If you're looking for a new job this year, be prepared for some competition. Twenty-seven percent of human resource (HR) managers say they receive more than 50 resumes, on average, for each open position. More than one-in-ten (13 percent) HR managers receive more than 100 resumes per job opening. The survey, "Resumes 2007," was conducted from November 17 to December 11, 2006 and included 360 HR managers.

When evaluating candidates' applications, 77 percent of HR managers surveyed say they look for relevant experience. They also frequently consider a candidate's ability to demonstrate specific accomplishments (48 percent) and whether the resumes are customized to the open position (41 percent).

HR managers also frequently search for keywords when screening resumes. Top-searched keywords include:

   --  Problem-solving/decision making (56 percent)
   --  Leadership (44 percent)
   --  Oral/written communications (40 percent)
   --  Team-building (33 percent)
   --  Performance and productivity improvement (31 percent)

"In today's competitive job market, it's essential for a candidate's resume to be flawless," said Richard Castellini, vice president of consumer marketing for CareerBuilder.com. "Still, 33 percent of HR managers say more than half of the resumes they receive through online sources have formatting errors. To ensure your resume is error-free, be sure to proofread, proofread, proofread."

Sixty-three percent of HR managers report that spelling errors are the most annoying mistakes they see on resumes. Other top mistakes include:

   --  Resumes not customized to the position (30 percent)
   --  Lies (23 percent)
   --  Including too many insignificant details on job responsibilities (21
       percent)
   --  Resumes that are more than two pages long (21 percent)

To help job seekers avoid these errors and create resumes that get results, CareerBuilder.com launched cbResume, a new resume writing service. Job seekers work closely with a professional resume writer to highlight key criteria and accomplishments that will attract employers' attention. Job seekers receive their finished resume in both plain-text and Microsoft Word formats, and their resume will be posted to CareerBuilder.com's resume database.

"Employers often spend less than one minute reviewing a candidate's resume," Castellini said. "cbResume helps job seekers highlight the right

information to catch employers' eyes and make job searching faster and more effective."

Survey Methodology

This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder.com between November 17 and December 11, 2006 among 360 hiring managers (employed full-time; not self employed; with at least significant or full responsibility in hiring decisions), ages 18 and over. Weighting for employers was adjusted by company size to bring them more in line with their actual proportions in the population.

With a pure probability sample of 360, one could say with a ninety-five percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/-5 percentage points, respectively. Sampling error for data from subsamples may be higher and may vary. However that does not take other sources of error into account. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

About CareerBuilder.com

CareerBuilder.com is the nation's largest online job site with more than 23 million unique visitors and over 1.5 million jobs. Owned by Gannett Co., Inc. , Tribune Company , and The McClatchy Company , the company offers a vast online and print network to help job seekers connect with employers. CareerBuilder.com powers the career centers for more than 1,100 partners that reach national, local, industry and niche audiences. These include more than 150 newspapers and leading portals such as America Online and MSN. More than 250,000 employers take advantage of CareerBuilder.com's easy job postings, 19 million-plus resumes, Diversity Channel and more. Millions of job seekers visit the site every month to search for opportunities by industry, location, company and job type, sign up for automatic email job alerts, and get advice on job hunting and career management. For more information about CareerBuilder.com products and services, visit http://www.careerbuilder.com/.

   Media Contact:
   Jennifer Sullivan
   773-527-1164
   jennifer.sullivan@careerbuilder.com

SOURCE: CareerBuilder.com