The Importance of Protecting Your Privacy

All this recent talk about Facebook and privacy in the media has got me thinking…

• Do you know where your CV or personal information is being sent by recruitment agencies?
• Who do you choose and trust to represent your best interests?
• How do you know how to choose these people?

In the past week we have had a situation where I interviewed a great candidate whose director was not aware that they were looking for a new position.  A pretty standard situation – we don’t often come across candidates who have informed their employer they are looking to move on.

Prior to meeting with me, the candidate had been called by another recruitment agency, who did not offer to meet personally, but proceeded to use their personal information to create a profile online about them on their website.

This profile was then bulk emailed out to their entire employer database with all the candidates private information attached – including his photograph and full name. May I reiterate… this candidate had not given his permission for this to happen nor for him to be identified as someone looking for work.

Many agencies do this as a quick way to list new business and impress prospective clients without considering the affect it can have on the candidate’s livelihood or current employment.

Luckily, the candidates current manager did not find out and they are still employed. We all know the outcome could have been a very different story.

How can you avoid these situations? What do RECD do differently?

1. Be very wary when choosing the recruiter you apply for a job with… not all recruiters are ethical and abide by privacy laws.
2. Read reviews of the recruiter on line (Google/ Facebook) before you apply to them. No reviews available? Consider that a bad sign.
3. We will meet with you, assess your career opportunities and match you to the most appropriate opportunities.
4. We take a more proactive approach to recruitment and tailor who we contact for your search.
5. You can be assured with RECD that we will not send through your personal information without your prior consent. We have a big network of clients that we have worked with for years who trust our services – we do not list business in this way.
6. Know your rights – read the Privacy Act!

Keep in touch if you know someone who needs confidential advice about looking for their next role. Give us a call anytime to refer a friend. We can ensure you we will represent all our candidates the right way.