'Skills manifesting': More workers citing skills they don't have-but intend to learn-on their resumes

Many job seekers use “skills manifesting,” listing skills they do not yet have on their resumes, mirroring the idea that positive thinking leads to positive outcomes. A survey of 1,000 U.S. job seekers found 53% have considered or done this, and 44% of Gen Z report doing it. People use the tactic to remain competitive in an increasingly automated, technical job market. While resume exaggeration has long existed, listing unlearned skills is seen as a more serious ethical gray area. Women are more likely to list soft skills, while men are more likely to list hard skills. Gen Z is far more likely than older generations to try the practice.

"A Resume Genius survey of 1,000 U.S. job seekers found that 53% have either considered listing skills they lack on their résumé before learning them, or have actually done so, while 44% of Gen Z admit the same—an approach known as “skills manifesting,” according to the company's 2026 Job Seeker Insights Report."

"When it comes to which skills they manifest, women are twice as likely as men to list soft skills, like communication or leadership (25% vs. 12%), while men lean toward hard skills, like programming languages (21% vs. 14%). Age also impacts the trend: The report cited that by generation, Gen Zers are nearly three times more likely than boomers to have tried skills manifesting."

"Specifically, 44% of Gen Zers list a skill they haven't yet learned on their résumés, while 42% of millennials, 28% of Gen Xers, and 15% of boomers do the same. On its face, the trend seems blatantly dishonest. But it also “signifies how competitive and fast-moving the job market has become, with AI playing a major role in accelerating that shift,” Eva Chan, a career expert at Resume Genius, tells Fast Company."

Read at Fast Company