List your achievements
The good
List all your achievements in school and work. It’s probably a good idea not to leave out any detail. It is safer to let the potential employer decide whether it is relevant to the position, so try not to second-guess him. That said, be sensible. Leave out trivial details that do not help make you an attractive candidate.

As for how you should organise your list, a chronological order is probably the most common way to do it. The usual recommendation is to do it in reverse, that is, to list your most recent achievements first, and your oldest achievements last.

Emphasise your strengths
The good
Always try to highlight and elaborate upon your strengths, especially if they are relevant to the job. This is your chance to “sell” yourself, so don’t be shy!

If you have a superb track record at organising events or have excelled in a particular sport, highlighting them would differentiate you from other jobseekers.

Tailor your résumé to each job application. Every employer will be looking for different characteristics, so it is very important for you to demonstrate how your background is a good match for their requirements.

For instance, if the job requires you to work independently as well as be a team player, it is wise to include details about ad-hoc projects that you did as part of a team, as well as those that you did individually. Alternatively, you can say that you are an amicable person who works well in a people-centric environment.

The bad
There is only a very fine line between an exaggeration and a lie. In your attempt to emphasise your good points, never, ever lie about your achievements. You will be exposed eventually. Be very aware that it is not hard for an employer to do a background check to verify what you have written in your résumé.

Layout & design
The good
Use a table format to “box up” your list of education achievements and working experience. This will help reduce cluttered text.

Alternatively, you can also use bullet or numbered points to “break down” long paragraphs, and make your résumé easier to read.

Use headlines or subheadings such as “Employment Background”, “Academic Qualifications” and “Referees”. These helpful visual cues make it easier for an employer to find relevant information.

Ultimately, it comes down to a matter of taste, so feel free to experiment with a few layouts before settling on the best look for you. The rule-of-thumb is to go for a “clean” and uncluttered layout.

The bad
It is generally not advisable to go overboard when “decorating” your résumé, even if you are applying for an artistic position. Avoid adding pictures or fancy drawings to the résumé because it will seem as though you are not taking the application seriously. Remember, your résumé is a formal document, so it’s generally more sensible to err on the safe side by being conservative.

Repetition
The bad
Unfortunately, there is nothing good about repeating yourself in a résumé. You should aim to make your résumé as concise as possible, and repetition will only waste what little space you have to list all your achievements and work experience.

If you are a relatively fresh graduate, you are generally advised not to let your résumé exceed three pages in length. Two pages is the usual recommended length.

Get to the point, and avoid padding your résumé with long sentences to make it seem as though you have a lot to say.

Language
The good
Your choice of words will reflect your personality. When writing a résumé, make sure that you stick to a formal tone, and present yourself as a professional with a good command of English.

Avoid contractions. Write “do not” instead of “don’t”, “cannot” instead of “can’t”, “I am” instead of “I’m”, and so on. In addition, use positive statements and back them up with relevant facts where possible. For example, “I succeeded in improving sales by a 120%” will make you sound more impressive than simply “I improved sales”.

On a final note, try to stay consistent. For example, decide if you would like to use British or American English and stick with it. If you refer to a person as Mister, Mr. or Mr, continue to do so throughout your entire résumé. If you wish to use the past tense, do so consistently.

Inconsistency in style will not severely jeopardise your application, but staying consistent will help to make your résumé look more polished, and that is to your advantage.

The bad
A résumé littered with poor grammar will reflect poorly on you. Like it or not, bad grammar will imply that you either have very poor English, or that you did not care enough to proofread your résumé.

Never use slang. Not only does it imply poor manners, it will also be harder to understand, especially if the employer is a foreigner. Avoid big words when simple words that convey the same meaning are available.

Deadlines
The good
The early bird gets the worm, or in this case, the attention. A résumé that is submitted early will be a résumé that is seen early by employers. An early submission can make you stand out from the rest. This also signals your motivation and drive, since you took the effort to beat other candidates to the application.

The bad
It is usually pointless to submit résumés after the deadline. Even if you had submitted a brilliant résumé, the employer is likely to have already compiled his shortlist of candidates, and you won’t be in it.

Reasons for leaving
The good
Take note, you are not explicitly required to list your reasons for leaving your previous jobs, unless requested otherwise.

But if you wish to include these reasons, ensure that you list appropriate reasons, and that you do not sound bitter about the departure. For example, you could state that you left a company because you wanted to pursue a more challenging job elsewhere. But don’t write that you left because you could not get along with your previous boss.

Even if you did suffer a hard time in a previous job, try to find something good to say about it. Otherwise, it’s a better idea not to say anything at all.

Check for errors!
The bad
Check for factual errors in addition to the more obvious spelling and grammatical errors. If you are bad at catching small details, get a friend or a relative to help proofread the résumé for you.

Remember, that piece of paper is all you have to convince a potential employer to call you up for an interview. It will be a terrible shame to lose that opportunity simply because you made a careless mistake in your résumé.

Good luck!