When asked what job applicants could do to get their attention with a resume, these are the most common answers:

Customize your resume to the open position: 63 percent
List your skill sets first on the resume: 41 percent
Include a cover letter with the resume: 40 percent
Address the application to a specific hiring manager: 22 percent
Include a link to your blog, portfolio or website: 16 percent

Now that we have gotten the advice piece out of the way, let's get to the fun part: The mistakes and disingenuous embellishments spotted by our steely eyed respondents. Consider that 77 percent say they had found a lie or a clear mistake in a resume. Here are some examples:

An applicant's name was autocorrected from "Flin" to "Flintstone." His name was Freddie.
An applicant stated he had great attention to detail, but "attention" was misspelled.
An applicant claimed he worked at a federal prison. A background check determined he was actually incarcerated at the prison during that time.
An applicant stated he 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 her 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.

Instant Insights /

A prince wants to work for you, and other resume lies

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