Most of us have been taught since we were children that it is not good to lie, but as we grew we have come to learn that there will always be gray areas to everything. White lies are acceptable in society, "as long as we're not hurting anyone" is a common rationalization for lying, but when we lie on a resume, we are hurting someone, we are hurting ourselves.

Resumes are supposed to show our skills and character in the best light possible, most of us get tempted to add a little extra and embellish or enhance our skills and achievements, but this is really not as innocent as it seems. There are those who overstep the boundaries of simply "coloring" their resumes. They put in outright lies on their resumes, be it graduating from a school they never went to, or to a position they never held.

These resume lies nowadays are easily caught, and it is never advisable to anyone writing a resume to place even slight fibs on their resumes. Here are the reasons why:

The Hiring Manager
Modern companies now employ well trained hiring managers. These people are trained in physiological and sophisticated behavioral interviewing techniques; they will catch you if you aren't particularly good at lying. A blank stare on a query or a non feasible response will lead you right out the door.

Stricter Policies
Due to numerous cases of employers being sued for negligent hiring, there has been an increase in policies for hiring employees in most companies, they now employ statewide background checks and FBI database inquiries as well as hiring third party information gathering services to catch any lies on resumes.

You will Not be Able to Deliver
If you lie about a certification or a skill you do not possess, and let us say you got hired beside the fact that you lied on your resume, you will be expected to deliver and perform the skills that you placed on your resume. Most probably, what will happen is that you will fail at the task and this will greatly affect your job, morale, and eventually get you fired.

Ruin your chances of Finding another Job
If your resume lie gets busted, you greatly ruin the chances of yourself getting hired for the position you are applying for as well as the company's affiliates and other companies in the same industry. Companies in the same industry usually use the same investigative or background checking service or network, and a record of a previous inquiry might be seen on your next application.

Continuous cycle
If you choose to lie on a resume, and if you were hired, then you got busted and then fired, wouldn't that leave a gaping hole in your next resume? This would probably mean that you would need to lie again on your next resume to avoid inquiries about the incident. This is vicious cycle that will have no end.

Companies will investigate
Investigative and background checking services right now are becoming very efficient and affordable, even small companies can now use extensive information gathering services with very little effort and cost. So expect calls to your previous employer, checks on your school/alumni database, government and police records and other information that will lead to the eventual discovery of your resume lie.

Co-workers will know
Lies about your position or even your educational background will eventually be discovered, more often than not, applicants are still applying for a position in the same industry as their previous jobs. Companies and employees in the same industry are most of the time part of some form of organization, association or attend the same conventions or meetings. A mention of your previous position that you lied about or an alumni, of a school you never went to, disproving you, will get you cleaning out your desk and out the door in no time.

Bottom line is - You will get caught
No matter what you do or how clever you conceal your resume lie, you will get caught.

There is a better way to market yourself without lying. You can use your cover letter to at least explain gaps of dates in your resume when you were unemployed, you could mention any seminars you attended during that time. If you lack a skill that a company requires, you could mention some related skills you have and any transferable skills that you know can help you learn or be trained faster for a skill they require. Any of these are better than a lie on your resume; sometimes even a convincingly and passionately written cover letter can land you the job. Most employers appreciate initiative and character more than skills or educational background.