Why it gets noisy
- Each recruiter uses a different channel: email, a shared Slack channel, their own portal, a shared document.
- Many submissions are a poor fit, because the recruiter works from a job post, not from your real bar.
- The same person arrives twice: from two recruiters, or from a recruiter after applying directly.
- Recruiters hear nothing back, so they keep sending and keep asking.
Four rules that fix it
1. One intake
Give every recruiter the same submission address or channel. A submission sent to a founder's personal inbox does not count until it reaches the intake. This alone ends most "did you see my candidate?" messages.
2. Source attribution on every candidate
For each person, record the origin (applied, referred, sourced, or submitted by a recruiter), the recruiter and agency, and the date. You need this to pay the right fee, to judge which recruiters are worth keeping, and to answer disputes.
3. An ownership rule
Write it into every agency agreement: the first valid submission of a candidate for a role owns that candidate for a fixed claim period, commonly six to twelve months; a candidate already in your pipeline or database is yours; a submission needs the candidate's consent. Tell both recruiters when a duplicate happens.
4. Screen first, alert second
Run recruiter submissions through the same screening as direct applicants. The hiring manager gets a message only for a strong match; everything else gets a prompt, polite answer without anyone reading it.
What to measure per recruiter
| Measure | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Submissions | Volume, and whether they understood the role |
| Share interviewed | Quality of their filter |
| Duplicates | Whether they check before sending |
| Hires and cost per hire | Whether the fee is earned |
| Time to our answer | Whether you are a client good recruiters want to work for |
How Evander handles recruiter submissions
In Evander a recruiter or agency is a partner with its own limited access. A candidate a partner submits is marked as submitted, with the partner and the date; the first submitter keeps the claim until it expires, and later submissions of the same person are counted as duplicates. Submitted candidates are scored against the role's brief like everyone else, and each agency has a page with its candidates and their average score. A plain-English automation such as "ping me only for scores above 80" keeps the rest out of your way.
Questions
Who owns a candidate submitted by two recruiting agencies?
By common agreement terms, the agency whose valid submission arrived first, for a claim period that is typically six to twelve months. A candidate who was already in your pipeline or database belongs to neither. Put the rule in writing in each agency agreement.
How do I stop duplicate candidates from recruiters?
Use one intake for all submissions, match every new submission against your existing candidates by email and name, and apply a first-valid-submission rule. An ATS that records the submitter and date on each candidate does the matching for you.
Should agency candidates go through the same process as applicants?
Yes. Screen them against the same brief and interview them in the same stages. It keeps decisions fair and shows which recruiters send people who match.
How do I manage candidates submitted by several recruiting agencies?
Give every agency the same intake address or channel, record the submitting agency and date on each candidate, apply a written first-valid-submission rule for duplicates, and screen agency candidates against the same brief as direct applicants. Then measure each agency by share interviewed, duplicates and hires, and answer every submission within one or two working days.
How fast should we answer a recruiter?
Within one or two working days, even with a no. Recruiters prioritize clients who answer, and a fast no saves both sides follow-up messages.