You resume is your calling card. When you send out a resume, this is the first and only representation of you that your prospective employer sees. It's all very well to talk about strategies for impressing someone at a job interview, but the fact is, most applicants never even make it to the interview stage. Their resume never takes them to that level. While there is never a guarantee you will get an interview --in some cases, the job may be filled before your resume even arrives-- there are definitely steps you can take to improve your odds!

1. Clean and Easy to Read

If your resume appears cluttered or has a font that it difficult to read, you are automatically at a disadvantage before anyone even reads what is written on it. You want to have a professional looking design, an easy to read font and a layout that is easy on the eyes.

2. Correct Grammar and Spelling

Misspelled words or grammatical errors take away from your professionalism. If necessary, use a spelling and grammar check program, which are available now.

3. Address It To the Right Person

This may be a small detail, but make sure you address the resume to the right person. Usually a person's name is mentioned in the advertisement or listing.

4. Research the Company

Find out a little about the company you are applying to. You may be able to tailor your resume to fit the job better. You can also convey some knowledge about the company in your cover letter, which we will be discussing next.

5. Write a Good Cover Letter

Again, make sure you address your cover letter to the correct person. Don't write a long letter, but let them know that you are aware of who they are and what kind of business they are in.

6. Include Anything that Reveals Your Talents

Everyone knows to put their education and job history on a resume. However, you should also include anything that reveals your specific talents. You are creating the resume, so you can do it the way you want, as long as you put in the basic information that is required. If you have done some kind of freelance work, for example, or even creative projects that you never got paid for, you can include this.

7. The Internet is Your Friend

Before the days of the web, everything was simply typed out and any references had to be checked by phone or snail mail. Now, you can put websites into your resume. Of course, for references you also want to put physical addresses and phone numbers, but you can add website urls for any information about yourself that might support your cause. Just be careful -if you put your My Space page in your resume, make sure you don't have anything on there that would possibly turn someone off!

These are some ideas about how to write a good resume.

Watch how advanced English writing software can help you to write perfect resumes and learn how innovative NLP technology can help you to be a successful author and resume writer.

Jane Sumerset is a professional proofreader working for many large companies in Britain. She's also a regular writer on topics like "how to write a resume" on www.englishsoftware.org the renowned British English writing knowledge base.