"Trevor, a recruiter has asked me to provide my Authority to Represent. Does this mean they will send my resume to the client?" Not necessarily....
I often get asked this question. Whilst the answer should be an easy one, it's not.
Most people have heard of the Authority to Represent Form, especially job seekers and recruiters.
By the early 2000s, ATRs became standard to prevent double representation and confirm agreed remuneration and availability.
The recruitment industry considers the use of ATR best practice. It makes good sense.
However, does providing an Authority to Represent Form to a recruiter mean that the recruiter will send your resume to the client?
Not necessarily.
Wait. You've sent back your Authority to Represent Form and your resume is not sent?
WTF?
Yep. It happens.
The job of a recruiter is to pick up vacancies, quickly find candidates, represent three, send resumes to the client, pick up the next vacancy, repeat, repeat, repeat. They have to work fast because they are always competing against other recruiters, so speed is king.
But sometimes they agree to represent more than three candidates, more than they need. So, what do they do?
The ethical thing to do would be let the surplus candidates know that they are not being sent so they can find another recruiter to represent them. Right?
But this doesn't happen all the time. Some recruiters don't tell surplus candidates they're not being sent. Even worse, some recruiters purposely represent more suitable candidates than they need to stop other recruiters from representing them.
Yes, it happens. It's true. And what's worse, you'll never find out. You'll never get feedback. You'll just assume you weren't successful and you'll move on.
In 2024, a Talentology IT Talent Community member, “Bill,” provided an ATR to a top recruiter for a Scrum Master role at a major bank. Assured his resume was sent, he was then ghosted for weeks. When I intervened, the recruiter’s manager admitted Bill’s resume was never submitted, costing him the $280k job opportunity.
Not happy Jan!
Want my advice? ATRs are an important best practice of the recruitment industry, but it should be a two-way street.
If you provide an ATR to a recruiter, ask the recruiter to reply to you in writing confirming that they WILL be sending your resume to the client.
If they don't, raise a complain to the recruiter's manager, their client and their industry body, APSCo.
There is no room for unethical conduct in recruitment. No room at all!
The bottom line - work with reputable recruiters that you trust. They are out there.
It's just a shame that the not-so-good ones spoil it for the good ones.
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