Is a recruiter applying without my knowledge?

5 Comments

1. AnonymousSeptember 21,2024 at 2:08PM UTC

   Either way, it sounds shady. Do you know what recruiter it may have been? Can you contact them to find out? Third-party recruiters have been known to do strange things, so I would contact them ONLY if you have worked with them and have a decent relationship. Otherwise, they just may be testing to verify that you are still actively looking and that your email address is still valid. Unless it is a quick application type of process and there aren't follow-up questions or signatures required, she may have submitted a resume, and that is it.

2. Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition SpecialistSeptember 22,2024 at 2:45AM UTC

   I would contact the company you received the rejection from. If a recruiter is submitting candidates without their permission, I can't believe they wouldn't want to know that.

   Many recruiting agency/temp companies have candidates sign a "right to represent".

   I would start by trying to find either the Director of Recruiting, VP of Talent Acquisition - something along those lines and reach out to them.

   If you can't get hold of them by calling the company, send a message through LinkedIN - Use a subject line of something like "I think I was fraudulently submitted to your company by a recruiter".

   This sounds shady and unethical to me.

3. Sheila PhieldsSeptember 22,2024 at 12:22PM UTC

   I think that it can happen these days. I was contacted by a recruiter last week for a low paying role. Even after our discussion where I stated I wasn’t interested, she sent the RTR (right to represent) which I declined. This job market is unlike any I’ve experienced. I’m contacted for positions where I’m not qualified and rejected for roles where I’m a strong candidate. Makes no sense.

4. AnonymousSeptember 22,2024 at 3:51PM UTC

   When you provide your resume to any 3rd party recruiter and do not cap whom they can send your resume to, this may happen. The good firms would never do this but if they are hunting for assignments they might use you as bait. This is clearly what happened. Send a cease and desist letter to the firm and specifically the CEO of that firm and call out the recruiter who did this. This is shady business and without your permission they used you for their own purposes. As an aside should in the future you use any 3rd party agencies know that they work on commission often don't have job orders and do this. If someone reaches out to you about a role and you know that agency has your data be sure to put in writing that they are not to submit you or that they have your permission to only submit you for that one role. I would also reach out to the company that rejected you and reach out through linkedin to the Head of Talent or HR and let them know that this agency did this. It will limit the agencies ability to further engage and you should also ask that company to purge your data (unless you don't want them to) but let them know this was done without your permission or knowledge. No, you are not paranoid. Ignoring the 3rd party companies is not the way to deal with this, sending them a firm no interest is.

5. Krystin MorganSeptember 23,2024 at 9:58PM UTC

   That is so strange—it's NOT normal for a third-party recruiter to just apply to jobs on your behalf. It does seem possible that's what happened here, but it's very bizarre.