The contact information on your resume is very important. Companies can’t hire you if they can’t find you. You want to avoid the following five mistakes when providing your contact information.
Mistake #1: Providing your work phone number or work email account. Most job searches are best conducted without the knowledge of your current employer. Your work phone and email are not private. You should open a personal email account that uses your full name (johnsmith@gmail.com) and, if necessary, you should purchase a personal cell phone specifically for your job search.
Mistake #2: Hiding your physical location. Many employment opportunities are geographically limited and employers are reluctant to hire someone outside their location. In any case, you would have trouble convincing an employer that you live in San Diego when you are still working full time in Chicago.
Provide a mailing address. If you are relocating, get a box in the new location you want to move to (unless you are flexible about locations). You can then say you are in the process of relocating.
Mistake #3: Making errors in your contact information. You seldom need to write down your cell phone number, for example, so when you do write it down, it is easy to transpose numbers. Double and triple check your contact information. In fact, I often advise clients to phone and email themselves using just the information on the resume to make sure everything is correct and the connection is solid.
Mistake #4: Not updating your contact information. If you have ever moved, lost a cell phone, changed an internet provider—and who hasn’t?—your contact information may be outdated. When you update your resume, make sure you update your contact information.
Mistake #5: Sending contacts to a blank or incomplete page online. This might happen with LinkedIn and other social media sites or with your personal website: the URL is correct but the page itself is blank, incomplete or amateurish. Your online profile should be as professional as your resume and any personal website (for example, a portfolio of your work) should achieve the highest standards of content and design.
At Robin’s Resumes®, we make sure your resume is accurate and complete from first page to last.