LONDON, October 28 /PRNewswire/ --

- Hiring Managers Share the Most Unusual and Most Common CV Mistakes and Offer Tips for Creating an Effective CV

Is your CV more fact or fiction? While only 12 per cent of workers in the United Kingdom say they have lied on a CV, 46 per cent of employers say they have caught a lie on a CV according to a new CareerBuilder.co.uk survey of employers and workers in the UK. Of those employers who caught a lie, 42 per cent automatically dismissed the applicant and 48 per cent still considered the candidate, but did not hire him/her.

CareerBuilder asked hiring managers to share the most memorable or outrageous mistakes they came across on CVs. Examples include:

-- Wrote yes please in the section of application that asked Sex -- Male or Female? -- Touted her aquatic research at the University of Whales -- Wrote I am good at speling -- Touted a degree from Oxford University in Cambridgeshire -- Claimed to be a project manager on a very large project -- interviewer's son was actually the project manager -- Male applicant included the name of the school he attended -- it was an all girls school -- Said worked for company starting in 1966, but was not born until 1978 -- Two candidates for the same job had the exact same opening paragraph -- they were friends -- Said he served in a particular war, but the dates were completely wrong -- Claimed to have a job at a previous company that was actually the interviewer's job at that company The most common lies UK employers say they find on CVs include: -- Embellished responsibilities: 34 per cent -- Skill set: 27 per cent -- Dates of employment: 10 per cent -- Companies worked for: 9 per cent -- Academic degree: 9 per cent -- Job title: 8 per cent

One of the fastest ways to hurt your credibility with a potential employer is to be untruthful, even if your embellishments are minor, said Tony Roy, Managing Director of CareerBuilder.co.uk. What you do in the application and interview process indicates what it is going to be like to work with you and says much about your character. If you are concerned about your credentials or gaps in employment, resist the temptation to stretch the truth and instead use a cover letter to explain any areas of concern and summarize your most relevant qualifications at the top of your CV.

Roy recommends the following tips to make your CV stand out for the right reasons:

Be specific

Tailor your CV and cover letter to the position at hand to get the attention of a recruiter and to show them you are really interested in the position and have done your homework.

Stand out from the crowd

One-third (33 per cent) of hiring managers said on average they spend 60 seconds or less looking at a CV when first reviewing an application. Highlight specific accomplishments that are relevant to the job, quantifying results whenever possible to demonstrate the impact you had on your previous employers. A summary of relevant experience and qualifications at the beginning of a CV can also help focus the reader.

Use keywords

Hiring managers often use electronic scanning tools or manually scan CVs for certain words that signify you are qualified for a job. Be sure to pay attention to the words used in the job description and include them in your CV. The terms employers search for most often are:

-- Problem-solving and decision-making (57 per cent) -- Oral and written communications (48 per cent) -- Customer service or retention (33 per cent) -- Performance and productivity improvement (30 per cent) -- Technology (30 per cent) -- Team building (30 per cent) -- Leadership (21 per cent) -- Project management (18 per cent)

Survey Methodology

This survey was conducted online within the U.K. by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder.co.uk among 289 hiring managers and human resource professionals (employed full-time; not self-employed; with at least significant involvement in hiring decisions); and 656 U.K. employees (employed full-time; not self-employed) ages 18 and over between June 2 and June 13, 2008, respectively (percentages for some questions are based on a subset of UK Employers or Employees, based on their responses to certain questions). With a pure probability sample of 289 and 656 one could say with a 95 per cent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- 5.76 percentage points and +/- 3.83 percentage points, respectively.

About CareerBuilder.co.uk

CareerBuilder UK is one of the most visited online job sites in the United Kingdom. Owned by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI), Tribune Company, The McClatchy Company (NYSE: MNI) and Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT), CareerBuilder.co.uk powers the career centres for more than 160 individual UK sites that reach national, local, industry and niche audiences. Job seekers visit CareerBuilder.co.uk every month to search for opportunities by industry, location, company and job type, sign up for automatic e-mail job alerts, and get advice on job hunting and career management. For more information about CareerBuilder products and services, visit http://www.careerbuilder.co.uk.

Media Contact: Allison Nawoj +1-773-527-2437 allison.nawoj@careerbuilder.com

Web site: http://www.careerbuilder.co.uk

Allison Nawoj of CareerBuilder.co.uk, +1-773-527-2437, allison.nawoj@careerbuilder.com