Skillfishing: When the Hire Looks Perfect — Until the Work Begins
April 8, 2026 1:00 PM ET
Every HR leader has experienced it.
A candidate interviews well. Their resume looks impressive. Their credentials check out. The hire feels like a win.
Then the work starts — and the capabilities aren’t there.
This growing workplace challenge — often referred to as skillfishing — happens when organizations hire based on perceived expertise that turns out to be overstated or incomplete once the employee is on the job.
While the dynamic isn’t new, today’s hiring environment is making it easier for it to happen. AI-generated resumes, sophisticated personal branding, rapid credential programs, and interview coaching can all make candidates appear highly qualified, even when their underlying capabilities haven’t caught up.
For employers, the consequences of a bad hire are manifold. Skillfishing can slow teams down, erode trust, increase turnover, and create significant financial and operational costs.
Join Alex Alonso, SHRM’s chief knowledge officer, AJ Faraj, founder of SorsX, and Nicole Belyna, host of SHRM's Honest HR podcast, for a clear-eyed look at how skillfishing actually happens — and what organizations can do about it.
You’ll learn:
- How skillfishing shows up in modern hiring processes.
- Why traditional screening methods often fail to catch it.
- The real organizational costs when capability doesn’t match expectations.
- Practical ways to strengthen skill validation and reduce hiring risk.
If you’re responsible for hiring, talent strategy, or workforce planning, this session will help you spot the warning signs and build hiring processes that uncover real capability, not just convincing presentations.
SHRM Knowledge Advisors will join the live webinar to answer your questions in real time—right in the chat. If we don’t get to your question during the session? No problem, SHRM members can head to SHRM Connect after this webinar to keep the conversation going with advisors for 30 extra minutes. This benefit is only for members who join the live webinar and not included later on demand.
Meet the Presenters
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AJ Faraj
AJ Faraj is the founder of SorsX, known as the "Google Maps of recruiting." SorsX automates the hiring process using AI to transform companies' discovery and evaluation of talent. A serial entrepreneur recognized on the Inc. 5000 list through his previous venture, WadiTek, AJ has consistently built and scaled companies at the intersection of talent and technology. He also founded Field Dispatcher, a B2B SaaS platform he successfully exited after acquisition, further cementing his track record of building market-shaping ventures.
Beyond building companies, AJ is a sought-after voice in the HR tech space. He has spoken at a Google tech conference and featured in outlets such as Technical.ly - News for technologists and entrepreneurs. With a reputation as a visionary entrepreneur, AJ continues to pioneer AI-driven solutions that redefine the future of work and talent acquisition.
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Alex Alonso
Alexander Alonso, Ph.D., SHRM-SCP serves as SHRM’s Chief Knowledge Officer, leading the organization’s intelligence, insights, and innovation divisions. As leader of SHRM’s Thought Leadership & Business Intelligence operations, his total career portfolio has been based upon practical thought leadership designed to make better workplaces and grow revenue across industry. Alonso’s thought leadership has been featured in numerous media outlets including USA Today, NBC News, BBC, CNN, and more. He has served as a member of several speakers bureaus with more than 400 speaking engagements on human capital topics and driving productivity over the last decade.
His works have been acknowledged for their contributions to real-world human capital issues. This includes being recognized with the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP’s) 2007 M. Scott Myers Award for Applied Research in the Workplace for developing the federal standard for learning and development of healthcare providers; a 2009 Presidential Citation for Innovative Practice by the American Psychological Association for designing performance management systems; and the 2013 SIOP Distinguished Early Career Contributions for Practice Award for extensive applied research on the link between human resource management and organizational sustainability.
Throughout his career, Alonso has published works in peer-reviewed journals, authored several chapters on community-based change initiatives in workforce readiness, and authored books such as The Price of Pettiness, Talking Taboo: Making the Most of Polarizing Topics, and Defining HR Success: A Guide to the SHRM Competency Model in Practice. He has served on several advisory boards including The Secretary of Defense’s Defense Business Board (DBB) and the Zeal Capital Investor Advisory board. He is a Fellow of SIOP, Division 14, of the American Psychological Association.
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Nicole Belyna
Nicole Belyna, SHRM-SCP, is Director, Talent at SHRM. Belyna is a human resources leader with over 15 years of expertise in all things talent. In her role, she is fortunate to lead a team of amazing people who also happen to be exceptional HR professionals. As a talent leader for well-known brands, she has crafted and executed award winning talent management strategies that attract, develop and retain top-tier talent, enhancing companies' reputations as premier workplaces and net exporters of talent. She has honed her skills across diverse industries, including fashion and beauty retail, hospitality, and manufacturing. Belyna is proud to be SHRM certified.
SHRM certification has approved this webinar for 1 PDC toward SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP recertification. A program code will be provided at the end of the webinar.