Thousands of employers are rejecting job candidates before the interview stage because CVs fail to sell their most relevant achievements – a common oversight that is also leaving many UK workers significantly underpaid.

A report by online CV service iProfile shows that 73 per cent of employers turn down applicants before an interview because they submitted vague CVs focusing on generic responsibilities instead of specific achievements.

The survey, based on responses from 1,000 UK employees and 200 UK organisations, also found that more than half of employers (51 per cent) believed applicants could command salaries that were at least 5 per cent higher if they sold existing achievements on their CVs.

Karl Gregory, marketing director at iProfile, said: “We work with some of the biggest recruiters in the UK and they tell us that candidates regularly undersell their achievements. Addressing this issue could significantly boost people’s chances of getting through to the interview stage, as well as getting the salary they deserve.

”Almost a quarter of employers (24 per cent) said applicants could demand a pay rise of 15 per cent if they paid more attention to what they put on their CVs – an increase of £3,300 on the average British salary of £22,000.

But responses from workers showed that most CVs are written in a rush with little attention to detail – 71 per cent of applicants took two hours or less to write a CV and 79 per cent only write CVs when looking for a new role.

Failure to regularly update CVs leads to what iProfile calls “achievement amnesia”– a third (32 per cent) of workers could not recall useful achievements more than six months old, and 28 per cent could not remember achievements from more than 18 months ago.

Gregory said candidates could avoid underselling themselves if they updated their CVs more regularly. He advised applicants to add achievements as they happen so that “your CV grows with you”.

He added that keeping track of professional training and qualifications was important so that “people can be in the strongest negotiating position possible when they apply for vacancies”.