What Is Career Catfishing And Why Is It Trending?

We are all well aware of the term ‘catfishing’ by now. It refers to giving out deceptive information about oneself and creating a fake persona to mislead others. In this digital age, catfishing has become quite common and easy. These days, all job recruitments majorly take place online, and hence, the trend of ‘career catfishing’ has emerged as a troubling concept. This phenomenon has its fair share of implications for employees as well as for companies and their overall productivity. 

Lying on the resume is not a new factor for anyone who has ever been on either side of the process, applying or hiring. One might lie about a skill or two here or there, which might be manageable in the long term. Career catfishing is not simply lying about minor things but outright fabricating important information such as degrees from prestigious universities they never attended, courses and certifications from reputed organizations, and showing work experience from companies they have never worked at before. These deceptive behaviors can take place during one-on-one interviews, on a resume or CV, or via one’s LinkedIn profile. 

This phenomenon has emerged as a new trend among the new employees. Moreover, there are various types of catfishing, which might lead to dire implications. 

What Does Career Catfishing Include?

There are various types of career catfishing. According to recent research, one of those types is trending the most among Gen Z.

• Job Ghosting

This trend is the most popular one these days. As the term suggests, it includes going through the job process successfully and then not showing up on the decided first day of their employment without notifying or alerting anyone of their absence. There has been research on the reasons and implications of Gen Z employing these methods in recent times.

• Impersonation 

Impersonation includes pretending to be someone else by stealing their identity. It includes their name, work experience, resume, and even their picture. It is done in order to gain better employment opportunities.

• False Skill Certifications

This includes fabricating certifications from reputed organizations and showcasing them. It is mainly used to demonstrate most in-demand skills, such as project management or programming languages.

• Fake Educational Information

People might list that they have graduated from prestigious schools and colleges when in reality, they might have not completed the program or never have been admitted into those institutes. 

Job Ghosting: A Recent Career Catfishing Trend

The market situation has been very delicate in recent years, due to which there has been a significant decline in good employment opportunities and pay grades. Moreover, the work-life balance of the employees is not as balanced as they would like it to be. This trend involves the hired individual not showing up on their first day without prior notification to anyone. 

It is said to be in response to the managers employing inadequate hiring techniques. It includes untimely responses from the recruiters, lengthy hiring processes, and multiple interviews. This type of defiance is usually employed by people under the age of 27 years, that is, Gen Z. 

A recent study based in the UK revealed that Gen Z is most likely to employ this method as an assertion of their independence and work-life balance. This study was conducted on 1,000 employees of various age groups. 34% of Gen Z are likely to make use of this method. Furthermore, 24% of millennials (aged between 28 and 43), 11% of Gen X (44 to 59 years), and 7% of baby boomers (aged 60 and above) are likely to adopt this strategy. 

It has also been found that the younger generation is not ready to settle for just anything like their previous generations. They want the right opportunities and the right pay, even if they have to wait for it. They are not ready to conform to the traditional norms of a corporate employee and want a quality work-life balance. 

Gen Z has already earned a reputation for being lazy and unproductive at work, and following this trend has pushed them further down this rabbit hole. This trend also includes abruptly cutting communication off with their employers as a way of feeling ‘in charge of their careers.’ 

Why Is It Trending?

There are various personal and professional factors that contribute to this trend. The different reasons for this disruptive trend includes

Reduced Accountability

Now that the majority of the hiring process has been digitized, there is no space for face-to-face accountability. The employees do not have to go through the emotional discomfort of holding themselves accountable for their actions. It has become easier to cut off all the contact without any prior notice or explanation. It is less confrontational than breaking off in-person contacts. Moreover, due to a lack of physical meetings, employees do not feel the pressure to maintain professionalism, and hence, owning up to one’s actions has been reduced significantly.

Altering Professional Etiquette

The definition of professionalism has changed drastically over time and from generation to generation. Its significance has reduced notably, and the recent generations prioritize both their personal and professional lives, unlike older generations who prioritized professionalism above all. Newer generations have laid more emphasis on efficiency, productivity, and convenience, even if it comes at the expense of the said professionalism. They no longer feel obligated to follow in the footsteps of their older generation and stick to traditional methods of working.

Read More: What Strategies can Employees Use to Cope with Difficult Coworkers? 

Job Opportunities

While there are issues in the job market currently, a few fields offer a variety of job perspectives, which gives the candidate abundant opportunities. These plenty of opportunities make the candidate less inclined to formally inform or decline the offers they no longer intend to accept. When they receive multiple opportunities, it is easier for them to forget to revert which further leads to unprofessionalism and ghosting behavior. Moreover, it has also encouraged the pick-and-choose mentality, where candidates feel they have ample opportunities and don’t need to reply to the organization they do not want to work at.

Fear of Confrontation

The fear of declining a job offer after one has already accepted it due to various reasons could be intimidating. Numerous people are not comfortable with confrontation. Ghosting is thus the easier way out. People could be anxious about letting someone down and might not want to deal with it. Moreover, it is easier to cut off all communication on digital platforms and devices. If this behavior is repetitive, however, it might lead to disruption, professional consequences, and reputational harm.

Cultural Influence

We have previously heard the term ‘ghosting’ in the dating world. The normalization of this kind of behavior in that field has led to its influence in professional settings as well. We have widely accepted it in terms of social contexts, and therefore, it is now a way to avoid workplace professionalism and problematic or awkward interactions. It is an extremely convenient way to avoid accountability.

The Impact of Career Catfishing

This phenomenon impacts the workplace ecosystem significantly and has consequences for both the employers and the employees.

For Candidates

• It damages your reputation with the employers. It might hamper your professional networks due to unprofessionalism, and your future opportunities might narrow down.
• It might also damage your future chances with the same or similar organizations, especially in tight-knit industries. Doing this multiple times might ruin your subsequent opportunities.
• When you avoid confrontation, you also avoid constructive feedback that might contribute to your overall growth. You might lose the insight to gain valuable skills that will benefit you in the long term. 

For Recruiters

• Not showing up to work without informing might severely disturb operations within the organization. Employers might stress over the fact that they immediately need to fill the position in order to keep things running without any significant disruptions.
• It increases the recruitment cost since the resources that were employed for the hiring and onboarding process of the previous employee who failed to show up have been wasted. They now have to begin the process all over again.
• Ghosting erodes the trust of employers for every successive hiring. They are now more cautious. It might lead to unfair behavior, like an even more tough recruitment process for future candidates.

Conclusion

Career catfishing disrupts professional relationships and undermines the business, hampering productivity. While avoidance might seem like the best and easiest option, it is crucial to be competent and inform employers of the true nature of one’s qualifications, skills, and availability. It has dire consequences on both candidates and recruiters. Even if one refuses the opportunity, it showcases truthfulness and integrity that might keep future opportunities open. By fostering open and honest communication, we must eliminate the trend of catfishing in professional settings and ghosting employers in the name of independence, choice, and work-life balance.