Understanding Career Catfishing in Today's Job Market
Learn about the rise of career catfishing, where job seekers accept positions only to ghost their new employers before even starting work. This phenomenon is impacting both job seekers and employers, highlighting challenges in the hiring process and the need for transparent communication.

There has been a rise in job seekers accepting positions and then ghosting their new employer before the first coffee break. In 2022, the 2 Johnnies released a podcast warning about catfishing, popularized by MTV's Catfish: The TV Show. Catfishing involves deceiving someone into a relationship with a fake online identity. Now, career catfishing has entered the professional world, with terms like micro-retirement, revenge quitting, and coffee-badging emerging. Career catfishing involves accepting a job offer and then disappearing before starting.
Gen Z is most likely to engage in this behavior, with 34% accepting a job offer but not showing up on the first day. This behavior erodes trust, harms reputation, and may have legal consequences. Frustrations in the job application process, such as lack of feedback and lengthy applications, may drive individuals to overstate credentials. This trend impacts both job seekers and employers, wasting time and resources.
Career catfishing highlights issues in hiring processes and the job market. Transparent communication is key to addressing this trend. Employers and job seekers need to understand each other's challenges and respect each other's time.
According to the source: RTE.ie.
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