Don’t include your full address on your resume―here’s why

When it comes to reading your resume, recruiters notoriously spend very little time ― an average of 7.4 seconds, to be exact. That’s according to a 2018 study by Ladders. That being the case, you’ll want to include only the most relevant information to convince them you’re the right candidate.

Some elements are no-brainers: Include the titles and experience that are similar to the job you’re applying for, any relevant degrees, and skills that speak to what the role entails. But what about information like your physical address? Do potential employers need to see exactly where you live at the top of your resume?

“In terms of your whole physical address,” says Angelina Darrisaw, career coach and founder and CEO of C-Suite Coach. “It’s very rare that that’s something that is needed.”

Here’s what experts suggest you include when it comes to where you live.

Bare minimum, Darrisaw would advocate for including your state.

“There might be a variety of reasons why an employer might want candidates from a particular state,” she says. “For example, the federal policies are different in New York than they are in other states. And I might want the state to cover some of your paid family leave if I’m a smaller business and I can’t pay for that all on my own.”

Depending on the size of the company you’re applying for, they may have internal recruiting systems that help them sort through applicants. These could include “filters where they’re looking for candidates for certain states,” she says, “So putting your state on there, at least, can help you pass any of those filters.”

If you’re applying for a job that’s hybrid or full-time in the office, you might consider including your city, too, says Amanda Augustine, career expert at TopResume.

“If it’s an in-person job, and you’re expected to go into a corporate office, of course you want to demonstrate that you can commute there without issues,” she says. Sometimes companies also like to get a sense of your time zone because “they’re trying to keep people within a certain number of time zones for coordination of work,” she says.

But city and state are really as granular as you need to get, she says. In fact, in this day and age, it can be dangerous to include anything more.

“You don’t need everybody in the world knowing exactly where you’re living,” says Augustine. “A lot of people consider it a security concern, either for identity theft or because you don’t want someone showing up at your house.”  

Check out:

Should you put your GPA on your resume? Not ‘if you graduated by the skin of your teeth’

3 terms you should always have on your resume to target what ‘every organization cares about’

‘Don’t go over 2 pages’: How long a resume should be, according to experts

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