Greenhouse: 28% of candidates now use AI to generate fake work samples and 47% embellish qualifications

With hiring automation, employer ghosting, technology bias, AI agents, and many other technological advancements coming into play, the job landscape is seemingly unrecognizable as to what it was a few years back.

Now, we’re in a new era of hiring, according to global hiring platform Greenhouse's recent report 2025 Workforce & Hiring.

Yet despite this new wave, candidates are left feeling disadvantaged, with only 7% of the 2,200 job seekers polled – from the US, UK, and Ireland – stating that they believe the job market favours them.

As a result, candidates are using AI to their advantage - even though it may be to the employers detriment.

In an exclusive conversation with Daniel Chait, CEO and Co-founder of Greenhouse, UNLEASH discovers more.

How candidates are using AI to boost their portfolios

As the hiring landscape is changing, more candidates are using AI to assist them with their applications.

In fact, 67% of US candidates admit to using AI tools when job searching.

Although it may be assumed that the technology is used as a tool to speed up the length process of applying for roles, Greenhouse found that 28% now use it to generate tools to fake work samples.

Nearly half of candidates (47%) polled admitted to embellishing their qualifications, making it harder for hiring managers to distinguish which candidates are legitimately qualified.

What’s more, 22% of candidates use bots to apply to traditional hiring systems. However, this statistic increases by 9 percentage points for Gen Z (31%).

But the real question is: What are hiring managers doing to prevent this from happening?

Well, according to Greenhouse’s research – very little.

27% of candidates shared that they’ve never seen a policy barring AI usage while applying for a role. As a result, 11% of Boomer candidates believe AI is acceptable in any circumstance, compared to 21% of Gen Z.

Additionally, 31% of those asked said that it helped them apply for roles, say AI has provided helpful tools, 26% say it’s now harder to stand out.

Candidates today aren’t just competing against each other, they’re competing against bots, bias, and broken systems,” says Daniel Chait, CEO and Co-founder of Greenhouse.Candidates today aren’t just competing against each other, they’re competing against bots, bias, and broken systems,” says Daniel Chait, CEO and Co-founder of Greenhouse.

“Just to get ahead, 67% of US candidates use AI tools when job searching, and nearly one in three candidates admit to faking skills on their resume.

“When people feel they need to cheat, hide their age, or even change their name to get through the door, it’s clear the hiring process is failing them. We need a process that’s fair and transparent, one that lets people show who they really are.”

As humans are seemingly competing with AI, a sense of strain and instability is brushing across candidates, with 4 in 5 US workers admitting they feel insecure about their current role.

Three in ten workers also face employment uncertainty, with 15% aware their role might be affected.

Concluding, Chait said: "We don’t need more friction or hoops to jump through; we need a hiring process that allows people’s true selves to come through more clearly and more completely.

"A more human and three-dimensional hiring process that helps candidates showcase their skills and focus their job search is the only way to cut through the chaos and connect the right people to the right roles.”