Employment/Consulting agencies with contracts are a truly viable option in this market, and I wholeheartedly endorse it as an option. I saw a question yesterday regarding this common practice from agencies; if you are not familiar with the concept it can look suspicious, but it is quite common.

It's not unusual for several agencies or consulting firms to have access to submitting candidates for the same position. A few companies will have "exclusive" contracts with an agency for one or more positions, but it is much more likely that they will be competing against other agencies. A “Right To Represent” (RTR) is permission you give an agency to represent you exclusively for a specific job. What this means is that you need to keep track of which agency is submitting you for what job/s, because multiple submissions to one job by different agencies will disqualify you from consideration. They may ask you for the last 4 numbers of your SS/Tax ID number and with the rise of virtual interview fraud, an agency may also request a copy of your driver's license. Offer to show your driver's license/ID with them in a Zoom call, but do not send a copy until you have an offer on the table.

• Before you share your DL, make sure that this agency is a bona fide employer. There has been a rise in employment scams including identity theft.

A lot of candidates get upset when they sign a Right To Represent for one or two specific positions, then they find out a recruiter has submitted them to many without ever contacting the candidate with a job description or to ask permission to be submitted. This is a bad business practice, but unfortunately in this tough market, agencies are trying to get candidates in front of hiring managers to close business.

What can you do to avoid this? Make sure you get in writing/URL an agreement from a particular recruiter/agency that they will not submit you to a job without your explicit written permission (email suffices). It is also is perfectly acceptable and advisable to tell them what other jobs you are currently being considered for. To be the most efficient in this process, you will need the name of the client company; the job title; the job number/URL if you have it. You don't need to give them more information than that, but it will help you to keep confusion down to a minimum.

If you have applied to a job yourself, also provide that information. The agencies aren't being intrusive, they just don't want to make the effort to represent you to a client when it's already been done. Finally, if you have questions about terminology on a specific form you are asked to sign, make sure to discuss them with the recruiter. They should be intimately familiar with any forms you are asked to sign, and if they don't they will know who to ask.