If you’ve ever told a few white lies on your résumé, you’re not alone. Though, Workday co-founder and CEO Aneel Bhusri may have found a way to make embellished resumes a thing of the past.
In July 2019, Workday gave its partners a sneak peek into its new blockchain-powered credentialing platform at a conference. At the time it was still in its testing stages, but just last month Bhusri spoke with CNBC's Squawk Box about its imminent implementation. “Blockchain is a technology looking for a problem to solve,” he told the anchors in January. “We found one to solve, which is credentials.”
So how does it work? “Employees can go from company to company and carry credentials with them in a private network. It can’t be edited by an outside source,” he explained to the panel. “It gives employees power over data,” Bhusri continued. “Universities can also make sure that diplomas cited by job seekers are real.” Workday has partnered with First Advantage for background-screening technology.
With the company currently managing over 100 million credentials and certificates, blockchain is a smart choice to not only issue, manage, and verify credentials but also to protect this data. While it may seem that way at first, this isn't just about keeping people accountable. Workday also hopes to help individuals keep track of their credentials, eliminate paper-based certificates while allowing access to qualifications securely.
Blockchain credentialing simplifies a time-consuming yet necessary process and other companies are already on board. Top universities around the world, including Berkley and Harvard, have consolidated efforts to develop free services based on blockchain where students can store and share academic credentials from a number of sources. Just last year, five leading healthcare providers, including National Government Services, Spectrum Health, WellCare, and Accenture signed up to use a blockchain credentialing system from ProCredEx in the hope of resolving administrative inefficiencies. While three months ago, tech giant IBM launched its blockchain credentials platform for academic and professional qualifications in the hopes of streamlining hiring processes.
According to a recent report from Ellucian, digital degrees and credentials are already gaining trust. Fifty-two percent of recruiters and 58 percent of students said they trust digital credentials.
The future may be bright for blockchain but this also means the end is nigh for jobseekers with a penchant for bluffing.
