Every open job attracts an average of 250 resumes. Forty-three percent of HR managers spend less than a minute looking at a resume. Considering these statistics, there’s a lot of pressure to stand out from the crowd. Perhaps because of this pressure, many job seekers have put some outlandish things on their resume in an attempt to get noticed.
CareerBuilder surveyed more than 2,000 hiring and human resource managers to find out some of the craziest things they’ve seen an applicant put on their resume:
Candidate’s name was autocorrected from “Flin” to “Flintstone.” His name was Freddie.
Always make sure to proofread your resume multiple times!
Stated they had great attention to detail, but “attention” was misspelled
Again, proofreading is paramount.
Claimed they worked at a federal prison. A background check revealed he was actually incarcerated at the prison during that time.
Considering that 77 percent of HR managers have caught a lie on a resume, it’s best to always be open and honest.
Stated they had been a prince in another life
Including something like this on your resume can royally mess up your chances at getting the job.
Listed “taking long walks” as a skill
This might be ok for your online dating profile, but not for your resume.
Used direct quotes from “Star Wars” in their resume
The force was not strong with this one.
Claimed he would work harder if paid more
You should be honest on your resume, but maybe not this honest.
Wrote “I didn’t really fill this out, someone did it for me” at the end of their resume
It’s probably best to write your own resume.
Used a resume template with cats in the corners
Taking crazy cat lady to a whole other level!
Listed smoking under hobbies
Maybe try to focus on healthy hobbies?
How to Stand Out the Right Way
With so much competition for jobs, it’s evident that you need to take extra steps to get noticed. Here are 5 things HR managers say will help your resume get noticed:
- 63 percent – Tailor your resume to the open position
- 41 percent – Skill sets are listed first on the resume
- 40 percent – a cover letter is included with the resume
- 22 percent – the application is addressed to the specific hiring manager
- 16 percent – the resume includes a link to the candidate’s blog, portfolio or website
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