So I’ve been gone a while. Traveling around the conference circuit for a little over a week now, and yes…I have missed you all terribly. No really I have. I actually found myself somewhat shaky, craving the return to my desk with a number of mental blog posts written. Titles and keywords floated around my head.

It’s amazing how the perfect combination of words can leave an impact on you. All week I listened to the best of the best speak on topics close to my heart—online marketing, the state of social media, careers and entrepreneurial growth. Although all of the panelists did a fantastic job, there were a number of times when a combination of words would snap me awake. I’d sip my coffee, quickly jotting down the line, hoping to not forget it.

That’s what words can do. They can catch someone’s eye, someone’s ear. Lacing together the right melody of words can snag you the spotlight. Although I may have focused on the power of someone else’s words this week, or anxiously awaited the chance to get my own on paper, I couldn’t help but wonder what you were all doing to inject power into your own words? What words are you using as your watermark on the resumes you’ve submitted?

The reality is words are not only powerful when used brilliantly, but they help define the owner of those words, and often times in resumes this leaves a sour impression. Perhaps your words are too basic, too cliché, the wrong ones altogether…who knows, but at the end of it all—a resume composed of the wrong words gets thrown away. No buts about it.

So what are the right words? What words should you make sure to include? A great place to start is to give your resume the “so what?”  test. After you write a sentence describing what you did at your last position, follow it up with “so what?” For example: “I worked on the company’s PR team” … so what? You need more, what did you do for them, what responsibilities were added, who did you work with, and what did you accomplish. You need sentences full of action words, collaborative words, and results-oriented words to showcase your past experiences.

Even after you have given yourself the “so what?” test its time to vamp up the words themselves. Think powerful, detailed words when defining your past experiences and current skill sets. Include words that show your experience like managed, or led. Other great words include:

Collaborated                 Improvised                  Negotiated

Expanded                    Communicated             Participated

Generated                    Expedited                    Repaired

Instructed                     Diagnosed                   Launched

Streamlined                  Systemized                 Trained

Ask yourself what you did on a daily basis and then take those action words and get a thesaurus. Look for more professional, powerful alternatives. Recruiters are raising the bar on resumes, and seek out a degree of confidence in your word choices.

When I think back to my first resumes I remember going with the first thing that came to mind, and I cringe now, realizing that many times those words provided my potential boss with a sure fire reason to throw my resume away. Words.are.powerful. So take the time and ask yourself, “Which ones are you using to define yourself?”