Hey lazy! Are you still looking for a job? Maybe you’re thinking about “embellishing” your work history a little more, then. However, according to CareerBuilder you should be careful, because “49 percent of hiring managers reported they caught a candidate lying on their resume,” usually about things like responsibilities and skills. If you feel lucky, go for it, but there are certain Really Big Lies you probably shouldn’t try.

CareerBuilder.com asked hiring managers to share the most memorable or outrageous lies they came across on resumes. Examples include:

1. Claimed to be a member of the Kennedy family
2. Invented a school that did not exist
3. Submitted a resume with someone else’s photo inserted into the document
4. Claimed to be a member of Mensa
5. Claimed to have worked for the hiring manager before, but never had
6. Claimed to be the CEO of a company when the candidate was an hourly employee
7. Listed military experience dating back to before he was born
8. Included samples of work, which the interviewer actually did
9. Claimed to be Hispanic when he was 100 percent Caucasian
10. Claimed to have been a professional baseball player

Now that you know what not to write (apparently “former astronaut” is still okay), here are a few other tips. Apply early, make sure you highlight specific accomplishments that can be gleaned in less than 30 seconds (because that’s probably how long your resume will be viewed), and use keywords:

Hiring managers often use electronic scanners to rank candidates based on a keyword search of applications, so make sure to pepper keywords from the job posting into your resume as they apply to your experience. The terms employers search for most often are:

• problem-solving and decision-making skills (50 percent)
• oral and written communications (44 percent)
• customer service or retention (34 percent)
• performance and productivity improvement (32 percent)
• leadership (30 percent)
• technology (27 percent)
• team-building (26 percent)
• project management (20 percent)
• bilingual (14 percent)

“Nearly Half of Employers Have Caught a Lie on a Resume, CareerBuilder.com Survey Shows” [Marketwatch]
(Photo: Getty)

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