DOCX headers can be stored in a separate document part. PDF headers do not all have one special storage location; decorative running content can be tagged as an artifact. These format details do not prove every ATS ignores a header, but some vendors document contact-field problems when important text is placed there.
DOCX and PDF are different
Microsoft documents separate header parts in WordprocessingML documents. W3C describes marking decorative PDF content as artifacts. A visually top-of-page heading is not automatically outside the PDF’s main text or universally excluded from parsing.
What the vendor evidence supports
Greenhouse lists names and contact details in headers, footers or text boxes among possible parsing problems. That supports caution for those layouts, not a claim that every system discards every header or that a missing phone number proves the same cause.
A practical check
Place essential contact information in readable text near the start of the document body. After export, check that it can be selected and copied. Then inspect contact fields on the actual application and correct any errors.
- Keep name and contact details in readable body text
- Do not rely on an icon alone to convey contact information
- Check the exported document’s text
- Review application contact fields