When client companies say they already have the resume you sent in their database from several years ago.

Hello,
I'm sure you have all discussed this before, but I am new to recruitingblogs.com so I apologize if this is a duplication.
I ran into a situation today, that actually happens frequently and am not sure how others might address this.
I sent a resume to a client company today, after thoroughly screening the candidate and confirming that the candidate had not sent her resume to my client of course.

After submitting the resume and summary, I was emailed by the client who told me that they are sorry but they already had this resume in their database from a couple of years ago.

I then pointed out that the candidate said she had never spoken to them. We were the moving party etc. But for our efforts, they would not know this particular candidate was even available etc.

In most cases I can refer to our contract which states that if the company has not been in contact with our candidate in the prior 6 months that we can be credited as source of referrral but unfortunately this contract was ambiguous and didn't address timeframes.

Lately, I have had this feeling that we are in the 'heads up' business and am curious as to what others do about this.

Thank you,

Debbie

Comment by Jim Durbin on January 20, 2009 at 8:05pm: Debbie - the best advice is here from Paul Hawkinson.

If you don't have a strong relationship with executives in the company, or aren't the first point of contact, fire the company and immediately turn them into a target. That, or if you're the nicer sort, wait until that particular HR person is gone.

Sometimes it's an internal thing - I knew a girl who would get yelled at when recruiters had to be paid fees, and this was her response - to search the database and Monster when you sent in a candidate.

Other options include clarifying with the internal person that they are comfortable with you marketing the candidate to other companies, including those that pay more or have better benefits. Their response will be telling.

You can raise your fees on them - tell them since they've changed the type of candidate they want, a search is more difficult, or you can ask them what they would like you to do the next time you find a candidate that may be in their database. Again, their response will be telling.

Seriously though - unless it's a client you've worked with before that you have many contacts with - turn them into a target and move on - and next time, negotiate that contract upfront, get good candidate control, and work with clients who understand what recruiters do.

Comment by Jim Canto on January 22, 2009 at 1:46pm: Nothing to add at the moment.. but, I'm looking forward to this discussion.

Comment by Geri Kleeman on January 22, 2009 at 2:06pm: It's ridiculous for a client to say they have a candidate in the "database". I am working with another recruiter on a split - he presented a candidate to me that's in my database - I had not spoke to the candidate in 1 1/2 years - it's certainly his candidate and not mine! Just because some resume is sitting there from 2 years ago - big deal. When screening for the search you need to ask if they have already exhausted all internal efforts. Personally, I would never take a project where a client told me that. Also, add a line to your contract. Anyone have a good contract line?

Comment by Debbie Peda on January 22, 2009 at 2:12pm: All of these comments have been helpful. This is a tough situation for me because I just made 2 placements with this company and the checks are due next month. (Lets hope I get paid)
They have only said this twice now so it is not everytime we send a resume. But 2 times, seems too much I think. We are hesitant to send any resumes going forward. May need to ask them to agree to a contract re-write that includes a timeframe such as 6 months. Debbie

Comment by Scott Love on January 22, 2009 at 2:24pm: I wouldn't put them in my crosshairs as a target just yet because they said this. Spite is always a poor motivation to do business.

Instead, investigate.

Perhaps they already had it presented to them by another recruiter. That's just the way it is if it's true. If so, find out when? Did the candidate present their info on their own? Was it presented by another recruiter? Check it out.

I had one client who got the resume from another recruiter who worked for a very large single-site firm in Dallas. The recruiter had been in the business a long time and should have known better, but the candidate did NOT give him permission to present his resume. Against the wishes of the candidate and without his knowledge, the recruiter presented him to the company anyway. I found out all of this after my client said, "We already have him in our database." I checked it out with the candidate, the candidate confirmed what had happened, and I told my client. My client told the other recruiter that he wasn't going to pay him and stopped working with him because of his recruiting practices, and I got the fee. The answer to your questions starts with the two words that I give to everyone I coach in the business... "It depends...".

If they say, "Hey, I know that guy." I always say, "Great. That should make things go smoother then." If they try to wiggle out of the fee because the candidate is a friend or someone they know, I educate them. I tell them that I get paid based on my value of bringing the CANDIDACY of someone, not just their name. If I would get paid for every name I presented, I would give them a phone book and tell them I'd send them an invoice when they hired someone from it. So the issue isn't do they know someone, but did they know about someone's candidacy. (I know that's a separate issue from your question but thought I would bring it up.)

But always check out the truth and be reluctant to get pissed and make them a target so quickly. Always give people the benefit of the doubt, and just like our policy with the Soviets on nuclear weapons in the cold war, employ a "TRUST BUT VERIFY" attitude.

Good luck!
Scott

www.recruitingmastery.com

Comment by Kathleen Davis on January 22, 2009 at 2:25pm: In recent months i have asked candidates to give me a list of companies that they have sent their resume to. I am not going to waste my time with duplicating my efforts only to have a client tell me they already have that resume. I am having good luck with this. I am a contingency recruiter and my time is valuable. With so many people out of work, candidates don't realize that if they send their resume to every company in the world, and respond to every ad in the paper, working with them is pretty much a wash. I have tried to focus my candidates to see the value of working with a recruiter and it seems to alleviate the problem. Most of my clients i have worked with for many years, and if they do tell me they have that candidate, i always follow up with the candidate to make sure the client does not hire them out from under me. I have never had a problem with that happening. Geri, i agree with you. I worked a split and did have the candidate that the other recruiter was working with but i had not talked to that person in a few years so it was their candidate, not mine. Companies...seem to be a different story. I would be specific in my contract with them on that issue then you always have your bases covered.
Kathleen Davis, President, KzDavis Recruiting

Comment by Geri Kleeman on January 22, 2009 at 2:37pm: Scott - As usual - love your information! Debbie said they had the candidate in their database from a couple of years ago, so I'm thinking it's someone no one has spoken to since.
I'm putting a sign on my desk that says "it depends". Do you put wording in your contract to cover that problem? It's not something I really run into(knock on wood) but I think it's a good issue to cover.

Comment by Debbie Peda on January 22, 2009 at 2:39pm: We always ask our candidates if they have spoken to our client companies in the prior year.
This one indicated no and didn't even seem to be familiar with the company. The company told us it was a resume in their database from a couple of years ago so they may have just pulled it from a job board and dumped in their database. I am curious Kathleen and others, what timeframe do you typically use with clients. I see 1 year or 6 months a lot.

Comment by Debbie Peda on January 22, 2009 at 2:41pm: I have this covered in my typical agreement but this client had me sign her contract and I didn't notice that this area wasn't included. Shame on me!

Comment by Dan Arkind on January 22, 2009 at 2:47pm: In my contingent recruiting days this started becomming a problem, regularly, about 10 years ago. As you pointed out, we modified our contracts to reflect that representation of the candidate was dependent on two issues:

1. The *first* agency to represent a candidate for a specific position
2. The agency designated *by the candidate* as their representative.

As Jim points out above, however, no matter what's on paper what really matters is your relationship with the people at your client. If your client is not awarding you credit for a candidate because "we have a three year old resume on file" this is indicative of larger issues.

Our goal, ultimately, was to ask that our clients put same rules in effect for all of their vendors. i.e. - we wanted to have everyone playing by the same rules because this way we knew when we submitted someone there wouldn't be a problem.

#2 was a clause that we first saw on a Microsoft recruiting contract, and we made it part of our standard practice...

The reason we did this was because it rewarded recruiters who actually built relationships with candidates and "secured their premission" to represent them. There was never a question in our mind whether a candidate was going to designate us as a vendor because we had:

1. Screened them and written up a pros-and-cons summary
2. Asked the candidate if they had ever interviewed with the client or submitted their resume in the past - and disclosed this information along with the submission.
3. Specifically asked the candidates for permission to submit them to the client.

I know this sounds like a lot of work, but its a full proof way to avoid this problem- and it sets and amazing precedent with the client and greatly increases the likelyhood of your candidates getting an interview - they know you are "earning your keep" with each resume submission.

I agree Jim, hoever, that if the client doesn't want to work this way, you should likely move on.