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The Do’s

1. Be error free
Misspelled words and grammatical mistakes are the kiss of death in a resume.  Two words – Spell Check.

2. Be pretty
Make sure the format of your resume is pleasing to the eye.  It needs to be evenly laid-out and have white space in the right places.

3. Tell the truth
Avoid making things up or embellishing any facts. The truth will come back to haunt you sooner or later.

4. Be concise
A resume shouldn’t be a novel. Depending the country and postion, resumes should be no longer than one or maybe two pages.   Showing that you can organize and select key information will be a positive reflection on your skills.

5. Have references
You don’t need to include these on your resume unless it is specifically asked for by the employer.  It is necessary, however, to have them ready and printed out.  You never know when they will be asked from you.

The Don’ts

1. Don’t tell your life story
Don’t confuse your resume with your autobiography. While there are many pieces of information that your resume must have, its primary purpose is to focus on the aspects of your life and career that address the employer’s needs.  Your babysitting job from when you were 16 is most likely not necessary.

2. Don’t provide personal data
Marital status, date of birth, height/weight, and similar non-work-related information can be used to illegally discriminate against applicants, and they rarely add anything of value to your qualifications (This depends on the country and culture).

3. Don’t be a broken record
Don’t repeat the same action words throughout the resume. Instead of using the verb developed or organized over and over, pull out your thesaurus and mix in terms like accelerated, delivered, directed, established, initiated, or reengineered.

4. Don’t be cliché
Don’t say you are a people-person or use adjectives like dynamic or self-starting. Let the details of your resume convince the employer that you have these qualities.

5. DON’T WRITE IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS
IT DOESN’T MAKE ANYTHING MORE IMPORTANT AND IT IS KIND OF ANNOYING.

Well, there you have it. Some helpful tips for you resume.   Something else that adds legitimacy to your experience? Having an impressive educational background and continuously taking courses to keep competitive in your field.