Catfishing

Landing in-demand jobs where there is a lot of competition can be quite a hassle. To escape this, a lot of candidates end up indulging in catfishing. It is the deceptive practice where the candidate provides false information to show themselves in a better light and to gain competitive advantage. The ultimate aim of catfishing is to show the candidate in question in a better light than the others and to make them look qualified for the job (although they actually might not be).

Another type of corporate fishing is where the company misrepresents itself and the culture that it has. This is done to make the offered job opportunities look lucrative and to ensure high candidate turnover rate for interviews. After all, this would mean that companies would have a diverse candidate pool to choose from.

This article talks about catfishing in depth, the legal consequences one might face, and the limitations of the catfish effect. We will also discuss the different steps that one can take to avoid being catfished.

What is catfishing?

The deceptive practice of catfishing generally involves the usage of fake details to create a fictional persona. Generally, the persona created is designed in such a way that it attracts and manipulates the employer. Catfishing in HR and in corporate can lead to the employment of unqualified candidates while those actually qualified can often be passed on. This ultimately ends up hurting the company’s overall productivity and teamwork.

On the other hand, in the type of corporate catfishing where employees get catfished, the employers lie about the workplace culture. Often, they misrepresent themselves and the opportunities they provide for better employee growth. So, employees end up trusting in a misrepresented ideal and end up feeling dissatisfied or cheated.

What are the legal consequences of catfishing?

If a candidate catfishes an employer and is caught, they can be charged with fraud. After all, lying on a job application, or during an interview, or providing false information can be considered fraud. And, in turn, fraud is a criminal offence. The individual might face charges and punishment depending on the severity and jurisdiction of the crime. Generally, punishment includes either imprisonment or fine, sometimes both.

Corporate catfishing done by employers is not explicitly illegal; however, if the catfishing done involves false advertisement, contract breaches, and fraudulent recruitment practices, it can lead to legal problems. Ultimately, this will end up damaging the company’s reputation and they will incur penalties.

What are the limitations of the catfish effect?

Some limitations of the catfish effect include:-

1. Detection difficulties- The catfish effect can be quite difficult to detect; this is especially because people who take the trouble to catfish often go to great lengths to cover their tracks and avoid getting caught.
2. Not many available legal opportunities - Since a lot of catfishes cannot be detected, it can often be quite difficult to prove that a person/company has provided false information online. Hence, there is often limited legal recourse available to the victim.
3. Difficulty trusting - Once a company or a candidate has been catfished, they will be afraid of being deceived again and will have difficulty trusting.

How can you avoid being catfished?

Some steps companies can take to avoid being catfished by candidates include:-

• Verification of the candidate’s identity - Companies should have in-depth background checks in place and should minutely examine and go through the candidate’s available public records.
• Check all references - You should scrutinise the employer reviews and references declared by the candidate. Try to verify their legitimacy and have a conversation with the candidate’s previous employers.
• Conduct detailed interviews - Ensure that even if a false candidate can get through the first interview step, they get detected in the further rounds. Conduct detailed and in-depth interviews based on the information disclosed by the candidate. This will help understand whether they are authentic or not.
• Report incident to authorities - If you find out that you are a catfishing victim, it is always better to report the incident to the relevant authorities.

Some steps individuals can take to avoid being catfished by companies include:-

• Conduct thorough research - Scourge third-party review platforms like Glassdoor to read employee reviews and understand the company culture better.
• Get in touch with current and old employees - You can find the company’s former and current employees via Linkedin. We recommend getting in touch to get insights about the company.
• Check the company’s online presence - Be vigilant and look for any signs of inconsistency across the company’s different social media accounts.