You've worked on your experience section. Your summary is tight. But then comes the personal information section - and this is where a lot of candidates, especially those coming from other countries, make mistakes that get them screened out before anyone reads a single bullet point.
In the US, the rules around personal information on a resume are strict - and the wrong additions don't just waste space. They signal red flags. A photo, a date of birth, or a marital status on a US resume can stop your application cold.
Here's exactly what goes on, what stays off, and why.
No Photo. Ever.
This is non-negotiable. Never include a photo on a resume submitted to a US employer.
Under EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) guidelines, employers cannot make hiring decisions based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability. Adding a photo to your resume puts the hiring manager in a legally awkward position - they've now seen information they're not supposed to factor in, and many HR departments are trained to flag or set aside applications that include one.
From a practical standpoint: a photo adds zero value to your application. Recruiters and hiring managers do not want it. It signals that you're unfamiliar with US hiring norms - which is itself a mark against you, especially for professional roles.
The only exceptions in the US are in entertainment, modeling, and acting - industries where appearance is literally part of the job. Those submissions follow entirely different conventions. For any office, technical, healthcare, finance, legal, or service role, leave the photo off entirely.
100%
of US career coaches and recruiters advise against including a photo on a resume (NACE, 2025)
Date of Birth, Age, Marital Status - All Off
These three are the most common mistakes made by candidates applying to US jobs from abroad. In Germany, a date of birth on a Lebenslauf is standard. In some European countries, marital status was historically included. In the US, all three are red flags.
Age discrimination is prohibited under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) for workers 40 and older. But beyond the legal technicality, no US recruiter expects or wants your date of birth on a resume at any age.
Marital status has no place on a US resume. Full stop. Whether you're single, married, or otherwise - it's irrelevant to your qualifications and no employer should be asking.
Nationality and visa status are a slightly different case. You don't need to state your nationality, but if you require visa sponsorship, it's worth addressing that proactively - either in a cover letter or at the first point of contact. Leaving it unexplained and then raising it later can create friction.
What about implying your age through graduation years or dates? This is a legitimate concern for experienced candidates. If you graduated more than 20 years ago, you can omit graduation years from your education section - it's standard practice and saves you from inadvertent age signals.
Address - City and State Only
Your full home address does not belong on a US resume. City and state is the standard format - for example:
Austin, TX or Seattle, WA
That tells a recruiter everything they need to know at the screening stage: whether you're local, whether relocation might be needed, and roughly what time zone you're in.
Some candidates applying for fully remote roles omit the location entirely or write Remote - Open to Relocation. That's also acceptable and increasingly common.
Never include: your street address, apartment number, or ZIP code. It's unnecessary at this stage and creates a privacy risk - your resume circulates widely within a company before any offer is made.
Like this layout?
Try the Essential Clean template - Click to fill it with your data
Essential CleanWhat Contact Information Actually Belongs on a Resume
Keep the contact section clean and limited to what the recruiter needs to reach you and verify your professional presence:
- Full name - large and clearly at the top
- Phone number - your primary cell, checked regularly
- Professional email address - ideally firstname.lastname@gmail.com or similar; avoid outdated or informal addresses
- City and state - no street address, no ZIP code
- LinkedIn profile URL - essential for most professional roles; make sure it's up to date and consistent with your resume
- Portfolio, GitHub, or personal site - for technical, creative, or freelance roles
That's it. No headshot, no date of birth, no marital status, no Social Security Number (that is never included on a resume).
If You're Applying from Outside the US
The personal information norms in the US are significantly different from most of the rest of the world. If you're accustomed to European hiring conventions, the differences are sharp:
| Element | USA | UK | Poland | Germany |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Photo | Never | Not expected | Optional | Standard |
| Date of birth | Never | Never | Optional | Often included |
| Marital status | Never | Never | Never | Rare |
| Full address | Never (city/state only) | Not needed | Not needed | Standard |
| GDPR / consent clause | Not applicable | Not standard | Required | Required |
If you're building multiple localized versions of your resume - say, one for US applications and one for German or Polish employers - the personal information section needs to be different for each. Do not copy your European CV header directly into a US resume template. What's normal in Germany (photo, date of birth, full address) will work against you with an American employer.
CVCompose lets you maintain separate resume versions for different markets. The templates are configured for each locale's expectations by default.
Like this layout?
Try the Bold Pro template - Click to fill it with your data
Bold ProPersonal Information Checklist - US Resume
Before you submit:
- Full name clearly at the top
- Professional email address
- Active phone number
- City and state only (no street address, no ZIP)
- LinkedIn URL - if current and complete
- Portfolio or GitHub - for relevant roles
- No photo
- No date of birth
- No marital status
- No nationality (unless visa sponsorship needs to be flagged separately)
- No Social Security Number
