Spelling and grammar checkers on computers fail to prevent two out of five CVs from containing simple errors.

Despite CVs being the most important tool for landing a dream graduate job, UK jobseekers are too lazy to get them right.

A survey of CVs by Jobs in Credit found two in five CVs received by an employer contain a fundamental error.

Jobsincredit.com interviewed 100 HR professionals at some of the UK’s leading organisations. The survey asked them to gauge the amount of CVs they received containing basic errors that cut short the application and asked them to name the most common mistakes found on CVs.

Spelling mistakes, poor punctuation and bad design or layout head the list of worst CV crimes. Other errors included the omission of qualifications, key dates and contact details for referees.

Brett Marlow of Jobs In Credit said: “It’s amazing to think that four out of every ten CVs seen by employers contain a basic error which will prevent that application from progressing. With spelling and grammar checkers built into word processors, there’s simply no excuse for a CV to contain typos. As for design, the principle offenders are the use of outlandish fonts and poor layout. A great CV needs to be easy to read.”

Need help writing a CV? Read Milkround.com’s top tips.