Your résumé is your first impression on potential employers, so of course you will want to present yourself in the most positive light possible. So, if aspects of your checkered past are putting a damper on your employment opportunities, you may be tempted to embellish the facts or outright lie on your résumé. However, the repercussions of doing so can be disastrous. Here are five reasons why lying on your résumé is a bad idea.

You could be blacklisted from the company for life. No matter when a company finds out about the deception, you can be blacklisted. While a truthful résumé may not net you the position you're interested in right now, it could gain you a position in the future. By lying and being caught, you will never be invited to work for them. The situation grows worse if you are hired and the false information is discovered once you've been there for years. How do you explain that to your next prospective employer?

You could be prosecuted. Should you erroneously gain a position of authority due to your doctored documentation, charges could be brought against you. This is especially true in situations where your false résumé caused harm or put others at risk, such as claiming to be a Registered Nurse when you are only a Medical Assistant. What seems an innocent misdirection to make more money or get that plum position could end up costing you thousands in legal fees and, if convicted, your freedom.

You can be ejected from your industry. The banking, medical, and law professions, among others, are small worlds. Just about everyone reads the same journals, attends the same conferences, and networks in the same circles. Even if you aren't prosecuted for lying, word spreads quickly. Is it really worth it to be black-balled from your entire field?

You may appear overqualified for a job you would have loved. By padding your skills, you may be passed over for jobs that a more truthful résumé would have landed you. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot! Hiring managers look carefully at an applicant's previous experience and skills. If you've lied and tried to make yourself more impressive, the recruiter may consider you overqualified and skim right over you. You never know what you've missed, and the padded résumé works to your disadvantage.

It's a waste of your time. Often, your lies are far more transparent than you think they are. The human resources department has plenty of tools at their disposal to ferret out the untruths, and then promptly files your résumé in the trash. Even if you do score an interview by listing bogus skills, do you really think you will pass the pre-employment tests? This is a huge waste of your time and the recruiter's, a fact they will not soon forget.

So there you have it. Lying on a résumé is not just dishonest, it's dangerous to you professionally and ethically, and can actually cost you more jobs than it lands you. Focus instead on honing your interviewing skills or continuing your education before resorting to dishonesty, and keep your reputation untarnished.