Do understand that the French word résumé means summary—so keep it brief. This means that your resume preferably should be one page, and at the most two pages, but nothing in between (not one-and-a-half pages, but one full page or two full pages). 

Do realize that people are busy; they want to know, right now and in a brisk fashion, what you can do for them. Laying out your resume in a simple and attractive fashion, and presenting the relevant information in clear and concise language, gives you the edge over those candidates who force the reader to sift through several pages to find the same information. 

Do recognize that your resume must be a marketing brochure to sell a fine product—you.
Use the opportunity to blow your own horn. Start each statement with an active verb that indicates your actual role. 

Do make clear what you want to do and what you're really good at doing. You need to manage the reader’s expectations right from the start. 

Do understand that the sole purpose of your resume is to get you invited for an interview—or at least to get you an e-mail or screening phone call. 

Do accept that a resume must be user-friendly to get read—so it must be attractive. In general, try to use a clear font such as Times New Roman or Arial (used here), in 12-point or larger. These fonts and sizes are preferred, but as you can see in the three examples that follow, others can be used as well, provided that your resume is readable. Be consistent in your use of boldface, underline, or italics to help lead the reader through the document. 

Do list all of your contact information at the top of your resume, including telephone numbers where you can readily accept calls during work hours. You may want to get a pager with voice mail for instant notification of calls that you can return at a convenient time. 

Do recognize that as a consultant, your resume should look different than that of an IT pro with a history of long-term employment. Emphasize your last four to six assignments, listing them as you would long-term positions. If you’ve done multiple jobs for one client, list each of them. This shows that they liked your work and wanted to use you for multiple jobs. List the most recent projects first and work back. Stop when you see your contracts using obsolete technology, or when they have no relevance to what you do now. 

Do prepare different resumes for different targets. If you're starting out on the contract market trail, don't be afraid to add your recent long-term positions. Follow the same steps as listed above and make clear the reason you left, and in as positive a light as possible. Likewise, if you are trying to win an interview for a long-term position after a number of short assignments, emphasize those elements of your contract work that best fit the employer’s needs.

Do understand that organizations pay for doers and problem solvers. Cite numerical results—such as money saved, efficiencies improved, and staff retained—that demonstrate the direct progress or accomplishments of your work. Did you increase productivity or efficiency? Did you save money? Did you institute a new system or procedure? Did you identify a problem that had been overlooked? Did you suggest new programs for the company that were instituted? 

Do revise. A resume must go through three to seven drafts before it begins to reflect clearly the multidimensional individual on a piece of paper. Be grammatically correct, use spell check, and have someone else proofread your resume carefully.

Don't put anything in your resume that could be challenged by recent bosses. 

Don’t use boring, say-nothing terms, such as “responsibilities included,” “responsible for,” or “managed.” Never use any form of "to be." Describe what you do or did, not who you are, and make every word count.

Don't label it "resume" or curriculum vitae. An employer will recognize it as such.

Don’t ever insert "References on request.” You will provide your list of references later, when requested, on a separate sheet with their contact information. 

Don't disclose salary information in the resume or cover letter. If your pay has been generally low, the potential employer may be influenced by that fact and make you a “lowball” offer. Let the employer make an offer; this empowers you to then counteroffer for a higher salary.

Don't use your recent or current employer’s stationery or postage meter. 

Don’t use dense paragraphs of text. Make the white spaces work for you with liberal use of indentation from both margins. 

Don't ever consider your resume final—it's only the one you're using currently. For that reason, never make more than a week’s supply at a time. Your resume should be on one side of good quality bond paper, preferably a buff color that will stand out from all of the other papers on a desk.