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CVs 'are a sales document'

Britons applying for a job have been urged to remember that their CV is a sales document and should be tailored to show a person in the best possible light.

Peter Panayotou, senior consultant at the Write Stuff, said while it is important to give the best impression, a number of Brits are resorting to dishonest measures to put themselves ahead of the pack.

"The idea is to sell yourself, but you want to stop short of saying anything that is untrue. The secret to selling yourself is to put in lots of action words and inspirational language," he commented.

According to a survey recently conducted by Hirescores.com, 69 per cent of people who are currently in employment had lied in some way to get their job.

Of these, 36 per cent said it was their referee they had lied about. Over half of people who had used a false referee admitted they had used a member of their family, while one in four said they had used a best friend.