Removing Your Street Address And Home Phone Number From Your Résumé

It’s traditional to include your full street address as part of your contact information on your résumé. However, there are a few things you might want to consider about whether to leave the entire street address, or whether to simply have the city and zip code. (Keep in mind that unless your home landline is unlisted, having it on your résumé is a proxy for the actual street address since simply typing your telephone number into a search engine will provide the full street address.) Because of all the information available on the internet these days (including state and local tax records), a full street address can give a curious person access to information like satellite photos, market value, sales records, and property tax information. Moreover, if your home is for sale, a street address can give a curious person access to information like photos, whether your home is a foreclosure or short sale, and more.

Is it likely someone would violate your privacy like this? Maybe not. But you might reconsider providing this information if it might cause a recruiter or employer to hesitate (fairly or not) about contacting you (e.g., your house is listed as a short sale). Like all the information on your résumé, consider whether your full street address is helpful to your goal, or not. If it’s not, then take it off and wait until later in the process to provide this information.

Remember that you do need to at least include your city, state, and zip code, since those bits of information about your geography are used by recruiters and employers use to screen candidates (i.e., to determine whether candidates live within a “reasonable” commuting distance, which also means if you are relocating, you should use an address—and telephone number—located within your target market as soon as possible). Also remember some hiring managers still expect and want to see a street address, and will be suspicious if you fail to provide it. As always, know your audience and target your résumé accordingly.