'Corporate catfishing' emerges in US

CORPORATE catfishing is when employers, in a bid to attract top talent, make false or misleading claims about their working culture in job ads or interviews — and it’s becoming a big issue in the US recruitment landscape.

- MOLLY JOHNSON-JONES

Research shows that 70% of hiring managers have lied to candidates during hiring processes. A separate study also found that 72% of workers have experienced “shift shock”, where the reality of a new job doesn’t live up to what was sold to them.

The reason it’s happening is simple. Companies want to attract the best talent to fill skills gaps and drive performance; but currently, employers and employees have conflicting preferences over ideal working environments.

The return-to-office movement is a prime example. Data shows that demand for fully remote jobs rose by 10% across last year and by the end of 2024, almost two-thirds of workers sought remote roles. Yet only 4% of employers advertised fully remote roles last year.

Hiring drawbacks

In comes corporate catfishing - a half-baked solution some companies use when they cannot (or will not) offer what workers want. Maybe the hiring manager lies about how often employees are expected to show up to the office, or tells an applicant that the company is deeply committed to environmental efforts when it has actually been scaling back on its sustainability goals.