Corporate catfishing is on the rise, as more people lie or exaggerate their professional experience to secure a job. You may be familiar with the term ‘catfishing’ being used to dupe people on dating apps, but the pernicious trend has seeped into the world of recruitment.
For many of us, the thought of being caught in a lie would keep us up at night. But shockingly, a new survey by Monster has found that as many as 67% of workers work alongside someone who lied to land a role.
Ending up with an employee who lacks the necessary experience can be risky to your business, and for sole traders especially, it’s a risk you can’t afford to ignore.
What is corporate catfishing?
The term catfishing originates from online dating, where it describes people making a fictitious or embellished online persona in order to score a date.
Put simply, corporate catfishing refers to someone misrepresenting themselves within a business. It can be candidates lying to get a job, freelancers lying about qualifications to get a contract, or employers overselling a role to fill it quickly.
According to a poll from jobs site Monster, it’s becoming commonplace. 13% of workers today admit to exaggerating their background to land a job.
The main areas that were overstated were job responsibilities in previous roles (8%), skills and technical abilities (7%), work experience (7%), and education and certifications (3%).
Why hiring (and applying) is getting more deceptive
The rise of AI and automation may be partly responsible for the rise of deceptive practices, like corporate catfishing.
Job boards are increasingly flooded with automated job descriptions, which many candidates are responding to with AI-written CVs and cover letters. Aware that their applications must pass ATS filters, many candidates paste job descriptions into AI tools to generate hyper-relevant, but often inauthentic or inaccurate, cover letters.
Beyond just losing the personal touch, AI in recruitment is normalising automated applications, prioritising speed over truly finding the right candidate.
As well as AI’s revolution of the hiring process, it’s also contributed to a crowded freelance and remote job market. With workers fearful of losing jobs to AI, there’s growing pressure to stand out. This means that people are turning to AI to generate buzzy LinkedIn posts and thought leadership blogs to secure their position in the job market.
Of course, it works both ways. First-time hirers may also unintentionally over-promise flexibility, career growth, and company culture to secure high-value talent. But ultimately, if both sides are playing the system, then honest connections will become few and far between.
Vicki Salemi, Career Expert at Monster, wrote on LinkedIn: “Both the employer and job seeker/employee should strive for accuracy and authenticity, full stop.”
How to avoid being catfished
While larger businesses may be able to survive a substandard employee, it can hit smaller businesses hard. Sole traders in particular may also be hiring or partnering for one critical role, not an entire team. A bad fit drains time, energy, and trust.
To avoid being catfished as an employer, it helps to keep your hiring process grounded and specific. Start with clear, honest job descriptions that focus on actual responsibilities and expectations, this will attract serious, high-quality candidates. Drop vague buzzwords like “rockstars”. If you’re leading with exaggeration, that’s what you’ll get in return.
Task-based assessments or trial projects can reveal more than a CV – especially when paired with a video interview – for communication and confidence on an interpersonal level.
If you’re working with freelancers or consultants, don’t skip the basics: check portfolios, ask for references, and trust your instincts if anything feels fishy.
A short probation period or test brief can help you verify skills before locking in a longer-term commitment. Also, be wary of suspiciously low rates or overly generic LinkedIn profiles. This may be a sign that you’re dealing with more gloss than substance.
With a few thoughtful tweaks to your process and a sharper eye for red flags, it’s possible to cut through the noise. By focusing on transparency and substance over spin, you can sort the AI catfish from the sea of actual, qualified candidates to hire right.
