Elizabeth Openshaw 
Adding your address to your CV - yes or no? Find out the answer below…
In 2024, is it really necessary to include your address on your CV? As with most things, there are pros and cons. And do you include your full address or just a partial address?
Failing to include all relevant 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. Not only do your contact details need to be present and accurate, they also need to be in an obvious place on your CV.
With most of us making online applications, it's customary to include 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 during the recruitment process. As a result, including accurate contact details on your CV is essential - and that includes whereabouts in the country (or the world) you are.
Should I put my address on my CV?
When pondering the question, “should I put my address on my CV?” there are a few things to consider. Before the frequent use of email and mobile phones, a full address on your CV was essential as potential employers contacted you by post. Nowadays, it's not so necessary.
Let's look at the pros and cons of including your address on your CV.
Reasons to include your address on your CV:
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It's still standard practice, so employers and recruiting managers expect to see it
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It means employers can perform background checks on you
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It builds up trust between you and the employer, by showing you're not constantly on the move
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If you've had roles all over the place, including your address can clarify where you're actually based now
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For local roles, it shows you're within easy commuting distance, as employers sometimes prefer workers who live closer to the office
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Salary can depend on location, for example, you may receive more for a role based in London than one in Bolton
Reasons not to include your address:
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You may have security concerns, where you're not comfortable with your full address being there for all to see, as you never quite know where your CV could end up
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If you're not that close to where you're applying, you might be rejected
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If you're applying via a third party site, you can't guarantee that your address won't fall into the wrong hands
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Revealing where you live might subject you to economic profiling, as an employer can check your address and offer a lower salary if they see you live in an area where living costs are low
Top tip: When talking about your address, we're really leaning towards your location, rather than your house number and street name. Your town and county is enough at this stage of the recruitment process.
What about if you're willing to relocate?
This can be tricky, as it almost doesn't matter where you're located right now, because you're looking to move - maybe seeking a new role a long distance away.
In this case, it's worth writing something like:
“Currently based in Surrey; willing to relocate”
or
“Currently based in the UK; keen to relocate to Canada”
What contact details should you put your CV?
At the very least, the contact information you should list on your CV includes:
Your name
Your full name should appear on your CV and, 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 necessary. After all, a CV is not a piece of formal government documentation or equivalent - it's a concise summary of your most recent and relevant employment history that will hopefully help you to land a new job.
If you shorten your name in everyday life - for example, your birth name is Jonathon but you go by the shortened version of Jon, it's 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 an appropriate one. Avoid unprofessional email addresses such as sk8terboi@email.com as this will create a poor first impression. We recommend that you adopt the firstname.lastname@email.com (or similar) format for your personal email account. While it might be a pain if this means you have to change your email address, it'll be worth it in order to create a better first impression.
Top tip: 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 work emails with job-search emails, or you could end up in a very sticky situation.
Phone number
A phone number is absolutely essential. We recommend adding your mobile number as a priority, so 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 that they've reached the right person.
Top tip: There is no need to add your home number anymore. Those days are gone. Pretty much 100% of job seekers have a mobile phone now, so that's the number expected on your CV. You don't want to clutter up the contact details section with a home phone number.
Optional extras
There is other personal information that you could include on your CV, alongside your basic contact information, such as:
LinkedIn profile: include the link to your LinkedIn page, but ensure your profile is up to date and mirrors that of your CV in style and substance.
Website and portfolios: if you have a relevant personal website or an online portfolio, add links to them as well - especially if it's something like an art portfolio that showcases your work when going for a creative role.
How and where to put contact information on your CV
Your contact information should sit at the very 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 the words “Curriculum Vitae” should not appear on the document at all - the recruiter or hiring manager will know what they're looking at!
Top tip: There's also no need to add the words “Location”, “Email” or “Mobile” right by each one as, again, it's fairly obvious what each one is.
Place your contact details under your name in a smaller font. Where they sit on the page is up to you - left, centre, or 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're happy with the format and level of detail, proofread your contact information thoroughly. A typo in your location, email, or phone number - no matter how small - could prevent you from being contactable and thus, landing a job interview.
Address on a CV: examples
There are a few ways in which you can display your address or location on your CV.
This one includes the town location and the first part of the postcode:
Elaine Baker
07777 234567 | elainebaker@gmail.com | ElaineLinkedIn
Shrewsbury SS1
The address in this CV example has the town and county displayed:
Katie Lawrence
07777 234567
katielawrence@gmail.com
KatieLawrence LinkedIn URL
Worthing, West Sussex
Here, the address on the CV example states that the client is flexible enough and happy to go wherever a suitable job takes him:
Ahmed Patel
Engineering Graduate
Willing to relocate anywhere in the UK | 07593 602245 | patel@gmail.com | AhmedPatelLinkedIn
This applicant has included his full address:
Stanley Wood
2 Acacia Avenue, Yardley Wood, Birmingham B12 2ST
07777 234567
Email: stanwood@gmail.com
StanWoodLinkedIn
Contact details matter
It's a surprisingly frequent occurrence where there are no contact details on a CV. Recruiting managers aren't mind readers and they haven't got the time to spend hours searching you out.
Spoiler alert: if there are no contact details on a CV, that CV is going in the bin… no question.
Make sure the contact details on your CV, including your location, are easy to spot and are right at the top of the CV.
If you're still unsure about how light or how 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.
This article was originally written by Laura Slingo and has been updated by Elizabeth Openshaw.
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