Here is a guest post from “The Interview Mastermind” Landon Long

Most of us have been there… we’ve sent out resume after resume and just don’t seem to be getting any calls.  Of course the competition is fierce, especially in today’s job market, but you should be getting at least 1 call for every 10 resumes you send out.  If you’re not, don’t give up… but make some changes to your resume sending approach:

1) Send it certified.

It doesn’t cost much to mail out a certified letter at the post office and it means that the recipient has to sign for it.  How important and special you must be to need an employer to sign for your resume!

It’s also going to get their attention.  It looks like something important, and it most certainly is, to you but it will have them curious too.  It will most likely be delivered right to who’s in charge too, rather than being opened by a third party and filtered through.  So count your pennies and head over to the post office.

2) Send a gift.

Some might call it brown-nosing but they’re probably just mad they didn’t think of it first.  Including a gift with your resume adds a personal touch and really makes you memorable.

Deliver your resume personally with a beautiful bouquet, a delicious lunch for the office to share.  You don’t want to appear to be a weirdo, but it’s probably something that most employers haven’t seen before if you get a little creative in your approach.

3) It’s all about who you know.

Networking is an important stepping stone to help you get into any field.  Make nice with the right people and you could get your foot in the door somewhere grand.  If someone who is well- liked within a company vouches for you, you have a better chance of scoring an interview and getting a job.

How do you make these types of connections?  Attend conferences in your field, job fairs, and heck even go as far as frequenting a bar that you know that company representatives frequent on their down time.  Do whatever you need to- if you know the right people, you’re always better off getting what you want.

4) Change the appearance of your resume.

Make your resume unique by making it a different color.  Of course you don’t want it to be too bright and give them a headache, but sticking to a muted  but less common color like light purple or yellow for your resume paper is a great idea that shows you’re creative and unique… and not afraid to take a risk.

5) Make it big.

Don’t make your font too large or glaring or anything, just mix up the paper size a little bit.  Go just slightly bigger than the standard 8 X 11 paper.  Your resume will be sticking out of the probable stack of resumes that the employer receives and will draw their eye again and again.

6) Put a post-it on it.

Not a blank post- it silly.  Many times, especially in office environments, post its are used to add comments and point things out within the office on important documents.  Your resume is the most important document there, or at least you want it to appear as such.

Write something like “Very interested!” or “Looks good!” on a post it and stick it to your resume.  When it gets to the higher ups, if it still remains, it looks like you stood out from the crowd somewhere along the way and will draw their eye.

7) Show up.

Of course you’re going to show up if you score an interview, but how about showing up beforehand?  Don’t turn into the office stalker or anything, but hand delivering your resume sometimes has its advantages.  If you know who the hiring manager is, ask for them by name and hand it to them yourself.  They’ll be impressed with your brazen approach and will be able to ask you a few short questions right there, so make your answers good!

Even if you don’t know who the hiring manager is, you can ask, and if they can’t talk to you, sometimes someone will still come out and ask you a few simple questions.  Just taking the initiative like this is going to make you stand out but follow up in a few days with a phone call if you don’t hear back right away.  Persistence pays off.

Even if you don’t put all of these suggestions into action, using one or two of them will noticeably improve your chances of scoring an interview.  Then all you have to do is prove that the great things about you on your resume are all true!

Landon Long is the founder of InterviewMastermind.com and a recognized expert on the topic of psychology-based job interview tips for job seekers all over the world. If you are jobless and want to learn more about writing a good resume, here are 3 Savvy Tricks Most Candidates Miss!

Watch your FREE VIDEO right now and learn how to avoid the 7 Deadly Resume Myths!