Do Recruiters Really Hang on to CV's when They Promise to?

You've applied for hundreds of jobs and are getting nowhere.

Things are so bad your fragile hopes rest on one of the many recruiters hanging on to your CV and fishing it out at a later date.

But does the phrase “we'll keep your resume on file” really mean anything? We went to the question and answer site, Quora, to find out.

Christine Choi wrote that based on her experience at professional networking site, Linked In, the phrase can have some significance for job hunters. “Yes, it does mean something,” wrote Choi. “If the company/recruiter/hiring manager liked you but felt that you weren't the right fit for that position, they do keep you in mind if they find another opportunity that may be a better fit.”

Kim Huynh agreed that while sometimes this stock phrase from an interviewer means ”this never happened”, sometimes it translates as “we'll call you if something comes up, maybe”. 

Huyhn believes the former usually takes place when you are dealing with a recruiter at a huge organisation. “They just want you to move on without much fussing. Move on!”

However, smaller companies often do hang onto your CV, particularly when “you are dealing with the general manager (or whomever you would directly report to, if you had gotten the job). They know the role and they know what kind of person they want — so they think that your skill set or your timing isn't very suitable right now, but they are quite intrigued,” she wrote.

Huynh had some advice for job-hunters: “Maximise your chances in these cases by sending a brief thank you message and asking (the recruiter’s) permission to stay in touch (you can add them on LinkedIn, follow them on Twitter, and even call them and ask again if a new opening comes up).”

Too polite

Writer and former hiring manager Amy Newman Smith wrote that she believes recruiters often use the phrase because they aren't honest enough to say, “I'm sorry, but your skill set doesn't match what we're looking for.” Or they are too kind to say, "I'm sorry but you've changed jobs every six months for the past three years and that makes us not want to interview.”

What are recruiters really thinking when they say they’ll hang onto your CV? (Credit: Alamy)

In her own experience, Newman Smith explained that when she reviews CVs, she ranks each on a scale of one to five (one being the highest), then interviews the top three choices. “A lot of times, there wasn't a lot of distance between number 3 and numbers 4, 5, 6.”

Occasionally her firm made “a bad hire who didn't last long,” because some candidates can do a good interview but but don't work out in the role.

In these situations, rather than going back and placing an advert or putting the word out in other ways, the recruitment firm would start by pulling out those resumes that were on the cusp, Newman Smith noted.

Laws vary country by country. UX developer Slin Leeexplained that in the US Federal anti-discrimination laws require companies to keep recruiting materials, including CVs or resumes, on file for at least one year even if the person isn't hired. “And if there is a lawsuit, then they're required to keep all related documents until the case is over.”

Learning to live with rejection

In the mid-1990s Daniel Dettmers graduated from university with a degree in nuclear engineering. “I sent out 108 resumes to the 108 US nuclear power plants and received 66 rejection letters with the promise, ‘We will keep your resume on file...’"

One large utility did just that for three years. Dettmers wrote that whenever the firm had an opening he was even remotely qualified for, his CV would be sent to the hiring manager, rejected, and then he would receive another rejection letter.  “I was getting rejected for jobs I never even applied to! 28, all total rejection letters.”

On the upside, he wrote “there was a local watering hole that gave a free shot for every rejection letter. I would take them in 10 at a time.”

Quora respondents are required to use their true names under the site’s Real Names policy. To help ensure legitimacy and quality, Quora asks some individuals, such as doctors and lawyers, to confirm their expertise.