How we research and contact people

If we have contacted you about a role you never applied for, or you want to know whether we hold anything about you, this page explains where the information came from and how to have it removed.

1. What this page is

We are a recruitment business. Part of our work involves researching who is capable of doing a particular job, so that our clients can consider people who have not applied for it. That research uses information you have made publicly available in a professional context.

Because we did not get that information from you directly, UK data protection law requires us to tell you what we hold, where it came from and what you can do about it. That is what this page does. It applies whether or not we have ever contacted you.

2. What we hold

For someone we have researched but not spoken to, this is typically limited to:

• Your name and the job title you hold publicly
• Your current employer, and previous employers where they are publicly listed
• Your approximate location, at town or region level
• A summary of the professional experience shown on your public profile
• A link to that public profile
• Our own assessment of whether your experience appears relevant to a particular role

We do not collect or seek special category data such as health, ethnicity, religious belief or political opinion. We do not collect information about your personal life, and we do not access anything that is not publicly visible.

3. Where it came from

• Professional networking sites, principally LinkedIn, where your profile is publicly visible
• Your employer's website, and public press or industry coverage
• Industry directories, professional bodies and public event or conference listings
• Job boards and CV databases, where you have made your details available to recruiters
• Referrals from people in your professional network
• Licensed third-party business data providers

4. Why we hold it, and on what basis

We use it to identify people who may be suited to a specific role we have been asked to fill, and to decide whether to approach you about it. Where a client has asked us to map the market for a role, that research may be shared with them so they can see who is available to approach.

Our lawful basis is legitimate interests — our interest and our client's interest in filling a role with a suitable person, and your interest in hearing about a relevant opportunity in your field.

We have weighed this against your rights. We hold only professional information you have chosen to publish. We approach you personally about a specific, relevant role rather than in bulk. We do not hold anything about your private life. And you can have it all removed at any time by sending one email. We consider that proportionate and within what someone in your profession would reasonably expect. If you disagree, section 6 sets out your rights and we will act on them.

5. Who sees it

Research relating to a specific role may be shared with the client who commissioned that search, so they can understand the market for the role. It is shared for that purpose only, and our terms require clients to use it for that role and not to retain it afterwards.

We do not sell personal information, we do not share it with other recruitment businesses, and we do not add you to any marketing list on the basis of this research.

If we introduce you to a client as a candidate — meaning we send them your CV and our written assessment of you — we will always tell you which client it is and get your agreement first. That never happens without a conversation.

6. Your rights

• Object. You can object to us holding your information at all. Where we rely on legitimate interests, as we do here, we will stop unless we can show compelling grounds that override your rights. In practice, we stop.
• Erasure. Ask us to delete what we hold, and we will.
• Access. Ask what we hold about you and we will send you a copy. Where a document also contains a client’s confidential information, we will redact that part and provide the rest.
• Rectification. Tell us something is wrong and we will correct it.
• Restriction. Ask us to stop using it while a question is resolved.
• Complain. To us first, if you would, so we can put it right. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.

All of these are free, and we will respond within one month.

7. How long we keep it

Research gathered for a specific search is deleted 12 months after that search closes, unless you have engaged with us about a role, in which case our Privacy Policy sets out the retention that applies.

If you ask to be removed, we delete the information and keep only the minimum needed to make sure you are not researched again — your name and email address on a suppression list. You can ask us to remove that too.

8. Contact

Email [email protected] or write to Talent Architects, 11 Middlethorpe Business Park, York, YO23 2BD.

Talent Architects is a trading name of Growth Partner Pro Ltd, registered in England and Wales, company number 15650672. Registered office: 11 Fusion Court, Aberford Road, Leeds, England, LS25 2GH.