Address Positions
by ResumeEdge

People must be able to locate you, but your address and phone number are some of the least important marketing details on a resume. Some managers spend only a few seconds perusing a resume and might get through the first third of it, if you are lucky. The reader's eyes should be drawn immediately to the things that will motivate him or her to read all the way to the bottom.

However, you don't want to make the reader work too hard when it comes time to make that critical call for an interview! You should make the address section part of the overall design of the resume so it doesn't detract from the text, much as you did with your name, but keep it in an easy-to-find location. That can be done by placing the address(es) either at the top or the bottom of the resume.

Two addresses, a current and permanent, are often needed when a person is still in school or will be moving in a few months. Presenting them at the top sometimes creates design problems and requires a bit of imagination (Sample 1). Placing two addresses at the bottom is often easier.

An address at the top of the resume should be made part of the design so that the reader's eyes easily skip over it to begin reading the text. Graphic lines are particularly useful in this case (Sample 1), and so is the judicious use of italics (Sample 1).

Matching lines at the bottom of a resume sometimes help to create a sense of balance so the resume is not top heavy (Sample 1). The address can be centered under or between the line(s) (Sample 1), made to follow the same format as the text of the resume (Sample 1), or tab aligned (Sample 1).

If you have an e-mail address, always include it on your resume. The same goes for your Web page address if you have a portfolio online.