Employers should be checking resumes in 2010, as an increasing number of candidates with over-inflated references could be entering the job market, due to the economy turning in a more positive direction.

The GFC meant managers in many industries were forced last year to retrench good staff - often people with whom they had formed close friendships in the workplace. "It could be that old employers, who have had to let good people go, are feeling sympathetic and are trying to get someone back into the industry.”