Your resume is the first step towards corporate stardom, so it is imperative that it looks good and reads right. Your resume is your first reflection. People who haven't met you form a mental impression about you just by going through your resume. A company official asks for a resume so that he/she can frame questions according to the facts mentioned in the resume. This makes it imperative that you have an organized and impressive resume. It should be clear yet descriptive and should portray your best qualities. So, how to go about preparing your resume?
Write it in an order: Be careful about what you write. For example, all your personal details like name, address, etc must be clubbed together in one column. Similarly, all your academic details should be grouped together. There should be a logical sequence of putting down things. You should follow a logical track which will be appropriate.
Presentation is important: As the saying goes, "First impression is the last impression." Remember to focus on the way in which you present your data. The font and the size of the font should be taken care of. Try and keep the color of the font either black or blue and do not add colors to your resume as that makes it looks childish. Leave a line or two between important points and maybe you could make the important data bold. In case you are mentioning a couple of points, for example, your achievements, then you could use bullets.
Do not be too elaborate: Mention things in brief but do mention all that you feel is important for the panel to make note of. Do not elaborate too much about something. For example, if you are mentioning about any training which you have undertaken, then mention the purpose of the training, its duration, location and what you learnt from it. Keep it to a maximum of four lines. For instance if, you have trained in a software company, then maybe you could put it down as - Trained on databases in XYZ company for a period of three months. Learn how to work on Oracle. I also gained a lot of exposure about the workings of the software industry. Fresher's must keep their resume restricted to two pages, preferably.
Your selling points: Summarize your top 2 to 5 selling points right under your name. For example, if you are a Game Producer what do you think are the most important selling points to a potential hiring manager? Answer: type of games you have created, size of budgets managed, whether you managed internal or external teams, and the number of titles you brought to market.
Be honest: Write only what is true to the best of your knowledge for it can be verified at any point of time. Carry your certificates along with you for the interview.
Last, but not the least, keep your resume in a folders or a file. Do not fold your resume if you are handing it over to the employer. In case of posting the resume, make a 3 folded paper not more then that.