The Pros of Including Your Full Address on Your Resume

Employers Expect an Address: One of the primary reasons for including your full address on your resume is simply that employers expect to see it. Traditionally, a street address is part of a standard resume and diverging from the norm might make hiring managers and recruiters cautious about your application or disregard it all together—believing that failure to include an address demonstrates a lack of attention to detail or that you’re hiding something.

Applicant Tracking System (ATS) Optimization: ATS is becoming more and more prevalent with employers. More than 98% of Fortune 500 companies employ ATS to streamline the hiring process and roughly 75% of resumes never make it to human eyes, having been screened out by ATS. The best resume writers understand that tracking systems often filter using location, and failure to have an address present on your resume can keep it from being one of the 25% of resumes that make it the desk of an employer.

Database Deterrent: Many employers will use the information on your resume to build an applicant profile, which includes contact information such as your mailing address. Without your full address, they might be unable to enter you into their database. Great resume writers will warn that this may preclude a company from moving you through the application process or take you out of consideration for future opportunities, as recruiters commonly search these databases to fill positions later.

Blocking a Background Check: According to a report from the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS), 95% of employers stated their organization conducts one or more types of employment background screening. Withholding your address can complicate this task for potential employers, either eliminating it from consideration or slowing the speed you move through the application process.

The Cons of Including Your Full Address on Your Resume

Takes Up Space: In today’s digital world, the inclusion of a street address not only feels antiquated, but it also takes up valuable space on your resume. With only 7ish seconds to impress recruiters and hiring managers, would you rather they focus on your address or your achievements? Nixing your full address—or at least part of it—makes your resume cleaner, improves its presentation, and brings your accomplishments to the forefront.

Identity Theft: According to a survey, 16.7 million people in the US were victims of identity-based fraud in 2017. Including extra personal details—especially those that feel irrelevant, such as your street address—makes many job seekers uncomfortable. Knowledgeable professional resume writers would advise that this is of particular concern when applying through third-party sites like job boards. SoCalResumes cautions that if you’re going to leave your full address off of your resume, make sure your phone number and email are correct, so employers can easily follow up if they have questions or require additional information.

Commute Concern: If you live a long distance from the job you’re applying for, including your full address on your resume might eliminate you from the running. Many employers prefer local candidates with quick and easy commutes—believing long, stressful travel to and from work will reduce the likelihood of long-time employment.

Location Bias: No matter if it’s a city, town, neighborhood, or even a particular street, some areas are considered undesirable, which may lead to social and economic profiling. These types of profiling can affect whether you’re invited in for an interview or how much money you’ll earn if offered the job.

If You’re Relocating

If you’re relocating and job-hunting as an out of towner, it’s plausible a non-local address will land your resume in the pass pile. Although, even if you don’t include your address on your resume, employers might be suspicious that your previous employment is at locations nowhere near where you’re applying. In fact, employers might find the lack of a full address as deceitful and reject your resume. A good resume writing service will encourage candidates relocating to include their relocation in favor of their current address on their resume. For example, Relocating to San Diego, California.

Recruiting a Resume Writer

The main function of a resume is to catch the eye of employers. There are two ways to write a standout resume. One way stands out for all the wrong reasons—it’s incomplete, suspicious, or misleading. The other way is that it stands out for its presentation and quality, invoking an interest in learning more about you. If you’re unsure of how to best handle the address section of your resume, a certified resume writer, like those of SoCalResumes, will steer you into a solution that speaks to your specific situation. Contact us today to wow with your resume, land interviews, and get a great gig.