If you want to land the job, employers must be able to get in touch with you

Failing to include contact information on your CV could result in a missed opportunity, as employers and hiring managers are likely to struggle to get in touch with you. So not only do your contact details need to be present and accurate, but they also need to be shown in an obvious place on your CV.With many online applications, it's customary to include your contact details in other parts of the submission form. However, CVs often become detached from their original correspondence as they get passed between key stakeholders in the recruitment process. As a result, including accurate contact details on your CV is essential.

Here is a selection of CV tips and tricks to help you identify what contact information should be on your CV and where it should be placed.

What contact information should be on your CV?

At the very least, the contact information you should list on your CV includes:

Full name

Your full name should appear on your CV. By this, we mean your first name and your surname.

For some reason, many people assume that your middle name should appear on your CV. This is not true. After all, a CV is not a piece of formal government documentation or equivalent ‒ it is a concise summary of your recent, relevant employment history to help you land a new job.

If you shorten your name in your everyday life – for example, your birth name may be Jonathon, but you go by Jon – it is perfectly acceptable to list your first name as Jon. The rule to follow is to be consistent. Whatever name you choose, it should be the same across your cover letter, business cards, professional website, LinkedIn, and so on. 

Email address

You should also include your personal email address - and make sure it's appropriate. Avoid unprofessional email addresses such as sk8terboi@email.com as it will create a poor first impression. We recommend adopting the firstname.lastname@email.com (or similar) format instead for your personal email account.

Avoid adding your work email address to your CV. It may be associated with the inbox you check the most regularly, but you want to avoid cross-contaminating your work emails with your job-search emails, or you could end up in a sticky situation.

Phone number

A phone number is also essential. We recommend adding your mobile number as a priority, so that that you can pick up calls throughout the day. There is, of course, a chance that a recruiter's call could go through to your voicemail, so ensure that you have a professional-sounding message set up that includes your name, so they know they've reached the right person.

Optional extras

There are some other personal details that you could include alongside your contact information, such as:

  • Location: you do not need to add your mailing full address to your CV, but in most cases, you should add your location in a "Town, County" format

  • LinkedIn profile: include the link to your LinkedIn page, but ensure your profile is up to date

  • Website and portfolios: if you have a relevant personal website or an online portfolio, add links to them, too

How and where to put contact information on your CV

Your contact information should sit at the top of your CV. Treat your full name as the document title, formatting it with a large, bold font so that it's prominent. Note that "CV" or "curriculum vitae" should not appear on the document at all – the recruiter and hiring manager will know what they're looking at!

Place your contact details near your name in a smaller font. Where they sit on the page is up to you – left, centre and right-hand page justifications are all acceptable. However, the combination of contact details should look like a separate section from your personal profile, which comes next.

Once you are happy with the format and level of detail, proofread your contact information thoroughly. A typo in your email or phone number ‒ no matter how small ‒ could prevent you from landing a job interview.

If you're unsure of how light or heavy to go on the detail, or are uncertain whether the formatting makes your contact details look slick and professional, consider submitting your CV for a free review to put your mind at ease.

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