In India’s volatile job market, where opportunities are scarce and competition is fierce, candidates often resort to embellishing or fabricating information on their resumes to secure interviews. Desperation to secure employment in a challenging economic climate pushes individuals to inflate their qualifications, experiences, or skills, hoping to stand out amidst a sea of applicants.
However, a candidate from IIT Kharagpur took things a bit too far after he allegedly mentioned approximately 100 things in his resume, out of which he only knew 5. This was shared by Angad Daryani, the founder and CEO of Praan.
The candidate apparently had 4 offers from other companies and when Daryani picked up on the fact that the candidate didn’t know most of the things that were mentioned on his resume, he said that he wanted to work for his company.
“Candidate from IIT Kharagpur who applied on our website, had mentioned 100 things on his resume, of which he knew 5. He had 4 offers from other companies based on these 100 listed things, and when we quickly picked on the fact that he didn’t actually know 95% of the things on his resume, he said, ‘Oh wow, I respect you, now I want to work in your company’,” Daryani wrote on X.
He went on to question candidates’ integrity and stressed that companies need to know if they can trust the candidates or not.
“What are they teaching at the IITs? 4/4 bad integrity experience in the last 2 years. I don’t want to know if you know reinforcement learning as a mechanical engineer. I want to know if I can have you around and trust you.”
Have a look at his full post here:
Candidate from IIT Kharagpur who applied on our website, had mentioned 100 things on his resume, of which he knew 5. He had 4 offers from other companies based on these 100 listed things, and when we quickly picked on the fact that he didn't actually know 95% of the things on his…
— Angad Daryani (@AngadDaryani) April 1, 2024
Several people online agreed with Daryani on the fact that many candidates seeking jobs lack integrity nowadays and that many try to “fake it till they make it”. Have a look at some of the responses here:
I don’t think institutions have a role to play here. The people are desperate in the current Job Market especially Freshers graduating .
I have seen a few resumes of freshers from different colleges and apparently they all mention this elaborative skill set.— Riya… (@712Riya) April 1, 2024
Integrity is hard and it’s even harder to find in as people become more intelligent
— dkagarwal (@dkagarwal) April 1, 2024
You pointed out right. If a candidate who you can’t trust on day 1, there is no chance you will trust him after year or decade.
— ALPHA CATCHER (@AlphaCatchers) April 1, 2024
in my experience it’s better to hire people who tell me they know nothing than those that say they know everything
— Leo — e/acc ⚡️ (@advaitjayant) April 1, 2024
Over reliance on credentialing is lazy hiring.
I’m glad employers are increasingly less enamored by credentials and more focused on finding right talent for the job.— TedLassi (@MakeMyDayKatju) April 1, 2024
I think that our children are being misguided by the‘fake it till you make it’ philosophy! Employers are looking for good old honest and hardworking candidates Also, if I may humbly suggest, just do a screening and then politely tell them to make their resumes worth their weights
— Sukriti (सुकृति) Gupta 🇮🇳 मोदी जी परिवार (@Gupta_suk) April 2, 2024
Such deceptive moves can ultimately backfire on the candidate, damaging both the candidate’s credibility and the employer’s trust. There can be potential repercussions in the long run. Don’t you agree?