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18.12.2025 14:50

Job hunting and the hidden cost of recruitment data

Job hunting can feel straightforward and free on the surface. Fred Miller, Chair of PAM’s Impact Forum, reflects on his experiences with recruitment platforms and the patterns he began to notice over time.

Fred Miller, Chair of PAM’s Impact Forum, sitting with a serious expression, a blurred bookshelf in the background.

I’m not one for conspiracy theories. In fact, my tin foil hat has probably gathered so much dust by now I wouldn’t even want to wear it. I am, however, a sceptic.

I’ve been in the hospitality industry for nearly 15 years now. I’ve worked in 3 countries and have had almost all the jobs there are in the restaurant sector. I’m no stranger to a job search, the Sisyphean task of continually updating CVs and experiences, and keeping track of all the new places that jobs are advertised. However, I feel that in this decade and a half, the job market for job hunting has shifted considerably.

Sometimes I got an email quite quickly from a recruiter. “That was fast” I thought naïvely to myself.

Recruitment agencies, once seemingly confined to the realms of headhunting LinkedIn fanatics, now seem to have entered every workforce. Rarely is it possible to apply for a job directly, you need a profile, an account, a login, a secure password with special characters. Recruitment agencies boast a one stop shop for job hunting. One place you sign in and see all the jobs available. Which sounds great until you realise how many there are.

I did the manual labour (often mentioned amongst friends and peers that the search for a job is often a full-time job in itself.) Uploaded my CVs, filled out all that information separately into their system as well. Applied for that one job that suited me and waited. Sometimes I got an email quite quickly from a recruiter. “That was fast” I thought naïvely to myself.

“Thanks for your application! Unfortunately, this job isn’t suitable for you, but I’d like to schedule a call with you to discuss your position/what you’re interested in” disappointing I thought but nice they reached out. And cue many phone calls with recruiters slathering compliments as to how much experience I had and that they promise to ‘keep me in mind when something relevant pops up’.

I began to think that all these companies wanted was your data. Otherwise why would you need to sign up and make an account to apply for a job elsewhere.

I’ve lived in Finland for 3 years now. Do you know how many phone calls I’ve gotten in that time? 0. Yet I was still applying for the same sort of jobs, from the same companies to the same recruitment area. I noticed a trend and admittedly became quite bitter about the job hunts I had endured. I started to wonder what was going on. The weight of the dust on my tin foil hat started to lighten.

I began to think that all these companies wanted was your data. Otherwise why would you need to sign up and make an account to apply for a job elsewhere. Remember the adage that if the service you are using is free, you are the product. These recruitment agencies were employing the tactic of recruiting job seekers to a large database, to then take this database to their sales reps, to get more companies to use their recruitment agency to hire staff. Strength in numbers, union play.

While none of this is particularly breaking news when YLE reported this year here that this was in fact happening but also that some of the jobs that were being posted were not real or had already been filled things started to make a bit more sense. And the consequences of this are now starting to skew the governmental figures on employment, making the whole situation much more sinister.

That’s exactly why I believe in PAM and in unions in general. We are better together, looking out for one another.

I began to collect the names of all the companies I had created an account for l, to look for work. Staffmax, Wirestaff, Barona, Aican, Eezy, Wulff Works, Arsenali, StaffPoint, BOLT works, ALMA, and others I have probably forgotten. I emailed people, asking for them to delete my data. I didn’t want to be part of this shady business any longer. Many have responded to my request, honouring it, the rest however have not.

I believe that the recruitment agencies are right in the idea that strength and appeal comes from numbers, and that’s exactly why I believe in PAM and in unions in general. We are better together, looking out for one another. My job search in the future might be harder without all of these profiles, but I refuse to partake in this data harvesting any longer, and I advise you all to think about this situation also.

This blog post was written by Fred Miller, Chair of PAM’s Impact Forum.

Keywords:

networks unemployment

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