Low unemployment in tech creates challenges for organizations attracting and retaining a digital-ready workforce. At first glance, you might not expect the same challenges for job seekers in this market—yet the opposite can be true.
Key Survey Findings (Checkster)
A new survey by Checkster, a reference-checking company, reveals:
- 78% of candidates who applied for or received a job offer in the past six months admit they did or would consider misrepresenting themselves on their application.
- The survey queried 400 job applicants and 400 hiring managers, recruiters, and HR professionals.
- Despite the risks, 66% of hiring managers are still willing to hire these candidates—likely a reflection of the tight tech talent market.
Why Misrepresentation Matters
Talent misrepresentation poses risks for employers and their teams, often surfacing only during background checks. In a Forbes.com article, “Why Workforce Strategy Wins In The War For Talent,” Harley Lippman, Founder and CEO of Genesis10 and a member of the Forbes Human Resources Council, identifies talent misrepresentation as a key driver of workforce risk and uncertainty—alongside immigration reform, the talent squeeze, the changing IT landscape, and needs for training and professional development.
Common Forms of Misrepresentation (Checkster)
According to the survey, job applicants most often misrepresent by:
- Claiming mastery of skills they barely use (60%).
- Extending tenure at a company to omit another employer (50%).
- Inflating GPA by more than half a point (49%).
Additional Red Flags Observed by Genesis10
From a quick internal poll with our Vice President of Recruiting and Director of Compliance, Genesis10 frequently encounters candidates who:
- List a college they attended without earning a degree.
- State they have graduated but are only enrolled and have not completed degree requirements.
- Present a fabricated degree certificate.
- Embellish work experience, areas of responsibility, or contributions.
- Claim certifications they have not completed.
- Say they worked for an employer and have a friend pose as a reference.
- Exaggerate employment duration to cover gaps.
- Remove months from employment dates (e.g., listing 2012–2019 instead of ending in January 2019).
- Fill gaps with unverifiable “self-employment” or “voluntary” work.
Genesis10’s Verification Practices
At Genesis10, we take candidate authenticity verification very seriously and go to great lengths to eliminate unscrupulous candidates misrepresenting their experience or identity. We:
- Conduct plagiarism checks on resumes.
- Perform social media and internet research to ensure resumes are unique, reflect the candidate, and align with their online profiles.
- Conduct thorough background checks, employment verification, education verification, and client/managerial reference checks.
Questions for Employers
- How are you changing your recruiting techniques to trust and verify that the candidate truly has the qualifications needed to do the job?
- Does the candidate you’re interviewing match the qualifications outlined on their resume?
Q&A
Question: How common is resume misrepresentation, and who participated in the survey cited?
Answer: According to Checkster, 78% of candidates who applied for or received a job offer in the past six months admit they did or would consider misrepresenting themselves. The survey included 400 job applicants and 400 hiring managers, recruiters, and HR professionals. Notably, despite the risks, 66% of hiring managers say they are still willing to hire such candidates—likely a reflection of the tight tech talent market amid low tech unemployment.
Question: What are the most frequent types of misrepresentation reported in the Checkster survey?
Answer: The top three tactics were:
- Claiming mastery of skills they barely use (60%).
- Extending tenure at a company to omit another employer (50%).
- Inflating GPA by more than half a point (49%).
Question: What additional red flags does Genesis10 commonly encounter during recruiting?
Answer: Genesis10’s team frequently sees candidates:
- List a college they attended without earning a degree.
- Claim graduation when only enrolled.
- Present fabricated degree certificates.
- Embellish responsibilities, experience, or contributions.
- Claim unearned certifications.
- Use friends as fake references.
- Exaggerate employment durations to cover gaps.
- Remove months from employment dates.
- Fill gaps with unverifiable “self-employment” or “voluntary” work.
Question: Why does resume misrepresentation pose a serious risk for employers and teams?
Answer: It introduces workforce risk and uncertainty and often surfaces only during background checks, disrupting hiring processes. As noted by Genesis10’s Harley Lippman, talent misrepresentation is a key driver of workforce risk alongside factors like immigration reform, the talent squeeze, the changing IT landscape, and training and professional development needs.
Question: How does Genesis10 “trust and verify” candidate authenticity, and what can employers emulate?
Answer: Genesis10 conducts plagiarism checks on resumes; performs social media and internet research to confirm resume uniqueness and alignment with online profiles; and runs thorough background checks, employment and education verifications, and client/managerial reference checks. Employers can adopt similar practices and scrutinize details such as precise employment months, unexplained gaps, and claimed certifications to detect misrepresentation early.
