Hiring managers today receive as many as 200 resumes when they post a job to one of the national job boards. Can you imagine the sheer weight of 200 two page resumes? So, needless to say, if you do not have a resume that differentiates you from the herd, the likelihood of you even getting noticed is next to none.

In today's tight market, writing a resume is like writing a marketing ad. What else are you doing when you send your resume for a position but trying to sell yourself to that company?

If you're like most people, you do not have a marketing background and most likely could not make a living in sales. So, how are you supposed to create a resume like a marketing ad with absolutely no background? It's simple, just follow these basic suggestions.

Find the job you want

The first thing you need to do is look for the type of position you want through job boards, newspaper ads and company websites. The job description is one of the best places to find out exactly what hiring managers are looking for.

Once you have found several ads, read through them to find out what companies are looking for. Jot down some notes as to the trends you might see through the ads. Maybe companies are looking for people with management experience or good people skills. Whatever it is, you need to recognize it and capture it in your resume.

Fix your resume

Now this first suggestion may take some of you off guard but we recommend that you let your resume reflect your past experience, even if it exceeds one or two pages.

The reason for extending your resume is so that we can paint a picture of you on the first page that will entice a hiring manager to call you for an interview. First off, right after your name and address section, put in a professional profile. This should be a three or four sentence description of where you are now in your career. It should start like this: An innovative, energetic, goal-oriented professional with...

After that, create another ne

About the Author

Scott Brown is the author of the Job Search Handbook (http://www.JobSearchHandbook.com). As editor of the HireSites.com weekly newsletter on job searching, Scott has written many articles on the subject. He wrote the Job Search Handbook to provide job seekers with a complete yet easy to use guide to finding a job effectively.