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Including the right contact information
That's the Fax
The fax rule of thumb: Don't list a fax number in your heading unless you're sending your resume to a recruiter. Recruiters frequently fax job postings and related information to job candidates, so they appreciate having the fax numbers readily available. Melissa Groden was sending her resume to a recruiter, so she included her fax number in the heading of her resume.
Employers, on the other hand, hardly ever fax a response to a job applicant, so putting a fax number on a resume you're sending directly to a company is a waste of valuable space.
Job-Hunt Hint
Consider incorporating a horizontal line or shaded bar into the design of your heading to set it apart from the rest of the resume.
Career Casualty
Don't go overboard by listing every contact number you have (home, office, cell, and pager). Give only the one or two needed to reach you or to leave a message.
E-Mail Giveaway
Listing your e-mail address (if you have one) in the Heading sec-tion is beneficial, providing that it can do two things:
- Expedite the employer's response
- Demonstrate that you're online savvy (a plus when applying for certain positions).
If either of these points applies to you, by all means put your e-mail address in your heading. Because Alice Friend was applying to a high-tech firm, she put her e-mail address on her resume, proving she's comfortable online.
Job-Hunt Hint
If you list your fax number, introduce it with Fax: so that your potential employer can distinguish it from your phone number.
Bonus Check
Yahoo! and other online services offer free e-mail accounts with local access around theworld. If you don't already have a personal e-mail account, consider getting one of thesefreebies for your job search.
Hot URLs
URLs (Web site addresses) are not commonly found in headings for two reasons:
- Most people don't have a personal Web site (and most people don't need one for their job search).
- Personal Web sites often contain private information and other stuff a potential employer shouldn't see.
However, if you're in Web site development, multimedia, or any field where your image might be enhanced because you have a spiffy per sonal Web site, put your URL in your heading along with your other contact information. Dawson Peroni, for instance, was applying for assignments as a Web game developer. Because his personal Web site had links to some of his projects, he included his URL in his resume's heading.
Following are some example of addresses in headings. Sandra Steven used her home address in her heading section. Juanita Cuellar didn't feel comfortable giving out her street address, So she choose her P.O. box number in her heading. Both headings are permissible, But Sandr's address made her look little more stable than Juanita.
| Sandra Steven 123, Royal Rock Avenue, Memphis, NY-14345, (123)234- 45213 |
| Juanita Cullar
P.O. Box 123, Memphis, NY - 14345. (123)234-45213 |