More than half of job hunters in the South-East keep the fact they have children secret from potential employers.

Recruitment agency Pertemps conducted research among employees working in areas ranging from marketing and management to factories and stores.

Results showed 62 per cent of job hunters would not mention children on their CV, 30 per cent more than the national average.

Many parents, particularly women, feared employers would consider them unreliable.

Hardly any of the employers questioned in a separate Pertemps' survey claimed they would be put off by female applicants who had children. Another detail likely to be omitted from a CV was age, with 15 per cent of staff saying they would not include it.

Age discrimination was the reason given by 30 per cent of those who would omit this detail, while 20 per cent believed they should be judged solely on the basis of skills and experience.

Only two per cent of employers said they would dismiss a CV because the person was the wrong age.

Research among employers found lack of relevant experience was the most common reason for dismissing a CV.

This was followed by CVs that were poorly laid out, too long or contained spelling mistakes.

Fifty per cent of employers said design was more likely to make a CV stand out than overall content (36 per cent) or experience (31 per cent).

Eighty- eight per cent of employees said work experience was the most important aspect.