Would this be immoral?

[cliveandrews]

I'm interested in moving to another city, but in weighting the pro's and con's, I would like to get a better idea of what my job prospects would be when I get there. Would it be immoral to craft a dummy resume with similar credentials to mine and submit it to online job postings as a way to survey my prospects? I would have no intention of taking a job right now if someone were to respond. My logic says that yes, this is immoral since it would essentially amount to lying and therefore wasting the recipients' time.

Edited August 20, 2013 by cliveandrews

[De Gaul]

Sending out a dummy resume might be immoral, as it is indeed, deceptive....but, sending out your actual resume would not be.  Why not just send your resume out to various companies and see how they respond?  After all, submission of a resume is not a promise to take a job.  If any of the companies show an interest in you, just let them know that you are considering a number of other options right now, and you'll get back to them after you've come to a decision, should they still be interested in you.  Or, you could be completely upfront with the HR division of the companies you are interested in and just send a cover letter with your resume explaining that you are considering moving to the area and are trying to get a feel for the job market there.  Ask them to respond if they might be interested in taking you on, as that would influence your decision to move.

 

Being completely honest is usually the solution to any worries about deception.  It is only with total honesty that people can behave rationally together.

[secondhander]

I'd think yes, largely for the reason in your last sentence.

 

Why don't you just post your real resume, and not take a job if it doesn't suit your needs. As long as there is a possibility that, should the right offer come, along you'd consider taking a job, then I don't see anything wrong with sending a resume knowing that you'd say no to a lot of offers. 

[Reidy]

I'd call it market research, not dishonesty.  Bear in mind that prospective employers and recruiters will be calling you, and you'll never know what they had to say unless you give your real phone number.  Anonymity may be harder to maintain than you think.

 

Another possibility is to post your résumé on the job boards (e.g. Dice, Monster) with the option to hide your name and contact information.  Dice calls this "confidential."  Anybody who sees the résumé and wants to talk will contact you through an email generated at the job board.  You're free to get back to him or not.  The suggestion in #3 also makes sense.

[cliveandrews]

The reason I don't want to send my real resume is that I'm afriad they'll be biased against a non-local candidate. Why call me back when they can get someone who doesn't have to relocate?

[Dante]

The reason I don't want to send my real resume is that I'm afriad they'll be biased against a non-local candidate. Why call me back when they can get someone who doesn't have to relocate?

 

Well it should be obvious to them that you're thinking about relocating anyways; otherwise, you wouldn't be sending your resume to them.  I really don't see any reason not to send your actual resume.  You might very well get a job prospect, or at least some kind of connection, out of it, and you don't want that to be based on falsehoods.