I agree with the others saying "negotiable" is the best thing to fill in for salary expectation. I also think you increase your chances with a concise, well written cover letter that is tailored to the company and position you're applying for. When I write mine I do so with the aim of illustrating, as early in it as I can, what makes me particularly suited to the position and sets me apart from other candidates.
The resume itself, aside from being free of any grammar or spelling mistakes, should follow a clean, logical, easy to read and consistent layout. Decide whether your experience or education is your strongest asset and lead with it. Also avoid over-using bold, italics, etc. And last but most important, short and sweet is preferable to it being too detailed.
If you aren't applying for a job fresh out of school, employers don't care about your part-time jobs in high school, and I don't bog down my resume with jobs from eons ago as it takes away more than it adds. Similarly, most don't care about your hobbies and I leave that out. In an earlier time when I could fit everything on one page and have it easily readable, I preferred the single page resume. Now I go with a 2 page resume but keep it trimmed to that as a maximum, and with my strongest points on page 1.
There is a difference of opinion, generally, on whether listing your references on your resume is desirable or not. As its become more the fashion these days to omit them, and because doing so follows my preference toward keeping the resume as concise as possible, I go with the standard 'references available upon request' tag at the very end of the resume. The reference check is typically the final step in the hiring process anyway, so to me its better to wait until they are actually asked for - then I know I'm being considered and can give those references a courtesy heads up.
As one final aside, if you're not getting many hits during the application process (few calls relative to the number of resumes you're putting out) then I'd look hard at your cover letter and resume, with a mind to perhaps starting from scratch and maybe even having it looked over by a pro.
If your problem is on the other side, lots of interviews but no offers, then you're not presenting to the employer as well as you believe you are. And 'presentation' from the point of view of the opposite sex, or whatever, is not the same kind of critical eye a prospective employer is giving you (unless you're applying for a position in the adult entertainment industry).
Good luck with it.
-Spyder
