Is it appropriate to lie in your resume?

Most often job seekers will lie on a resume to cover up something they feel is a deficit, such as a lack of experience. Overstating one’s qualifications on a resume has always been tempting to some. They do this so as to enhance their chances of getting the job in an easier way. But, lying is just being dishonest to their employers which most of the employers wouldn’t prefer.

Although lying on resumes today is less common than it was a few years ago, employers have become more cautious because of concerns like negligent hiring, workplace violence etc. The Company’s Human Resources are going through a lot of time and expense by doing background checks, pre-employment testing, and other screening methods. They are doing all these procedures for not only just guarding themselves from disgruntled employees but also from avoiding the mistake of recruiting an unqualified person for the job.

One of the main reasons for lying on a resume is the person’s desperation to seek the job. Another reason can be the frustration that aroused because of his/her being unemployed for a long time. So, the above are the reasons that increase a person’s incentive to lie on a resume.

People who lie on a resume may end up doing more damage not only to themselves and but also to others. The employees who lied know that they are not qualified for the job. This rapidly decreases the confidence level in them to do the job which results in a lesser quality service than expected from a qualified candidate.

For instance, a survey in the Software industry revealed that most of the employees they recruit lie about the skills that are required for the job. Because of their less knowledge in developing the software using tools they really are unable to perform according to the expectancy of the company. This resulted in a waste of expense on the employees. Sometimes the project may even fail due to lack of team work from the employee.


So I conclude saying that lying in your resume is not only immoral but also it can get you fired or even sued. Instead of lying, we must consider a process or problem that we faced in our resume. Also, the action we took to address it and the result it had on the company. Today, employers are looking for factors like this in our resume. The more specific we are, stronger the resume. One of the good ways to present in our resume is to start with an outline of our strengths and achievements, and place less-glowing areas toward the end.