When a recruiter contacts you

Sometimes a company finds you before you apply anywhere. A recruiter can add you to their hiring process and message you directly, without you having applied or created an account first. Their message is how you find out.

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Why this happens

A recruiter working on a job searched for people who might fit it and found your profile on Staffer. They can add you to their process and reach out before you’ve done anything on your side. See What Staffer is for where that profile comes from.

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The message and the link

A person at the company writes and sends the message. Staffer doesn’t send a separate “you’ve been added” email. The message includes a private link to your application.

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What you can do from the link, no account needed

Open the link and you’ll find your application laid out in tabs: Job, Resume, Process, Messages and Privacy. From there, with no account or sign-in, you can:

• See the role and where you stand in the company’s process
• Complete any step that’s waiting on you, like a questionnaire or an AI interview
• Read and reply to the recruiter, in the Messages tab
• Choose whether the company may consider you for future roles, stop its emails, or withdraw your application, in the Privacy tab
• Ask an AI assistant on the page about the company, the role, or where things stand

The assistant only turns on once the recruiter moves you into their process. Until then, the page tells you it’s on its way.

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How long the link works

• Each time you open the link, it works for another 30 days.
• It stops working 90 days after the recruiter first sent it, however often you use it.
• Once your application reaches a final decision, the link works for 30 more days.

In the link’s last week, a banner on the page warns you.

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Getting a new one

If your link stops working, or a recruiter tells you it’s been revoked, ask them for a new one. Only they can send a fresh link, and it picks up exactly where you left off.

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Seeing everything in one place

The link only ever shows this one application. If you sign in to Staffer separately, this application might not appear in your list right away: one a recruiter started for you only shows up there once they’ve moved you past their first review stage. See Track your applications for why. The link itself keeps working regardless.

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If you’d rather not

The first time you open the link, a notice explains that the company uses your data for this application only. Click Got it to close it. You don’t have to agree to anything. To be considered for the company’s future roles too, click Consider me for future roles in the Privacy tab. That lets the company keep your details for 12 months to consider you for future roles and contact you about them, and you can withdraw it at any time. To stop the company emailing you, click Stop emails from, followed by its name, under Emails in the Privacy tab. The unsubscribe button in your email app does the same. Your application stays as it is, and their messages still show in the Messages tab. See Stop emails from one company. To stop the current process entirely, withdraw your application from the Privacy tab. See Withdraw an application.

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Common questions