How AI amplifies resume fraud and other job seeker cheating

Bringing down the curtain on productivity theater

Brian Sommer

Sommer was a partner at Accenture for 18 years and launched a dot-com startup before founding his consulting firm, TechVentive, in 2003. He's a frequent speaker at conferences and on webinars and podcasts, as well as a regular contributor to Diginomica.

Some types of recruiting fraud were common long before AI, such as lying on resumes or pretending to work. Now AI is amplifying them, Sommer said. Job applicants increasingly use AI to paint a misleading picture of their talents and experience, as well as bombard employers with fraudulent information. Some tools, for example, help job seekers trick applicant tracking system software, fake their way through video interviews and tweak resumes to match job descriptions.

He cited a study by Dartmouth College and Princeton University that showed the widespread use of large language models like ChatGPT has sharply reduced the value of written communications as a signaling tool that helps employers find the best candidates. Hiring of applicants with the most ability fell 19%, while people in the bottom fifth were hired 14% more often.

"Once people have access at the citizen AI level to these tools, it levels out the whole playing field and makes differentiation difficult," Sommer said.

Technology is also helping workers misrepresent their performance and productivity -- even when they're not working at all. Sommer mentioned "mouse jigglers" designed to fool employee monitoring software.

Organizations that hire too many under-qualified people and those who are talented in "productivity theater" can experience serious downstream effects, according to Sommer.

"They tend to keep overloading some of the hardest-working people with the bulk of the work. And then others who are not as productive, instead of dealing with them, they just let them get by with doing less work," he said. Some workers reduce their effort in response. Meanwhile, top performers -- who are often handed the unfinished work -- might experience burnout, become demoralized and leave.

Other topics discussed in the podcast include the following:

• How applicants use AI to cheat on tests.
• What technology vendors are doing to address fraud.
• Why holding focus groups with job seekers can improve the recruiting process and provide insight into how people use AI.

David Essex is an industry editor who creates in-depth content on enterprise applications, emerging technology and market trends for several Informa TechTarget websites.