Candidates – who’s representing you?

It’s the age-old ‘quality over quantity’ debate. You might be desperate for some CV exposure, but throw it out to the big, wide world – without knowing exactly who has access to it – and you risk spreading yourself too thin.

Because here’s the thing: companies are fed up with CV duplicates. They don’t want to be caught in the middle of two or more competing agencies representing the same candidate. In fact, a lot of companies get so peeved when this happens, they refuse to even consider candidate CVs sent to them by more than one source.

Your CV might be kick-ass. You might have all the skills and experience required and you might suit a company’s culture to a tee. But if your CV is coming at that company from all different angles, you might not even get a look-in. What a waste.

The solution? A right to represent

If you want to land dream opportunities and don’t want your CV getting lost in the ether, then you’ll want to consider signing a right to represent (RTR).

It’s pretty much what it says on the tin: an agreement stating that you, the candidate, gives the recruiter exclusive rights to represent you for a certain opportunity.

Now, don’t be hasty: before signing anything, make sure you’re pairing up with a well-respected, trusted, tech recruiter who works with your best interests at heart (*cough* Revoco *cough*). The terms and conditions of the agreement should be available to you, so you can check you’re happy with them before proceeding.

Companies are fans of RTRs – in fact, many ask for them when advertising roles – because they’re proof the recruiter has taken the time to thoroughly vet the candidate and make sure they’re the right fit. It’s essentially a guarantee of quality.

With an RTR in place, you may get first dibs on an opportunity before the company starts to consider CVs from candidates without such an agreement in place. In this way, it could prove invaluable in helping you land your dream job, fast.

And, speaking from experience, it saves the recruiter a lot of hassle, too. We don’t want to reach out to a company, only to discover your CV has been submitted multiple times already. That’s wasted time that we could have invested into delivering a fantastic candidate experience, supporting you in your job search.

It’s important to know you’re in safe hands when it comes to working with a recruiter. Sometimes you might find a company who are so frustrated with duplicate CVs, they refuse to interview a suitable candidate through any agency for fear that they’ll have to pay twice or face costly legal battles!

When starting a job search, I’d advise job seekers to be selective on which recruiter they work with & try to keep them to a minimum of 2 or 3 to minimize confusion.

A decent RTR benefits the candidate, recruiter and company. It’s a win-win… win!? Want to find out why we’re the best people to represent you in your next tech role? Get in touch today.

For more blogs from Iain, click here.