Do you ever wonder why some candidates get hundreds of resume views on websites like Monster.com and Careerbuilder.com, while others get none? The secret to getting your resume on the top of that list lies in the buzz words you choose and the amount of times they appear on your resume.

When a recruiter searches a job board for candidates, he or she types in three or four keywords to search. If the recruiter is hiring a Software Engineer, the words may be .Net, AJAX, or SQL. If the search is for something less straightforward, like a Financial Analyst or a Marketing Director, the words may vary greatly depending on the company’s industry. To use buzz words to your advantage, you need to:

Have a targeted job search: If you don’t know what type of role you are looking for moving forward, you will not be able to determine the appropriate buzz words to use on your resume. Take some time to evaluate your career path and create an action plan to get there.

Use job descriptions to your advantage: Find a few job descriptions of positions that interest you. Scan these positions for buzz words. If an industry or skill specific word is in the job description three or more times, make sure it is on your resume in three different places. Monster.com and Careerbuilder.com present results by scanning the number of times a word appears in a document, so this directly correlates to your resume’s placement on the search results page.

Be Specific: If you used QuickBooks or Peachtree, spell it out. The recruiter may not think to search for “accounting software packages,” so if QuickBooks isn’t listed on your resume it’s not showing up in the resume search results. Make sure you use acronyms to your advantage. If you work in Human Resources spell it out, but also write HR. You can either list it as Human Resources (HR), or use them interchangeably. If a recruiter is only searching by one term and you are using the other, your resume may not show up.

When in doubt about which buzz words to use, ask. In this job market, you need every advantage. When you see a job description you are interested in, ask the recruiter what he or she is looking for in a qualified candidate. Make sure those skills and keywords are on your resume. Once your resume has right buzz words, make sure to get it in every resume database on the web.