth, but you want to be called Beth, use Beth in your Heading section. Middle initials are optional.
Bonus Check
Here are a few ways you can clarify your gender on paper:
- Use a gender-specific nickname instead of your given name (for example, Rob Harris instead of Robin Harris).
- Include a middle name if it's clearly male or female (for example, Robin Frank Harris).
- Start your name with Mr. or Ms. (for example, Mr. Robin Harris).
If you're considering this last option, think twice. This technique is seldom used and looks somewhat awkward. However, if you're applying within the United States and have an unusual or non-American name that probably won't be recognized as male or female no matter what you do to it, the Mr. or Ms. technique would work.