To be annoyed that recruiter CCed all candidates going to job interview

[Ygritte84]

Two emails were sent with the complete list of candidates in CC, with names and email addresses. Total breach of confidentiality, right?

I work in a small industry and people know each other. I will cross some of these people in my job.

Feeling very annoyed and also starting to doubt myself seeing the competition!

That’s really really bad.
I once bumped into a colleague at a job interview but it was by accident as the a Recruiter had arranged for is to be at times where there would be no crossover but due to a cock up he was coming out as I was going in
You should complain, I bet they are mortified

Would I hurt my chances if I complained at this stage?

Oh wow, they really screwed up. I'm pretty sure it goes very much against GDPR rules. I would file a complaint against the company

Yeah, that's really bad. I would be kicking up a fuss about that for sure.

That's terrible! Potential for huge real life consequences there. They should be shot (metaphorically)

I’d probably wait to see if I got the job first.

@Ygritte84

Would I hurt my chances if I complained at this stage?

I would report them to the local data protection authority, but I wouldn't tell them at this stage.

That’s a really really bad cock up.

Have you told the sender?

That is a data breach under GDPR. I would complain immediately and should not be repeated.

Serious breach of GDPR which is heavily fineable. You need to let them know immediately they will be mortified.

I haven't told the recruiter yet. Speaking with her tomorrow in advance of the interview but not sure I want to bring it up just yet.

But I will make a complaint later on, that's for sure.

Also feeling on a bit of a downer - I thought I was perfect for the job, but there are older people in the pool with many more years of experience.

I would have rather not have known and gone in all pumped up!

Wait till after your interview. If they happen to ask a relevant question during the interview you might be able to tell them.

Possibly they don't realise the recruiter (internal or external?) did this.

Tell them straight away, because they only have 72 hours to report the breach to the ICO, and might not yet be aware that it’s happened.

This shows them you are up on the regulations and conscientious, so should actually go in your favour.

Inside, though, you can still be incandescent with rage - it is such an awful thing to have happened.

That's terrible.
I'm the Secretary of a Sports Club and on my GDPR training I was told always to use BCC for mass emails. And that's for a club where the vast majority of people know each other and would have other people's contact details anyway, so if it's necessary for that, then for something that is actually confidential it is an absolute must! A recruiter really should know this kund of thing, and I would definitely raise it.

@MrsTulipTattsyrup

Tell them straight away, because they only have 72 hours to report the breach to the ICO, and might not yet be aware that it’s happened.

This shows them you are up on the regulations and conscientious, so should actually go in your favour.

Inside, though, you can still be incandescent with rage - it is such an awful thing to have happened.

I think it's 72h from the time they find out a breach has occurred. So OP can definitely wait until she knows the results of her interview. She's not responsible for helping them avoid a fine anyways.

You might still be perfect for the job. Some of the more experienced candidates might have unrealistic salary expectations, or be unsuitable in other ways. Good luck!

@mocktail

You might still be perfect for the job. Some of the more experienced candidates might have unrealistic salary expectations, or be unsuitable in other ways. Good luck!

Thank you

Omg that is really bad.

If you report it, it shows how on the ball you are!

As pp said, you have as good a chance as anyone else to get the job, wishing you the best of luck!

I'd tell them straightaway, they may give you the job to stop you complaining ;-)

Not excusing them but I bet it was a mistake and the person meant to Bcc - it’s easily done.

@Shesaysso

Not excusing them but I bet it was a mistake and the person meant to Bcc - it’s easily done.

Most probably yes, but it's a pretty serious breach of GDPR and I absolutely would be contacting the recruitment agency to discuss. I wouldn't wait until the interview.

Amused by some of the comments here.

You can't just complain to the regulator without speaking to the organisation first, the organisation needs to be given an opportunity to rectify the breach and if they aren't even aware then that's not going to happen is it!

If you remain dissatisfied with the steps they have taken to contain the breach, then you can escalate but you do need to provide evidence of your original conversations with the org.

It is an easy mistake to make but it won't have been intentional. Let them provide you with validation of their long term remedial measures to prevent it happening again.

I think you need to tell them in a professional way so they can apologise. That's about all they can do now the cats or of the bag. If you don't it will hang between you like a bad smell. Graciously accept the apology (cos unless you're going to sue them for professional damages what else are you going to do) and then based on their reaction service if you still want to work for them.

Service =decide