The Resume vs. Reality: Do CVs Accurately Reflect Employees' Actual Skills?

Group A4
Questionnaire

Introduction
Resumes play a crucial role in hiring, yet research suggests they may not always accurately reflect a
candidate’s actual skills. This study explores the gap between resumes and real-world performance,
aiming to understand HR professionals' experiences and strategies in verifying candidate capabilities.

To develop a strong research foundation, we conducted secondary research using credible sources
such as Harvard Business Review (HBR), The New York Times (NYT), Financial Times (FT), Economic
Times (ET), Medium, and Forbes. These sources provided insights into resume accuracy, common
misrepresentations, verification methods, and emerging hiring trends. Based on this research, we
designed an open-ended questionnaire to gather primary data from HR professionals.

Secondary Research Summary & Sources:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/lizryan/2015/01/31/the-truth-about-lying-on-your-resume/

https://medium.com/@quadcode/hire-people-not-resumes-d4a5ff2151bf

https://www.amsinform.com/workplace/10-shocking-statistics-about-resume-fraud/

https://www.business.com/articles/the-shocking-cost-of-resume-fraud/

https://www.icac.nsw.gov.au/newsletter/issue48/resume_fraud.html

https://www.forbes.com/sites/bryanrobinson/2023/11/05/70-of-workers-lie-on-resumes-new-study-
shows/

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/majority-tech-recruiters-prefer-a-skill-
verified-resume/articleshow/87153510.cms

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/388688179_AI-
Powered_Resume_Screening_Benefits_and_Challenges

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10462-013-9414-y

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10.1177/1440783314562416

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/387930797_Efficient_Resume_Screening_Tool

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/
378905138_Towards_smarter_hiring_resume_parsing_and_ranking_with_YOLOv5_and_DistilBERT
https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/abs/10.1287/mnsc.2014.1927

The Truth About Lies in Resumes – HBR

The Resume Lies Employers Believe – NYT

Findings:

 Harvard Business Review (HBR) reports that 40-50% of resumes contain some form of
exaggeration. This includes inflated job roles, misrepresented skills, and altered employment
dates.
 New York Times (NYT) highlights skills inflation, where candidates list competencies they
have minimal experience in to pass AI screening tools.
 Forbes states that 85% of recruiters have caught inaccuracies in resumes, often related to
technical skills or past job responsibilities.
 Financial Times (FT) discusses how traditional background checks and reference calls do not
always reveal skill gaps, leaving HR professionals to rely on interviews and gut feeling.
 Medium explores the role of AI-driven assessments, showing that AI tools help but cannot
completely replace human judgment in assessing skills.
 Economic Times (ET) explains that resume-based hiring often overlooks potential high-
performing candidates who may not have the "perfect" CV but possess the necessary skills.
 HBR & NYT suggest that companies are shifting towards skills-based hiring, using real-time
tasks, gamified tests, and practical assessments to evaluate candidates beyond their
resumes.
 Forbes emphasizes that portfolio-based hiring (e.g., GitHub for developers, case studies for
consultants) is gaining traction as it offers tangible proof of skills.

Objectives Behind the Questions

1. Identify the extent of resume inaccuracies HR professional’s encounter.

2. Explore real-life examples where employees failed to meet expectations despite impressive
resumes.

3. Understand HR verification techniques and their effectiveness.

4. Examine the role of AI and how it impacts hiring accuracy.

5. Gather opinions on alternative hiring methods like skills-based recruitment.

Questionnaire:
Section 1: Background & Experience

1. Can you briefly describe your experience in HR and recruitment?

(Rationale - To gather demographic data and to know about the context of the HR. For eg.
Industry, Rankings etc.)

Section 2: Resume Accuracy & Common Misrepresentations

3. In your experience, how often do resumes overstate or misrepresent a candidate’s skills?

4. Have you encountered cases where a candidate’s CV perfectly matched the job
requirements, yet they struggled to perform due to lack of actual skills? Could you share an
example?

5. Conversely, have you seen cases where a high-potential candidate was rejected due to an
improper or weak CV?

6. What are the most common types of inaccuracies you notice in resumes? (e.g., job roles,
skills, certifications)

7. How often do candidates list soft skills (e.g., critical thinking, leadership) that they fail to
demonstrate in real job situations?

Section 3: Hiring & Verification Practices

8. Do you believe that hiring based primarily on resumes is an effective way to identify the best
talent? Why or why not?

9. How do you verify a candidate’s real skills before hiring? (e.g., interviews, skill tests,
reference checks)

10. Have you noticed any gaps in traditional recruitment processes that could be improved to
better assess real skills?

Section 4: The Role of AI & Emerging Hiring Trends

11. With AI-driven resume screening tools becoming more common, do you think they help
improve hiring accuracy or create new challenges?

12. Some companies are shifting towards skills-based hiring (e.g., portfolio reviews, practical
tasks). Do you think this is a more reliable approach than resume-based hiring? Why or why
not?

Section 5: Impact on HR & Recommendations

13. How do resume inaccuracies impact hiring decisions and team performance?

14. What steps can HR take to minimize hiring mistakes due to misleading resumes?

15. If you could change one thing about how resumes are used in hiring today, what would it be?

Closing Question

16. Do you have any additional insights or experiences you’d like to share about the gap between
resumes and real-world skills?