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Recently I responded to a request from a recruiter of a UK-based, "award-winning" recruitment company. We talked on the phone, and the recruiter proposed to submit my profile to a project as well as proactively submit it to companies. I responded by email, rejecting both proposals since I did not find them convincing.

It has now come to my attention that the recruiter is nonetheless sending my profile, with the following claim:

as an example of a freelancer that I am currently working with, I have attached the (anonymised) profile of an active candidate.

The profile is not anonymised though as it starts with my name. The PDF has been edited to contain the recruitment company's logo. It contains my CV, project references and skills. My profile is available for download from my website. However, I would claim that this is copyrighted material and personal information that is not free for use without permission.

  • I find the recruiter's behavior unethical and potentially damaging to my reputation and business. It is staggering what some recruiters are trying to get away with. I don't intend to let them. What are my options with respect to a response?
  • What damage could result from this?
  • In what ways could the actions of the recruiter be against the law? Areas I can imagine are data protection laws, copyright laws, laws protecting business and personal reputation...
  • Are there precedent cases for this kind of "false representation"? Is it common?
  • Can you see a rationale behind the recruiter's behavior?
cls
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  • I like this question, but I recon you´ll get much better answers in law.se, at least for the first 3 bullet points... – Daniel Jun 27 '18 at 09:39
  • @Daniel Probably, and I hope cross-posting this is okay, since I am specifically interested in feedback from fellow freelancers too. – cls Jun 27 '18 at 10:56
  • Yeah I think it's far more a legal question than a freelance question. It is unethical and damaging. Someone else, anyone else, using your information as "currency" is never "okay" without permission. I'd be up for legal action here. I don't know what input freelancers in general will have other than if it does or does not concern them. – Scott Jun 27 '18 at 16:22
  • "I hope cross-posting this is okay" - cross-posting is, alas, *never* okay on any Stack Exchange sites. – Mawg says reinstate Monica Oct 01 '18 at 14:35

1 Answers1

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There is no need not to come down with a sledgehammer, nor to worry. They have no right to do that without your consent and they know it.

Send them an e-mail firmly asking to withdraw your CV and abstain from using it. Demand an acknowledgement of that e-mail. It is also good to remind the previous message.

If no acknowledgement comes, send them a registered letter with the same content. This step will most probably not be needed.