Company Address

One of the resumes I read today listed the full address of each employer. This isn’t common, but I have seen it a number of times. Job seekers going overboard in the level of detail they are providing. Here’s the format the job seeker used:

Company Name: 123 Main Street, City, ST 12345-6789 Telephone: (123) 456-7890
Start Date to End Date Job Title

Not only did the job seeker provide the address and phone, they listed the full nine digit zip code. I couldn’t tell you my four digit zip code extension and am not interested in knowing yours from every job you have held.

It is important to include the location of each position you have held. This helps tell the story of your career. The detail, though, can be limited to the city and state (or just the country for some overseas positions).

There are two main problems from providing too much detail. First, it takes up space that you could use for more important information. Second, it obscures what’s important. The job title is the last thing listed. This made it more difficult to find. Now, it wasn’t a terrible chore to find – it may have taken an extra second or two on each position. Unfortunately, your resume might only get a 15-30 second look from a hiring manager before they decide to keep it or toss it. With five positions, do you want to waste 5-10 seconds of that time having the reader look for you job titles? That could be as much as a third of the time your resume gets.

Bottom line: Make sure you provide the important information and leave out unimportant details, and make sure the important stuff is easy to find.