Catfished! Most of the workforce has been duped by employers’ misleading job claims
Nearly 4 in 5 workers in the U.S. say they’ve been “catfished” into jobs that didn’t match what employers promised during the hiring process, according to a report from career platform Monster.
Monster’s 2025 Career Catfishing Report, based on a survey of more than 1,400 U.S. workers across various industries, defines career catfishing as when either employers or job candidates present deceptive personas during the hiring process. Monster’s findings reveal how dishonesty is undermining workplace satisfaction and organizational performance.
“Career catfishing doesn’t just create mismatched expectations, it sets employees and employers up for failure from day one,” said Vicki Salemi, career expert at Monster. “When honesty is absent in the hiring process, trust is broken before it can even take root, leading to dissatisfaction, burnout and costly turnover.”
Among workers who felt deceived, nearly half said their actual job responsibilities differed significantly from what was described during interviews. Another 1 in 5 reported that company culture was misrepresented, while 1 in 10 found that compensation or benefits were overstated.
For employees who are subject to an employer’s catfishing, the consequences extend far beyond the initial disappointment. Misleading job offers can result in dissatisfaction, burnout and early resignations — outcomes that contradict research showing workers want meaningful opportunity and growth in their jobs, not just perks.
The stakes are particularly high in our digital age, warns Steve Degnan, a corporate HR advisor and former CHRO at Nestlé North America. “For the employer the main danger, short term, is reputational,” he said, noting that job review sites like Glassdoor and Google Reviews have documented employer misbehavior for years. What was once limited to word-of-mouth complaints can now become viral advertising of a company’s worst attributes.
The deception cuts both ways, with 13% of workers admitting to engaging in career catfishing, primarily by exaggerating their past or current job responsibilities, skills, technical abilities or work experience. A smaller share inflated their educational credentials or certifications.
While 85% of respondents agreed that career catfishing is morally wrong, nearly 7 in 10 believe they currently work alongside someone who misrepresented their qualifications during hiring.
The cost of catfishing on the part of the employee can be steep for employers. The Society for Human Resource Management estimates the average cost per hire exceeds $4,700, but the true expense of a bad hire can reach twice an employee’s annual salary when factoring in lost productivity, training costs and team disruption.
“Hiring candidates who inflate their skills drains productivity, slows team progress and increases costs,” Monster’s report notes, highlighting how dishonesty creates expensive problems for organizations already struggling with talent acquisition and retention.
For job seekers who misrepresent themselves, the consequences can be equally severe. “For employees, misrepresenting capabilities and qualifications never works out well. Very few can keep up the act in a new role, even if they survive the interview process and get hired,” Degnan notes.
Monster suggests concrete steps both sides can take to rebuild trust in hiring. Job seekers may want to ask detailed questions during interviews about responsibilities, team structure and growth opportunities; research company culture using review platforms and trusted sources; and confirm compensation and benefits in writing before accepting an offer.
Meanwhile, employers should use skills-based assessments to verify technical abilities; conduct thorough background and reference checks; publish clear, accurate job descriptions; and set realistic expectations.
Degnan emphasizes the importance of preparation: “I used to tell our hiring managers that many of them would put more time into researching and buying a flatscreen TV than thinking about their next hire.”
The findings come as the U.S. labor market continues its post-pandemic evolution, with the workforce increasingly prioritizing transparency, meaningful work and an authentic company culture — and with both employers and employees navigating that evolution, the need for honesty on both sides has never been more critical.