During times of economic instability, it’s always a great idea to update your resume and LinkedIn profile with your latest and greatest accomplishments. Usually, layoffs happen with little or no notice. Why not be prepared to make a quick leap to your next job opportunity?

One way to increase the impact of your CV and LinkedIn profile is to sharpen their wording, to ensure that they’re compelling, persuasive and results focused. It’s critical that you stand out in the eyes of prospective employers.

One simple but powerful way to differentiate your resume and LinkedIn profile is to sidestep the tired words that most professionals use to describe themselves.

It’s time to punch up your resume with attention-getting power words!

Elevate your resume with 200+ action words

Use this mind map to brainstorm results-oriented statements you can add to your resume to increase its impact and differentiate you from other job candidates.

It’s based on a list of 350 action words from an article by a recruiting firm. I think it’s a really valuable resource. But I thought some of the prompts it contained were either too abstract, irrelevant or ordinary. So I distilled it into a list of the best 200 action words that I believe will make the biggest difference for you.

How do you use it?

Simply pick a word that sounds relevant to your skills and experience. Think about projects and situations from your career that could be associated with it. Capture those ideas and stories in this mind map. Add as much detail as you want in topics, subtopics and topic notes. If nothing comes to mind, move on to another word.

An example from my own work history follows below, so you can see what this looks like in action.

Use the ideas you’ve generated to update and add impact to your resume, cover letter and LinkedIn profile.

As you do so, I urge you to keep in mind one critical thought. More than anything, prospective employers don’t just want to know what you DID in your previous jobs. They really want to know what you ACCOMPLISHED. What results did you achieve? What new efficiencies did your ideas create? How much money did you help your company to save via your innovative ideas and suggestions?

This approach will immediately help you to stand out as a candidate who is worthy of their attention!

Why is this approach effective?

Because it leverage’s your brain’s powers of association. Keyword prompts like the ones in this mind map act like triggers, helping you think in new directions. They help you surface ideas and memories that you can use to build compelling stories – which you can adapt to increase the impact of your resume, cover letter, LinkedIn profile and your job interviews.

Download it here (MindManager .mmap format, which you can import into most other mind napping tools)