One complaint comes up often when lawyers talk about recruiters online. The firm stays unnamed until the CV has been handed over. Then the CV goes somewhere nobody agreed, or comes back changed.
A few questions, asked by email before you send anything, stop most of it. Below are the questions, what a straight answer sounds like, what UK law says and a script to copy.
Why ask questions before you send a CV?#
Because a CV that has been sent is out of your hands. In a small market, a partner at your own firm could hear that you are looking. The law gives you less control than most people assume.
The recruiter wants your CV. You want the firm, the pay and the pattern. Both can have what they want, if you get the answers first.
What should you ask a legal recruiter before you send your CV?#
Ask nine things. Three are about the role. Four are about your CV and your data. Two are about what you sign and what happens if you change your mind.
- Which firm is it? If the recruiter cannot say, ask for a description and the reason. Section five covers this.
- What is the pay band? A figure or a range. If the firm has not set one, that is worth knowing. Should you tell a recruiter your current salary covers the question that follows.
- What is the working pattern? Ask what hybrid means in days a week, and whether it is in the contract.
- Will my CV go anywhere without my yes? You want one firm at a time, each agreed by name.
- Who will see it? Ask whether your current firm could see it, directly or through a link.
- Will you change anything on it? A recruiter may suggest edits. Ask to see the final version before it goes.
- How long will you keep my details? You want a period, not "as long as we need".
- What happens if I withdraw? Ask who tells the firm, and how fast.
- Do I have to sign anything? An agreement could ask you to deal only with one agency for a period. You do not need to agree to that to hear about a role.
Question six has no clear rule behind it. We found no UK rule on recruiters editing a CV, and the REC guide we read does not mention it. So your protection is your own request to see the version going out.
On question nine, the REC's guide says members will not unfairly or unlawfully try to stop a work-seeker seeking work elsewhere. That binds members only. Ask what any agreement stops you doing.
Pay is the question to settle first. Many adverts show it now, not all. Treat a missing band as an answer.
- UK postings with pay shown, Indeed, three months to June 202658%
Share of postings on one job board
- Adverts with pay shown, CV-Library, previous 12 months58%
CV-Library's own analysis
- Jobseekers who would refuse to apply with no salary, CV-Library, August 202641%
Survey of 1,043 UK jobseekers
Source: Onrec, 13 October 2026, reporting CV-Library; Indeed Hiring Lab, 3 August 2026
All three figures come from job boards, which sell adverts. The 41% is stated intention, not observed behaviour. Why legal job adverts should show the salary explains why a missing figure matters.
What does a straight answer sound like, and what is a dodge?#
A straight answer names the thing you asked for in its first sentence. A dodge offers to explain by phone.
What a dodge sounds like
- "I can tell you the firm once I have your CV."
- "It is a competitive package."
- "Let's jump on a call and I will explain."
- "Do not worry, I will look after your CV."
- "I tidy every CV before it goes."
- "We keep everyone on file."
What a straight answer sounds like
- "A mid-sized firm in the North West. I will name it before your CV goes anywhere."
- "The band is £40,000 to £48,000. The firm has set it."
- "Here are the firm, the band and the pattern by email. Ring me if you want more."
- "It goes to no firm without your yes to that firm."
- "I may suggest edits. Nothing changes unless you approve the final copy."
- "We keep details for twelve months, then delete them."
The figures in the right-hand column are invented to show the shape of an answer. They are not a benchmark. A good first call ends plainly. Either here is a role worth your time, or nothing fits yet and here is what would change that.
What does UK law say about your CV and your data?#
UK law gives you rules on agencies, rights under UK GDPR and the ICO as regulator. None of it clearly gives you a say over each firm your CV goes to. That is why written answers matter.
The Conduct Regulations. The Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 apply to employment agencies. GOV.UK says the Fair Work Agency enforces them in England, Scotland and Wales. Four points matter to you.
- No fees. GOV.UK says agencies are prohibited from charging fees to workers for finding or trying to find them jobs. There are narrow exceptions for performers and models.
- Willingness. An agency may not introduce you to a hirer until it has confirmed you are willing to work in the position (regulation 19).
- Disclosure. An agency may not disclose information about you without your prior consent, with exceptions (regulation 28). Three are listed. One is disclosure for the purpose of providing work-finding services to you. The others are legal proceedings and your professional body.
- Your current employer. An agency must not disclose information about you to your current employer without your prior consent. That consent must not have been withdrawn, and the agency cannot make its services conditional on it (regulation 28).
Read the first exception again. Putting you forward to a firm can count as work-finding. So the Regulations alone do not ensure you agree to each firm. The protection on your current employer is clearer.
The REC Code. The Recruitment and Employment Confederation's Code binds its members only. Principle 10 says members must have consent, or another legal basis, before disclosing, transferring, displaying or submitting personal information. Its guide tells members to forward CVs only with the candidate's agreement, and never to contact a current employer without written permission. The guide's file properties show October 2020, so check the current Code.
UK GDPR and the ICO. You have rights over data a recruiter holds, and they come with deadlines.
| Right | What the ICO says | Time to reply |
|---|---|---|
| Be told where it came from | Privacy information covers where the data came from, how long it is kept and who receives it. | Within one month if it came from another source. |
| See your data | A subject access request, made verbally or in writing, with no special wording. | Within one month. Complex requests can add up to two months. |
| Correct it | You can have inaccurate personal data rectified. | Within one month. |
| Have it erased | Applies if the data is no longer needed or you withdraw the consent it was held on. It is not absolute. | Within one month. |
1 month
the usual time to answer a subject access request. Complex or repeated requests can be extended by up to two more months, if you are told in the first month.
How do you ask a recruiter for the firm's name?#
Ask by email, in one line. Some firms do ask a recruiter to keep their name private for a while. That is fair if you still get a description, the pay band and a promise that nothing is sent without your yes.
Will they name the firm now?
YesGood. Ask for the pay band and the pattern, then decide.
NoAsk for a description in writing: size, region, practice area and pay band.
Is the reason that the firm asked for confidentiality?
YesFair. Agree in writing that your CV stays with the recruiter until you say yes to a named firm.
NoIf the reason is "our policy", or none, say you will wait until they can.
Do they want your CV before they say anything?
YesDo not send it. Ask again by email.
NoGood. You can talk freely.
Sending a CV to a recruiter is different from being put forward to a firm. The line is the moment the recruiter sends it on. That is when you say yes or no, firm by firm.
You lose nothing by waiting for a name.
What email can you send before you share your CV?#
Send a few lines: the firm, the pay band, the working pattern and what happens to the CV. Copy this wording and change it to suit you.
Subject: Your message about a role Thank you for getting in touch. Before I send a CV, could you tell me the firm, the pay band and the working pattern in days? Please also confirm that my CV will go to no firm without my agreement to that firm. Please confirm that you will not change it without showing me the final copy. And how long will you keep my details? If the firm must stay confidential for now, a short description and the pay band will do. I will send my CV once I have your answers.
If the reply is a request to ring so they can explain, you have learned how the rest will go. How long is a solicitor's notice period explains what to say if they ask about yours. Not sure the role is real? Ghost jobs and how to tell a real legal vacancy covers adverts that exist only to collect CVs.
How long will a recruiter keep your data, and what if you withdraw?#
Ask, and expect a period. The ICO says an organisation must not keep personal data for longer than it needs it. It should have standard retention periods and review what it holds. We found no fixed period for recruiters in the ICO pages we read, so ask for theirs.
If you change your mind, say so in writing. Ask the recruiter to stop using your details and to tell any firm holding your CV that you have withdrawn. Ask for erasure if the CV was held on your consent or is no longer needed. The ICO says erasure is not absolute, so expect a reply that sets out what they can do.
Write to the recruiter
Say which firm and when. Ask them to withdraw it and to confirm in writing. Keep a copy.
Ask who has it
The ICO's list of privacy information includes third-party recipients. Ask who your CV went to, and for a copy of your data.
Ask for corrections
If the copy sent on was changed, ask for it to be corrected. The ICO says inaccurate data can be rectified.
Allow a month
The ICO's usual deadline is one month. Note the date you wrote.
Complain, then escalate
The ICO says to raise it with the organisation first, then complain to the ICO. GOV.UK says the Fair Work Agency enforces the Conduct Regulations.
Is AI reading your CV covers the same rights on direct applications.
Can you use more than one recruiter?#
Yes. Keep a log of recruiter, firm, role and date, and tell each recruiter you are doing it. A firm that gets your CV from two directions will not know whose fee it owes. Recruiter exclusivity and rebates explains why firms care. If a recruiter asks where else you are interviewing, why recruiters ghost lawyers covers that call.
What does a candidate-first recruiter do?#
A candidate-first recruiter answers your questions before asking for your CV and asks before sending it anywhere. That is a standard to hold any recruiter to, not a promise on behalf of any agency.
The candidates page explains how it works. The screening call is 20 minutes and confidential, on Microsoft Teams. Bring the nine questions. Conveyancers can see the sort of roles on the conveyancing page. The salary guide shows bands.
On this siteAsk us the questions on a callA 20-minute confidential screening call on Microsoft Teams, with a named person. No CV goes to a firm without your say so.Book a callSources
- legislation.gov.uk: Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003, regulation 28 (confidentiality)
- legislation.gov.uk: Conduct Regulations 2003, regulation 19 (confirmation to be obtained about a work-seeker)
- GOV.UK: Overview of the Conduct Regulations 2003 (page updated 22 June 2026)
- REC: Code of Professional Practice (applies to REC members)
- REC: Code of Professional Practice, guide to compliance (PDF; its file properties show October 2020)
- ICO: Your right to be informed if your personal data is being used
- ICO: A guide to subject access (updated 16 July 2026)
- ICO: Right to erasure (no date on the page; marked as under review after the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025)
- ICO: Right to rectification (no date on the page; marked as under review after the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025)
- ICO: Storage limitation (no date on the page; marked as under review after the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025)
- ICO: Make a data protection complaint
- Onrec: 4 in 10 jobseekers won't apply without a salary (13 October 2026, reporting CV-Library's Candidate Behaviour Barometer 2026, a job board's survey)
- Indeed Hiring Lab UK: share of UK job postings with pay information (3 August 2026, Indeed is a job board)
This is general information, not legal advice. Where a figure comes from another organisation, the source is above, and we say when it is dated.