NEVER PUT THIS IN YOUR RESUME

When it comes to writing a resume, there is one goal: Make it stand out. After all, 43 percent of hiring managers admit they spend less than one minute looking at a resume, while 24 percent spend less than 30 seconds, according to CareerBuilder.com. That means first impressions are key. But while you try to make that piece of paper sing, be careful what you write. With the assistance of the Harris Poll, CareerBuilder annually surveys more than 2,100 full-time U.S. hiring managers and human resources managers in the private sector across industries and company sizes to find the out the biggest blunders they have caught on resumes -- from innocent gaffes to obvious lies. The top 10 most memorable and cringe-worthy resume blunders, all of which appeared on real-life resumes:
  • An applicant's last name was auto-corrected from "Flin" to "Flintstone." His first name was Freddie. 
  • An applicant stated she paid 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 his 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. 

Advice: When it comes to impressing hiring managers, one of the biggest mistakes a job seeker can make is to lie, which is more common than one might think. According to the survey, fully 77 percent of hiring managers have caught a lie on a resume, which includes embellishing skills, responsibilities, dates of employment, job titles and academic degrees. What can you do to make your resume stand out? Hiring managers advise customizing the resume for the open position, including a cover letter, addressing the hiring manager by name and linking the resume to the applicant's online portfolio, blog or website.

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