Ok, I have lied on resumes before. Not about my education necessairly but certainly about what I could or couldn’t do. I might have fibbed about my title at a particular job but that is about the extent of it.

Problem is, with the advent of the Internet there is so much information an employer can bring up on you. If you are lying on a resume it will most likely be found out as I found in this article on CareerBuilder.com

Here is a list of the most common lies people tell on a resume:

• Embellished responsibilities – 38 percent
• Skill set – 18 percent
• Dates of employment – 12 percent
• Academic degree – 10 percent
• Companies worked for – 7 percent
• Job title – 5 percent

Hmmm, I see a few of my “false truths” on this list

One of the VP’s at Career Builder gives some very sound advice in saying, “even the slightest embellishment can come back to haunt you and ruin your credibility. If you’re concerned about gaps in employment, your academic background or skill sets, invention is not the answer.”

So, here is the good stuff! Career Builder also polled hiring managers for the most outrageous lies they have come across on resumes. This list is classic.

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 (I invented it)
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 (back in “Nam”)
8. Included samples of work, which the interviewer actually did
9. Claimed to be Hispanic when he was 100 percent Caucasian (awesome!)
10. Claimed to have been a professional baseball player

The article does give some very sound advice with regards to writing and submitting a resume. So don’t lie, you will most certainly get caught and it will probably be at the most awkard of moments!