Are more job seekers lying in their resumes than before? Yes, says a report, which reveals that 85 per cent jobseekers lie in their resumes, as compared to 65 per cent about ten years ago.
Not surprisingly, only one per cent of recruiters rely on resumes 100 per cent. However, as per the survey, 24 per cent of recruiters admitted to relying mostly on the resumes of jobseekers. A majority (70 per cent) admitted to going through the resumes but relying mostly on interviews and candidate interactions. Only five per cent said they did not trust the resumes and relied completely on candidate reaction instead.
Why is trust lacking?
The survey revealed why trust is lacking in recruiters. For one, jobseekers are using standard templates for resumes. They are also seeking the help of professionals to write their resumes, or relying on artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as Chat GPT to create resumes. This only adds to the problem.
Companies are using several modern channels to reach out to and find suitable candidates. They rely on social media, messaging groups as well as outreach strategies. In addition, individual recruiters use their personal networks, which allow them access to a wider pool of potential candidates. This naturally improves the reach of the job listing, and as a result, resumes pour in in huge numbers — way more than the available jobs / vacancies. In fact, the responses are so huge in volume that they cannot be handled manually.
On average, over 250 job applications are received per job listing.
But then recruiters also feel that they have no other option but to trust resumes. This is because the organisations usually make it mandatory for recruiters to use only resumes to screen the candidates/ jobseekers initially. Besides, not many are aware of the alternatives, including technology that can be used to make hiring more effective.
As per the survey, less than 10 are shortlisted, while 75 per cent don’t even pass the initial screening process. A significant 30 per cent fail to make it even though they have the skills required.
When it comes to applications, more than 110 applications are sent by a job seeker. Also, over 10 to 20 applications are required to land an interview. About 10 to 15 interviews have to be given to get a job offer.
Job seekers follow apply mindlessly for jobs. As a result there is a deluge of applications forcing the recruiters to make random choices or select hastily. Two thirds of recruiters spend less than a couple of minutes to review a resume!
Therefore, there is a likelihood of the deserving or suitable candidates getting ignored. The genuine candidates have a less than one in 20 chance of being called for an interview. This, in turn, causes candidates or jobseekers to ‘spray’ their resumes.
Another reason is that job seekers are mentioning several skills in their resumes even though they lack little or no experience in those domains. This is because job seekers are doing everything to beat keyword-matching algorithms that depend on skills mentioned in the resume. It is their belief that once they are called for an interview, they will be able to somehow win over the interviewers. About 56 per cent candidates claim they possess skills they barely know. While 16 to 18 median number of skills are mentioned in resumes, only about five to seven skills are relevant to the job role.
Unfortunately, all this only leads to more rejections in interviews.