Contact details, headers and footers – Page 2

If you live outside the USA, use international format with the country code, so a US recruiter knows how to dial you: "+971 50 123 4567". If you have a US number, the usual local style is "(555) 123-4567" or "555-123-4567"; adding "+1" makes it clear for international recruiters too.

Tips:

• Keep the number on one line.
• Use one style consistently in your resume, cover letter and LinkedIn.
• If you are applying from abroad, consider adding your time zone in your cover letter so recruiters can plan calls.

When an online form asks for a phone number, follow its example format exactly. Some forms reject brackets or spaces, and some have a separate country code box.

Use your current number in full international format, and make sure you can receive calls and messages on it. Recruiters hire people from abroad regularly and only need a reliable way to reach you.

Practical steps:

• Write it with the country code: "+63 917 123 4567".
• Add an email address you check daily, because overseas recruiters often email first.
• Mention in your cover letter that you can take calls or video interviews at times that suit their time zone.
• If you get a local number later, update your resume and online profiles.

Do not list a borrowed number belonging to a friend or relative in that country. Messages may not reach you, and it can confuse the recruiter.

It is safer not to. Tables are often used to line up contact details neatly, but some parsers read table cells in an unexpected order or merge them, and your email or phone can end up joined to other text.

A cleaner approach:

• Write the contact details as one or two lines of plain text separated by a vertical bar or comma.
• Use tabs or right alignment only if your editor keeps them as simple text.

If your current resume uses a table, copy the contact details out into normal paragraphs, delete the table, and check the result by copying the PDF text into a plain text editor.

Use personal contact details only and avoid anything linked to your current employer. That means a personal email, a personal mobile and no work phone, work email or company laptop for applications.

Other tips for a confidential search:

• Apply outside working hours where possible.
• Be careful with job board settings that make your profile public. Some boards let you hide your profile from your current employer.
• In a cover letter or portal question, you can write "Please treat my application as confidential."
• Do not post that you are "open to work" publicly if you want to stay discreet.

Your current employer's name still appears in your work history, so be thoughtful about where you upload your resume.

Most modern systems handle accented letters and apostrophes in names, but some forms and older systems may display them oddly. Keep your correct spelling on the resume, and be ready to adjust only in forms that reject it.

Tips:

• On your resume, write your name correctly: "José Martínez", "Siobhán O'Neill".
• If a web form gives an error on the accent or apostrophe, use the closest plain version that the form accepts, such as "Jose Martinez".
• Use a standard straight apostrophe or the same apostrophe consistently; avoid decorative symbols.
• Keep your email address plain, without accents, since many email systems do not support them.

When you see your name shown wrongly in a confirmation email, it is usually only a display problem and not a reason to change your resume.

It is better to avoid them. Emoji and decorative symbols may not display the same way on every computer, and a parser may turn them into strange characters or drop them. Plain text is clearer and more professional.

Instead of symbols, either:

• Leave the details without labels, because emails and phone numbers are easy to recognise.
• Or use short word labels such as "Email" and "Mobile".

Simple separators like a vertical bar "|" or a comma are fine. If you want visual interest, use font weight or a single colour rather than symbols.

Check them carefully in the preview, because numbers, email addresses and links are written left to right even inside right-to-left Arabic text, and mixed direction can sometimes shift characters around.

Tips:

• Put each contact item on its own line, or separate them clearly, so the direction does not mix.
• Write phone numbers in international format with the plus sign: "+971 50 123 4567".
• Copy your email address in exactly; never translate or rearrange it.
• Read the final PDF slowly and compare each character with the original.

In ResumeBuilder.ae you can choose Arabic as the resume language on the Design tab, and the layout runs right to left. Always check the preview before you pay and download.

Open the personal details section and compare every field with your old resume, letter by letter. Importing reads text from your file, and contact details sometimes land in the wrong field or lose characters, especially if the old file used a header, table or icons.

In ResumeBuilder.ae, imports from PDF or Word (.docx) files are read in your browser, and you are asked to check each imported section. Pay special attention to:

• Full name complete and spelled correctly.
• Email complete, with the "@" and domain.
• Phone number including country code.
• Links copied fully and still working.

If something is wrong, retype it in the correct field and look again in the preview.

Usually not. A mobile number is enough, because recruiters want to reach you directly and may also send text or messaging updates. A home landline adds clutter and may be answered by someone else.

Include a landline only if:

• It is the most reliable way to reach you during the day.
• It has a voicemail you check regularly.

If you add it, label it clearly: "Mobile: +91 98765 43210 | Home: +91 80 2345 6789". Keep the mobile first, as some forms and systems keep only one number.

No, links are optional, and many hands-on roles do not need any. A clear name, mobile number, email and location are what matters most, and recruiters for these roles often call candidates directly.

What to put near the top instead:

• Your mobile number, written clearly with country code.
• City and area, since commuting distance and shift patterns matter.
• Driving licence type and country, if relevant to the job. Example: "UAE light vehicle licence".

Add LinkedIn only if your profile is complete. Spend the space you save on clear experience bullets and safety certifications.

It is not a serious problem, but it is better to avoid it. A birth year in your email, such as "ali1979@email.com", shows your age when the resume itself does not, and it can look less polished than a name-only address.

Better options:

• A version of your name: "ali.raza@email.com" or "ali.raza.pro@email.com".
• If your name is taken, add a neutral word such as "work" or "careers": "aliraza.careers@email.com".

Create a new address only for job hunting if needed, and set it to forward to your main inbox so you never miss a message.

Text boxes float on top of the page and are stored separately from the main text in many file types, so some parsers read them late, out of order or not at all. Your contact details are the last thing you want lost.

What to do instead:

• Type your name and contact lines directly at the top of the page as normal paragraphs.
• If your template uses a text box for the header, copy the text out, delete the box, and paste the text into the body.
• Use paragraph spacing, alignment and font size to recreate the look.

Then copy your final PDF text into a plain text editor. Your name and email should appear first, complete and in the right order.

Usually by its pattern and position: a plus sign and country code, a run of digits near the top, close to your email. Numbers that look similar and sit nearby can confuse it.

Help it out:

• Keep your phone number in the contact block at the top, on one line.
• Write it in international format: "+971 50 123 4567".
• Do not put other long numbers nearby, such as ID, passport, licence or visa numbers.
• Keep licence numbers in a Licences or Certifications section further down, if you need them at all.

If a portal fills your phone field with the wrong digits, correct it by hand and check what other numbers sit near your contact block.

Not much. Most parsers recognise an email by its "@" and a phone number by its digits, wherever they sit in the line. Choose an order that looks clean and stays the same on your resume and cover letter.

A common order:
"email | phone | city, country | LinkedIn"

What matters more:

• Each item complete and on one line.
• Simple separators such as a vertical bar.
• Everything in the main body, not in a header, text box or image.

If you add a second phone number or several links, put the most important one first, because some systems store only the first of each.

Your document probably has the "Different First Page" setting turned on, so page one has its own empty header and page two shows the main one. It is common in templates, and it can hide contact details from you while you edit.

How to check in Word:

• Double-click the header area on page one.
• Look for the "Different First Page" option in the header and footer tools.
• Check both the first-page header and the main header for old text.

The safest fix is to move all contact details into the main body at the top of page one, then leave the headers empty or use them only for a page number or your name on page two.

No. A date in the footer adds nothing useful for a recruiter and can make your resume look old if it sits in a database for months. If a system ignores the footer, it is lost anyway.

Better ways to keep track of versions:

• Put the date in the file name you keep for yourself, such as "Resume-2026-10.pdf", and send a clean name like "Amira-Saleh-Resume.pdf".
• Keep a simple log of which version you sent to which employer.

Your work history dates already show how current your resume is.

Usually not. A "Confidential" label or watermark does not stop anyone sharing your resume, and watermarks can interfere with how text is read. Some parsers pick up the watermark text and mix it into your profile.

If confidentiality matters:

• Mention it in your cover letter or message: "Please treat my application as confidential."
• Use personal contact details only.
• Share your resume only with trusted recruiters and employers.

Keep the page itself clean so the important text is read correctly.

They can cause problems. Many templates use content controls or form fields that look like normal text but are stored as special objects. Some parsers skip them or pick up the placeholder text instead of what you typed.

How to make them safe:

• Click each field and check whether it is a content control (it shows a box or tag when selected).
• Copy your typed text, delete the field, and paste the text back as plain text.
• Search the document for leftover prompts such as "[Your Name]" or "Email Address".

After saving, copy all the text from your PDF into a plain text editor to confirm your real details appear.

It can be, as long as the visible text is your full email address. A clickable email is convenient for recruiters reading on screen, while a parser reads the visible text.

Do:

• Show the address: "kwame.mensah@email.com".
• Check that clicking it opens a new email to the correct address.

Avoid:

• Display text like "Email me" with the address hidden behind it.
• A link that points to an old address while the visible text shows a new one. This happens when you edit the text but not the link.

Test every link in the final PDF before you send it.

Remove the underline from the email link, or choose an address without underscores. When an email like "sara_ali@email.com" is underlined, the underscore can look like a space, and a recruiter may type it wrongly.

Options:

• Format the link with no underline, in the same colour as your text.
• Use a dot instead of an underscore if you create a new job-search address: "sara.ali@email.com".

Software reading the text still sees the underscore; the risk is a person retyping it. Check readability on a printed copy too, since links lose their click but keep their underline.

No. Employer addresses and phone numbers add clutter and can confuse parsers, which may mistake them for your own contact details. A city and country for each employer is enough.

Example:
"Warehouse Supervisor, BlueLine Logistics, Jebel Ali, UAE | 2021 – Present"

If an application form asks for employer contact details for verification, provide them in that form. Keep the resume focused on your role and achievements.

Either is fine. "Dubai, UAE" is shorter and widely understood; the full country name is clearer for some international readers and forms. Pick one and use it consistently.

Tips:

• Use the common English name of the city: "Mumbai", "Riyadh", "Doha".
• Add the country even for local jobs, because recruiters abroad and some systems use it.
• Avoid local abbreviations that outsiders may not know, such as area codes or district nicknames.

If you apply through a portal with a location dropdown, choose the city and country there exactly.

Put where you live, because the location line tells employers where you are based. If the job is in Dubai and commuting is normal for you, you can add that briefly.

Examples:

• "Sharjah, UAE"
• "Sharjah, UAE (commuting to Dubai daily)"

Some recruiters search or filter by city, so if you would happily work in either, a short note helps. Your work history already shows where each job was. Be honest about your location; employers usually find out during hiring anyway.

The same applies elsewhere: living in Navi Mumbai and working in Mumbai, or living in Al Khobar and working in Dammam. Keep the note short, and answer any location or commuting questions in the application form accurately.

Old contact details are often hidden in a header or footer you forgot about, especially in templates that use different headers for different pages or sections. You updated the body, but the hidden header kept the old text.

How to find and fix it:

• Open the header and footer on every page, including the first page, and check odd and even page settings.
• Use your editor's search to find the old number or old email.
• Delete outdated text, or better, empty the headers and keep contact details only in the body.

Then export a new PDF and copy its text into a plain text editor. Search the pasted text for your old number. If it appears anywhere, fix it before applying again, because a parser may pick the old number up instead of the new one.

Your document contains a field that inserts the file name or path, often added by a template or a print setting. It looks unprofessional and can reveal folder names you did not mean to share.

How to remove it:

• Open the footer and delete any field showing a file name, path or date.
• In your browser or PDF printer, turn off "headers and footers" in the print settings if the path comes from there.
• Export a fresh PDF and check every page.

Keep the footer empty or limited to a page number.