Job search can be a daunting and stressful process for any jobseeker. In the midst of today’s fierce job competition, it is imperative for candidates to create a solid personal brand that helps them stand out from the crowded talent pool. Moreover, in the era where automation is involved in the recruitment process, jobseekers are often required to go the extra miles to get their resume noticed by the company and grab the opportunity to take the next rounds of test and interview.

However, problems then arise when jobseeker turns out to being too creative that they justifiy any means to achieve their goal, including embellishing and fabricating their resumes.

Recent survey by Careerbuilder reported that more than 3 in 4 HR managers (77 percent) have caught a lie on an applicant’s resume. In addition to little embellishments, the survey revealed that there are some other outlandish and costly mistakes that candidates have made.

Everyone will agree that first impressions are the key when it comes to writing a resume. As they there are tens and even hundreds resumes coming in the company’s mailbox, no wonder that more than 2 in 5 (43 percent) hiring managers said they spend less than a minute looking at a resume. Even nearly 1 in 4 (24 percent) said they spend less than 30 seconds to take a glance a candidate’s paper.

These findings emphasise that there is a big pressure for jobseekers to leave a positive impression. Owing to this reason, some applicants are taking the risk of making critical blunders in their effort to get noticed by the hiring managers.

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Surveying more than 2,100 hiring managers in the private sector across industries and company sizes, the survey noted some of the most notable and cringe-worthy real-life examples of human errors that can be found on a resume:

• An applicant stated they had great attention to detail, but the word ‘attention’ was misspelled.
• An applicant stated they had been a prince in another life.
• An applicant listed a skill as ‘taking long walks.’
• An applicant used direct quotes from Star Wars in their resume.
• An applicant claimed he would work harder if paid more.
• An applicant wrote the following at the end of their resume: “I didn’t really fill this out, someone did it for me.”
• An applicant used a resume template with cats in the corners.
• An applicant listed smoking under hobbies.

Then the real question is, what do employers really expect to see from a resume?

While it is true that it is crucial to catch hiring manager’s attention with unique and outstanding resume, it should be jotted down that candidate should do it for the right reasons. Careerbuilder’s survey noted five things that HR managers said make them more likely to pay attention to an application:

1. 63 percent said they wanted to see a resume that has been customised to match to their open position.
2. 41 percent said that skill sets should be listed first on the resume.
3. 40 percent believed that it is important to attach a cover letter within a resume.
4. 22 percent needed to see if the application is really addressed to the specific hiring manager.
5. 16 percent would like to check a resume that includes a link to a candidate’s blog, portfolio or website.

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