Graduates and other job applicants are being warned they risk bringing the jobs market to a standstill because they are applying for unsuitable work.
According to a new report, the jobs sector is "grinding to a halt" because so many candidates are applying for jobs that they are not suitable for.
Applicants are being warned that by putting themselves forward for jobs which they are not qualified for businesses are spending more time looking for potential candidates.
As a result the attention is diverted away from business activity at a time when all available man power is needed to help some of the unemployed get back into work.
The report by recruitment firm Badenoch & Clark said a survey of 1,000 office workers revealed job hunters were applying for jobs using a "scatter-gun approach".
A further one in five said they applied for jobs without doing any research.
The report has said many candidates are "panicking" because of rising unemployment.
A spokesman for the firm said: "There are around 10 applications for every job in the UK right now - the last thing businesses need is to be hampered by swelling numbers of CVs that simply aren't suitable for the role."
