Putting personal details on your CV may seem straightforward but given how little space you have to put information on your CV, and how little time your recruiters have to read your CV, you want to know which personal details will go on your CV. We won’t stop saying it as our mantra : brevity and relevance are the two words you need to think of when factoring in what you put in when writing your CV.
Because the point of a CV or Resume is merely to be contacted back for an interview it goes without saying that the heart of your personal details is the contact information. Having a strong email address, a clear phone number and knowing where to place them discreetly is important for having the best CV of the pack.
You also may wonder about your CV details format. We have a range of CV templates that you can browse to see the different ways we present our personal details.
What are personal details?
Your personal details are the details you put on your CV that contain the most basic information about yourself. This refers to a series of data that largely are not related to your professional skills.
your full name, the one indicated on your identity card (adapted to the script of the employer, so for example convert cyrillic to latin or vice versas accordingly).
- Age : be careful about age laws in your country and whether you should put your age on the CV or Resume you are writing.
- Your address : This is increasingly irrelevant but you may want to put it if you live in a different country or need to make clear you will have to move or might need a company car for the job.
- Your driver’s licence (yes or no) : Some countries will favour you if you put that you have your drivers licence, especially if the business is not connected through public transport.
- Your phone number : make sure that you include your phone number.
- Your e-mail address : remember that the number 1 goal of a CV is to be contacted back. Make sure your email has your name in it.
What details should I not put on my resume?
First of all your country could be subject to an equivalent of an equalities act. This means that an employer may be subject to labour laws that mean they cannot discriminate against you based on a set of characteristics. These can include your marital status, race, nationality, religion amongst other things.
Nationality can sometimes be included as some labour markets such as the European Union will want to know if you are eligible for work in the country you apply to. Employers are supposed to not discriminate between the EU member-state citizens but do discriminate between EU and non-EU unless there is a specific accord.
Generally speaking there is a lot of debate about whether to put your age on your CV. You can see our section about age on your CV here.
Should you include a photograph of yourself on your CV
Using a photograph on your CV depends on a multitude of factors. The primary two are the location of the job and the type of the job.
Certain working cultures will favour that you have a more personal approach to your CV. In Southern European countries for example recruiters can tend to favour people who personalise their CV more. This includes a photo and a more informal personal statement to go with it. In stark contrast American corporate culture would see the photo as unnecessary.
Similarly, the type of job you are applying for determines whether you are going to put a photo up. Somebody in sales or in a photography gig wants to show off their ability to present themselves well or be able to take high quality photos. Somebody in coding cares little about these characteristics.
How do you introduce yourself in a resume?
Your personal details should not define you. The real introduction should be your personal statement. This comes sometimes even before your personal details or alongside them depending on the format of your CV.