It is important that your resume includes the right information in the right order. Here are certain tips to help you avoid the common pitfalls.

Contact Details
Put your contact details at the top of the first page in the middle or on the left. Make sure you include your full name, home address, telephone numbers (home, mobile and work if you don't mind being contacted there) and email address.

Personal Details
Personal details can be mentioned either under the contact details or at the very end. Mention relevant details like your nationality, date of birth and marital status.

Personal Profile
Your personal profile must encapsulate your career aspirations. It must also summarize what you have to offer your potential employer. Nevertheless, make sure that it doesn't exceed more than 30 words.

Professional Qualifications
Professional qualifications must be mentioned under your personal profile. List whatever qualifications you have. If you are studying towards a professional qualification, you may mention that as well.

Education
List your educational history in reverse order (i.e. highest degree first). It is not necessary to mention the percentage of marks you scored in each exam.

Work History
This is arguably the most important part of your CV. As with education, list your jobs in reverse order starting with your most recent or current job. Now, for each job provide basic details including job title, company name and the start and finish dates of your employment.

Interests
Keep this section brief. Two or three interests are enough. Think about what you want to write here. Employers can learn a lot about a person from their interests. Crosswords and software design, for example, would suggest that the job seeker is intellectually able. Squash and Badminton might suggest a competitive personality. TV and reading might suggest that the job seeker prefers his/her own company. Think about the kind of impression your interests create and be prepared to answer questions around this.

Resume Do's & Don'ts

DON'TS

Don't leave gaps
Don't use decorative fonts and borders
Don't try and be humorous
Don't mention your salary requirements
Don't use the word "I" unless it is absolutely necessary
Don't use jargon
Don't use pictures or photos

DO'S

Do check thoroughly for spelling mistakes
Do use short sentences
Do use good quality plain white A4 paper
Do use bullet points
Do try to stick to 1-2 pages

The author is an English language instructor based in Mumbai. Her website http://www.perfectyourenglish.com provides free reference materials on English grammar and practical English usage