Personal Details on a CV: Neither Too Much nor Too Little
Many candidates wonder what to put at the top of a CV. Name, phone number and email, yes. But should you also include your full address? Your age? Date of birth? Nationality? Driving licence? LinkedIn profile?
The short answer is simple: include what helps your application, and remove what adds nothing or exposes you unnecessarily.
In 2026, a strong CV no longer needs to display your whole personal identity. It mainly needs to let the recruiter contact you quickly, understand your location and spot a few details that are genuinely useful for the role.
If your CV already feels overloaded, also read should you list everything on your CV?. If your question is specifically about image and presentation, see should you put a photo on your CV?.
The Details You Should Include in Almost Every Case
1. Name and surname
Obviously essential. Use the name you are known by professionally if it differs from the one on your ID.
2. Phone number
One number is enough. Just make sure it is active and your voicemail remains professional.
3. Email address
It should be simple and credible. Avoid dated or overly playful addresses.
Good example:
firstname.lastname@email.com
Less good example:
partyqueen1998@email.com
4. City or geographic area
In most cases, the city is enough. A full postal address is usually no longer necessary.
Examples:
- London
- Manchester
- Bristol - open to regional travel
- Leeds - available for hybrid work
This helps the recruiter estimate your proximity or logistical fit without forcing you to publish your exact address.
5. LinkedIn or portfolio link, if relevant
If you have a clean, up-to-date LinkedIn profile aligned with the CV, add it. This is especially useful in office-based work, leadership roles, digital, sales, HR, product and tech.
If you have a portfolio, GitHub or professional website, it makes sense in roles where those proofs matter.
To avoid inconsistencies across documents, read how to align your CV and LinkedIn profile.
Should You Include Your Full Address?
In most cases: no.
For years, people wrote their full address at the top of the CV. Today, this rarely adds useful value. The city is almost always enough.
The full address may be justified only if:
- the role depends on very close proximity;
- you are applying in a very local context;
- a form or employer explicitly asks for it.
Otherwise, you are sharing a more precise detail than necessary.
Should You Include Your Age or Date of Birth?
In many contexts, no. It is not mandatory, and often it is not useful.
Why? Because this detail says nothing about your ability to do the job, and it can sometimes create unnecessary bias.
You can usually avoid listing:
- date of birth;
- age;
- family situation.
Possible exceptions:
- certain international or administrative contexts;
- roles abroad where local norms differ;
- highly formal applications that explicitly request the information.
For international applications, be careful: what may still appear on some French CVs is often discouraged on an English-language CV.
Should You Add Nationality or Family Status?
In most cases, no.
These details do not help assess your skills. They clutter the top of the CV and can expose you to bias without strengthening the application.
You should mention them only if:
- a precise administrative context justifies it;
- there is a right-to-work issue in a given country;
- the employer explicitly asks for it.
Otherwise, stay focused on information that actually helps the application.
Should You Include a Photo?
That depends on the country, the sector and your strategy.
In some countries a photo is still common; in others it is strongly discouraged.
The right reasoning is not aesthetic, but strategic:
- does the photo add anything useful?
- is it truly professional?
- could it distract from the content?
- is it consistent with the country you are applying in?
This topic deserves its own guide, so if you are genuinely unsure, read should you put a photo on your CV, depending on the country?.
Should You Mention a Driving Licence, Car or Mobility?
Yes, if it matters for the job.
A driving licence makes sense when it directly affects autonomy or feasibility, for example in roles such as:
- field sales;
- home care;
- mobile healthcare work;
- field technician roles;
- jobs with unsocial hours or poor transport access;
- seasonal roles requiring mobility or wide availability.
In such cases, you can write for example:
- Full driving licence
- Full driving licence + own car
- Available for regional travel
- Open to occasional national travel
If that detail has no relevance for the role, leave it out. For students or seasonal applications, however, it can matter more; see also how to write a summer job CV.
Should You Add LinkedIn, GitHub or a Portfolio?
Yes, but only if the link genuinely helps you.
Add it if:
- the profile is up to date;
- the experience matches the CV;
- the photo and tone are professional;
- the link shows useful proof;
- there are no contradictions in dates or job titles.
Do not add it if the profile is empty, outdated or inconsistent.
Example of an Effective Personal Details Block
Simple and modern version
Marie Dupont
London
07 00 00 00 00
marie.dupont@email.com
linkedin.com/in/marie-dupont
Version with useful mobility detail
Julien Martin
Bristol - open to travel across the South West
07 00 00 00 00
julien.martin@email.com
Full driving licence + own car
linkedin.com/in/julien-martin
The top of the CV remains clear, readable and useful.
The Most Common Mistakes
1. Adding too much personal information
Full address, date of birth, age, family status, number of children, nationality, driving licence, photo, LinkedIn, personal site, three phone numbers: that overloads the document.
2. Forgetting the details that actually matter
Some CVs look polished, but the phone number is hard to see, the email is not professional or the location is missing entirely.
3. Adding links that are not maintained
An empty LinkedIn profile or a broken portfolio does more harm than no link at all.
4. Copying outdated CV models
Heavy headers often come from old templates. In 2026, clarity and usefulness should win.
5. Not adapting to the country or the role
What is tolerated in one context can be unnecessary or even discouraged in another.
The Right Rule for Deciding
Before adding any personal detail, ask yourself two questions:
- Does it help the recruiter contact me, locate me or picture me in the role?
- Does it expose me to unnecessary bias or clutter?
If the answer to the first is no and to the second is yes, remove it.
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