To go over the recruiters head?

BabblesDevine · 2023-09-27T12:55:51+00:00

I applied for a job that would have been a great fit for me through an agency. The recruiter sent me the job spec in a PDF that included the line "please apply to X person at X email address". I sent the recruiter my stuff and I'm pretty sure they never sent along my application. WIBU to contact the person at the company with my CV and basically say "I love your company, here's my CV and the cover letter I initially wrote you, please do get in touch if anything else comes up"?

User183642 · 27/09/2023 13:58

YABU.
Unfortunately once you have applied for a job through an agency that agency then owned your candidacy for that particular job and you cannot apply through other channels. This is to protect agencies from candidates and employers cutting them out in order to avoid the payment of fees.

CherryMaDeara · 27/09/2023 14:01

Of course you should send it to the person at the company.

It’s not your job to protect the agency’s commission.

lemonsaretheonlyfruit · 27/09/2023 14:09

Recruiter here. What makes you think that it was never sent? Have you asked the recruiter outright and what did they say?

If you have good reason to believe that they didn't submit your CV, and you are pretty certain then I don't think it would hurt to contact the business direct . (I don't think just not hearing anything back yet is a concrete enough reason btw - these things can take ages)

I would say hi X. I'm really interested in your company and x role. I'm not sure if my CV has found it's way to you via a recruitment company (no recruitment company name) I have been talking to or not.

Would you mind letting me know if you have my CV on file please?

If they haven't then you apply direct
If they have then perhaps you weren't considered right for the role.

The only caveat is that .. is it likely that this recruiter will have other things for you? If so I would tread carefully and not name them or piss them off too much!

At best you apply yourself and see where it goes. The recruiter hasn't done what they said they would do.

At worst, you don't get an interview and you move on.

Good luck!

Frabbits · 27/09/2023 14:15

Companies use recruitment agencies to avoid dealing directly with large numbers of candidates. Cheeky as fuck to go direct and when we recruit anyone applying directly is an instabin.

lemonsaretheonlyfruit · 27/09/2023 14:18

Can you see the job advertised on the company website? If so they are obviously open to direct applicants.

Fieldofbrokenpromises · 27/09/2023 14:19

Frabbits · 27/09/2023 14:15

Companies use recruitment agencies to avoid dealing directly with large numbers of candidates. Cheeky as fuck to go direct and when we recruit anyone applying directly is an instabin.

Crikey - what a shit organisation with massively discriminatory recruitment processes. Hope I never have the misfortune to apply there.

Original poster

BabblesDevine · 27/09/2023 14:24

@lemonsaretheonlyfruit
I asked the recruiter a week later for an update and they said the job was gone but there would be something else opening up at that company and they would keep me informed. I was surprised not to be invited for an interview as its my area of expertise so thought I'd at least get to interview stage.
The are no ads on the company website.
I wasn't going to apply for that particular job but rather just contact the person at the company directly and tell them I'm interested in any future roles.
But at the same time I don't want them to think as mentioned above that I'm cheeky as fuck!

OP posts:

lemonsaretheonlyfruit · 27/09/2023 14:25

@Frabbits yes this surprises me too. Most of my clients would jump at the chance to hire someone without paying a fee to my company. So if an amazing candidate applied direct they wouldn't even get their CV looked at even if they were better than the recruiters candidates?

lemonsaretheonlyfruit · 27/09/2023 14:26

BabblesDevine · 27/09/2023 14:24

@lemonsaretheonlyfruit
I asked the recruiter a week later for an update and they said the job was gone but there would be something else opening up at that company and they would keep me informed. I was surprised not to be invited for an interview as its my area of expertise so thought I'd at least get to interview stage.
The are no ads on the company website.
I wasn't going to apply for that particular job but rather just contact the person at the company directly and tell them I'm interested in any future roles.
But at the same time I don't want them to think as mentioned above that I'm cheeky as fuck!

I would say nothing ventured nothing gained in that case. What's the worst that can happen?

Rollercoaster1920 · 27/09/2023 14:34

I would ask for feedback from the agency about why your application was unsuccessful first.
Possibly try to connect with the hiring manager on LinkedIn as an aside. Hiring managers often share jobs on LinkedIn for their network to apply to / recommend others to apply.

Puffinsandcreeks · 27/09/2023 14:37

Ask the agency why your application wasnt successful. If you've applied through a recruitment company you've probably signed an agreement that they can be your representatives so you could just create problems for yourself if you go direct, and you make yourself look a bit silly to companies if recruiters are sending your information out and you're going direct as well.

cocksstrideintheevening · 27/09/2023 14:51

I went over a recruiters head. He told me that my interview had been cancelled. I got a distinct feeling something was off. I was about to go on holiday so emailed the guy who was meant to be interviewing and asked if there was any way it could be squeezed in before I went.

Had the interview and got the job. He was impressed that I wanted the job enough to do that. Managed to negotiate a higher package because they didn't have to pay recruitment fees.

Been there five years now, turned out the agent had been pushing for a higher percentage on fees, been turned down and didn't like it.

Original poster

BabblesDevine · 27/09/2023 14:59

Interesting thoughts guys! I'm not too bothered about a hiring manager thinking I look silly or cheeky for emailing them, I think it shows a bit of impetus at least. I was just worried it would be illegal or against GDPR or something 😅

OP posts:

Fightyouforthatpie · 27/09/2023 15:01

User183642 · 27/09/2023 13:58

YABU.
Unfortunately once you have applied for a job through an agency that agency then owned your candidacy for that particular job and you cannot apply through other channels. This is to protect agencies from candidates and employers cutting them out in order to avoid the payment of fees.

In practice this is pretty hard to enforce.

Fightyouforthatpie · 27/09/2023 15:03

BabblesDevine · 27/09/2023 14:24

@lemonsaretheonlyfruit
I asked the recruiter a week later for an update and they said the job was gone but there would be something else opening up at that company and they would keep me informed. I was surprised not to be invited for an interview as its my area of expertise so thought I'd at least get to interview stage.
The are no ads on the company website.
I wasn't going to apply for that particular job but rather just contact the person at the company directly and tell them I'm interested in any future roles.
But at the same time I don't want them to think as mentioned above that I'm cheeky as fuck!

I wouldn't worry about an arrogant sneering internal recruiter thinking you were "cheeky as fuck" to have the temerity to apply for a job - that's clearly an organisation no reasonable person would want to work for anyway.

Original poster

BabblesDevine · 27/09/2023 15:41

@Fightyouforthatpie
I guess the worst they can do is hit delete 🤷‍♀️

OP posts:

Frabbits · 27/09/2023 22:53

Fightyouforthatpie · 27/09/2023 15:03

I wouldn't worry about an arrogant sneering internal recruiter thinking you were "cheeky as fuck" to have the temerity to apply for a job - that's clearly an organisation no reasonable person would want to work for anyway.

Show quote history

😂

Nothing to do with arrogance. I'm not a recruiter either, but if we are working with recruiters to fill specific roles (and, y'know, paying them) we are not doing so for the fucking fun of it. Lord knows most recruitment agencies are borderline useless so it's a last resort measure to do so.

If a candidate sends in a speculative application that's fine, but someone deliberately bypasses the agency who has already more than likely rejected them? Nope, in the bin. Sorry, that's how a lot of companies which are, y'know, busy, operate.

OP asked, that's the reality of it in a lot of organisations.

saltinesandcoffeecups · 27/09/2023 22:57

BabblesDevine · 27/09/2023 14:24

@lemonsaretheonlyfruit
I asked the recruiter a week later for an update and they said the job was gone but there would be something else opening up at that company and they would keep me informed. I was surprised not to be invited for an interview as its my area of expertise so thought I'd at least get to interview stage.
The are no ads on the company website.
I wasn't going to apply for that particular job but rather just contact the person at the company directly and tell them I'm interested in any future roles.
But at the same time I don't want them to think as mentioned above that I'm cheeky as fuck!

I’d be more inclined to think there wasn’t a job in the first place and this was a marketing technique for a shady recruiter

Doyoumind · 27/09/2023 23:09

Recruitment agents can be awful, some are good, but all have to earn a living. It's in their interests to find and put forward the strongest candidates and earn their fee, so it's unlikely they wouldn't have if there was a genuine role and you were a strong candidate.

You wouldn't have known about the role or maybe ever considered that company without the recruiter.

The recruiter will have a clause that means the company would be liable to pay a fee if they employed you within a certain period of the recruiter sharing your CV with them. I've seen this being enforced several times actually.

If a business relies on a recruiter for good candidates, they may not want to jeopardise that relationship for someone trying to bypass the process.

I'm not from a recruitment agency but I have used them many times to find roles and to find candidates. Maybe they placed someone in the role who they know will go on to use them in the future. It can be about long term relationships.