Did you know that some agencies are sending resumes without even getting the OK of the candidate first?!

Clearly the candidate’s privacy has been violated. They may not want to have their resume broadcasted. What happens if they are already working for you? If the recruiter fails at this simple task – what else are they not doing?

You might not think this is a big deal. You may even think this will speed up the process for you, but let me show you why it does not.

They may not want to work for you.
You can guarantee that if they have not told the candidate who you are – they have also not told the candidate about your role or your company. You then find yourself wasting time with the recruiter. The recruiter will have to go back to the candidate and sell them your role; chances are they may not be interested. Salary expectations, location, type of work etc.

The Candidate may not even be looking for work at all!
This type of operator is just going to their database and copy and pasting and sending you a resume.

You get bogged down by a flood of resumes.
Recruiters are supposed to save you time! By sending you candidates that have not been screened properly you end up wasting your time.

It makes your Brand look unethical.
Recruiters represent you in the market place. If they are acting unethical, you can bet that your name will attached to that behavior as you engaged them.

It creates a political nightmare for you and your suppliers.
What happens when another recruiter locates, screens them and puts them forward after the unethical recruiter has submitted them to you? Do you really think that the unethical recruiter deserves a fee for their service? The second recruiter will most likely have asked the candidate if they have been submitted when they first screened them. If you tell the second recruiter, who is doing all the right things that you already have the resume…what do you think is going through their mind? I can bet they will be thinking “Hang on. Is the candidate telling me lies or is it my client?”

So why do they do it?

Lazy, undertrained, maybe even just wanting to be fast. Who really knows except the recruiter? Recruiters are paid on introduction. If they broadcast a resume they are hoping that they will beat the candidate either applying directly to you or via another agency.

Last week it happened to me.

I had screened an excellent Senior Web developer. I asked if he had heard of my client. He said no. So I represented him to my client. I managed to secure an interview for him. Then, on the day of the interview, my client advises me that she had just discovered that another agency had represented him before I had.

Luckily for me I had fostered a very close relationship with this client. She asked me to advise the candidate not to contact the other agent about the interview. To me that did not sit right. I knew that she had never used an agency before so I explained to her that even though I was flattered, if the other agency had done the work they’d deserve the fee. She stated that since sending the resume, she had never heard again from that agent (over two weeks) wherein I had been following up everyday or two adding value to the process. So I said I would instead talk with the candidate and find out what had happened.

In these circumstances I know the candidate just wants a job; I also know that the client wants the best person for the role. Whichever agency fulfills that at the time is of minor consequence. Sure, maybe next time when they chose a recruiter or want to recommend a recruiter – they’ll do so based on service and quality. But right now they don’t really care that much.
Candidates that do not have a strong grasp of the English language often apply to the same employer via more than one agency. This is usually by accident.

So I rang the candidate. First I allowed him the space to honest. This conversation goes something like this…
“How has your job hunting been going? Hard to keep track of who you have applied for? Yes I know that story, you’re not the only one…by the way did you know that another agency had represented you to my client?”

The response I received was honest shock. The candidate had only placed his resume with three agencies – MACRO, a large floated IT agency and an agency that he could not remember but the recruiter’s name was Michael. Only MACRO had told him of the client.

So I rang the employer back and explained the situation. Yes “Michael” was the recruiter that had sent the resume. He has also sent 12 other resumes of questionable relevance to the vacancy!

The employer rang Michael, asked for the phone details of all 12 other candidates and rang them. They discovered that all 12 did not know that their resume had been presented to the employer until that day. Needless to say the candidates and the employer then rang Michael and his boss and gave them a serve. After some strong words on both sides the other recruitment firm walked away from any ties to the placement fee.

Our candidate was interviewed last Friday. I expect him to get the role.
On this occasion despite the annoyance, it worked out ok for the candidate, in many cases it does not go so well.

So what can be done about this?

First – clearly advise the recruiter that you don’t want resumes sent to you without the candidate’s consent.

Secondly – black ban the recruiter from doing business with you. I know quite a few HR staff that have a black list on unethical suppliers. We even have one ourselves.

Third, complain to RCSA
RCSA is a self appointed ethics body for the recruitment industry. This may result in a fine to the agency.

And finally complain to the Recruiter’s boss if you find out it has occurred. This is the most effective slap in the face to the recruiter. It also sends a message to Director that their team needs better management.

Most recruiters are trying to the right thing. Most recruiters take pride in their work and demand professional behavior from their peers. As in every industry there are cowboys that bring the industry into disrepute. The recruitment industry as a body tries to monitor this and self-cleanse.

With your help we can do this faster.