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kerosene · 12-18-2006, 07:45 PM

I was going through this application/interview process for several months before finally landing a permanent job. I found the confidential job listing concept kind of funny, but frustrating in most cases. After talking to dozens of recruiters from all different agencies about countless "jobs" (most were not full time or direct with their client) I determined that recruiters do this for one or more of the following reasons:

1. The recruiter is trying to fill the position at a large company who uses the service of many agencies. If they revealed the name of the company right off, nothing would stop competing agencies from advertising the same "lead" (position) and stealing their contract unless the client company has made an exclusive agreement with one agency. This scenario seemed somewhat common in my experience.

The most frustrating aspect of this scenario for me was the fact that I didn't know to whom I was applying for the position and if more than one recruiter submits the same candidate's information, the client will not consider them (I actually have my doubts about the truth in that, but I have been told this by several recruiters. It could be a bold face lie, for the purpose of limiting the recruiter's competition.) If it were true, I wouldn't necessarily know whether or not I was being "double-submitted" and could be applying for the same job 6 times instead of applying for 6 different similar positions.

2. Sometimes the client company requests that they remain confidential in job postings, I suspect because they don't want job searchers approaching them directly. If the job is a contract position, it is likely that the company cannot (for budget or internally political reasons) create a direct-hire requisition, so they play the work-around game and hire contractors that serve a limited term in the position.

3. If a recruiter is posting the position it could be confidential for the purposes of attracting the highest number of possible candidates. If the company name is listed, they run the risk of deterring qualified candidates from the position due to any personal negative feelings about their client before the recruiter even has a chance to see the candidate's credentials. If the recruiter sees something he/she likes, and finds out the candidate will absolutely "not" work for ABC Corp. the recruiter can then either sell the position with other benefits of working in the position or match the candidate with any other opportunities that may be available.

You may be able to tell that I suspect this is a contract or contract-to-hire situation. It may not be, but that is just my suspicion. I would not worry about the confidentiality on your part...it was obviously in plain text in the description, so if it was a recruiter mistake, they can filter out anything that would get from you to the client to save their own ass. If it is a client, well, then you are going to find out who they are sooner than later, anyway. I think it shows that you don't let anything get past you to actually mention the name. Think "detail oriented." Usually, by the time the recruiter calls, you can have a list of questions which should include "Who is the client?"

12-18-2006, 07:45 PM	#3
kerosene Touring the facilities Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: The plains of Colorado Posts: 3,476	I was going through this application/interview process for several months before finally landing a permanent job. I found the confidential job listing concept kind of funny, but frustrating in most cases. After talking to dozens of recruiters from all different agencies about countless "jobs" (most were not full time or direct with their client) I determined that recruiters do this for one or more of the following reasons: 1. The recruiter is trying to fill the position at a large company who uses the service of many agencies. If they revealed the name of the company right off, nothing would stop competing agencies from advertising the same "lead" (position) and stealing their contract unless the client company has made an exclusive agreement with one agency. This scenario seemed somewhat common in my experience. The most frustrating aspect of this scenario for me was the fact that I didn't know to whom I was applying for the position and if more than one recruiter submits the same candidate's information, the client will not consider them (I actually have my doubts about the truth in that, but I have been told this by several recruiters. It could be a bold face lie, for the purpose of limiting the recruiter's competition.) If it were true, I wouldn't necessarily know whether or not I was being "double-submitted" and could be applying for the same job 6 times instead of applying for 6 different similar positions. 2. Sometimes the client company requests that they remain confidential in job postings, I suspect because they don't want job searchers approaching them directly. If the job is a contract position, it is likely that the company cannot (for budget or internally political reasons) create a direct-hire requisition, so they play the work-around game and hire contractors that serve a limited term in the position. 3. If a recruiter is posting the position it could be confidential for the purposes of attracting the highest number of possible candidates. If the company name is listed, they run the risk of deterring qualified candidates from the position due to any personal negative feelings about their client before the recruiter even has a chance to see the candidate's credentials. If the recruiter sees something he/she likes, and finds out the candidate will absolutely "not" work for ABC Corp. the recruiter can then either sell the position with other benefits of working in the position or match the candidate with any other opportunities that may be available. You may be able to tell that I suspect this is a contract or contract-to-hire situation. It may not be, but that is just my suspicion. I would not worry about the confidentiality on your part...it was obviously in plain text in the description, so if it was a recruiter mistake, they can filter out anything that would get from you to the client to save their own ass. If it is a client, well, then you are going to find out who they are sooner than later, anyway. I think it shows that you don't let anything get past you to actually mention the name. Think "detail oriented." Usually, by the time the recruiter calls, you can have a list of questions which should include "Who is the client?"