They will catch you "red-handed", if you are required to take a polygraph examination. Why not just tell the truth and get it over with?

Often times they don't. If the company does a background check and the employer shows up on some record, then you will be caught. But many employers don;t really do thorough background checks. Instead, the scare you into believing that they do so that you will just admit to everything. It also should be noted that many employers will not disclose information about employees (except dates of employment), even if you signed a consent form. Thus, if you were fired from a job and you still listed it on your resume, there is a decent chance that they won't disclose that you were fired to the new employer. If you are applying for a government job or a job with a security classification, they will do an in depth investigation. The above comments go to many private employers for non-management positions.

If not a government job. Most likely they won't.

No references is an automatic red flag for many human resources departments these days. You simply had to have had a previous job, even if it's a summer job in high school that you list. They'll want to see something there. Nothing there, they'll assume you have something to hide and you can bet that if you're granted an interview, they'll ask you about it. If you don't mention the particular job that you were fired from ( the time frame you were employed by that company will show on your resume as a blank spot), they may very well ask what you did with yourself during that empty space. Not listing it creates suspicion and may not get you an interview. You can take your chances. You can list it and hope they don't check or you can omit it and hope they won't ask you. Don't assume that you can hide all this. Many companies hire human resource personnel that ARE trained to deal with just that and can sniff out an omission or lie pretty easily. I own a small commercial dive outfit. I ALWAYS check references going back 3 jobs (if applicable) and if there's nothing listed for a reference check, chances are, there isn't going to be an interview unless there's something else on the resume that's caught my attention and may appeal to me. I'll still ask about that blank spot at the interview though and if I even have an inkling of a doubt about the truth, the interview is over and I'm on to the next candidate as you've just proved to me that I can't rely on you now, why should I rely on you later. The truth works with me. If you were fired, I'll ask why. If it's something I can live with (personality conflict or something of that nature) I'll ignore it like it never happened.

In my defense, these were 2nd jobs I was performing while simultaneously full-time employed, so 'no holes' in the resume. I've recently been put into a position where I've investigated the possible direction that this company that I continue to work for now might venture into doing new hire background checks, which we currently have never done. Each employer should participate in 'ostensible authority'. I used myself as a guinea pig, and had a background check company look me over. They were highly dependent on info I provided. Some things they didn't find, like a national professional license I hold, although this particular information was stored on a national database. I would think that one way to find out employment continuity on an applicant would be through the Social Security Administration, since employers must report wages for W2's. Nowhere I have looked, or asked-has this possibility ever come up. It leads me to believe that there really isn't a sure-fire way to find out completely eeverything a potential employer may want to know. I was hoping a HR person would share their insight...it would seem to me that asking an employee to sign a 4506-T form from the IRS would reveal all previous employers. Is this routinely done?