This is how we keep intermediaries off this site.
A promise is easy. So here we explain exactly what we check, which signals lead to a rejection, and where our checking reaches its limits.
Every registration goes through this
The system does the first three checks automatically, within a second of the form being submitted. A person does the fourth.
The trade register entry
We look at the SBI code of the registration. Codes starting with 78 are employment mediation, temp agencies and payrolling. Those always lead to a rejection, whatever else the form says.
The organisation name
Names that themselves state temping, mediation or recruitment are rejected outright. Beyond that there is a longer list of words that belong to an agency more often than to an employer: those count as a warning, but do not lead to an automatic rejection, because real employers use them too. Which words those are we keep to ourselves.
The email domain
A genuine employer registers with an address on their own domain. A Gmail or Hotmail address, or a domain that does not match the website given, earns points. When in doubt we call the number on the website.
The vacancy text
In practice this is the sharpest check. An agency almost always gives itself away in the text: it recruits for a client or principal, the employer itself is not named, or you are employed by the poster while working somewhere else. Such phrasings are blocking. Which sentences we look for exactly, we do not set out here.
How the points tally works
Every signal carries a weight. Some signals are blocking: then it is no longer a borderline case and we reject automatically. Others are warnings: they add up to a score, and above a certain limit the registration goes to a person, even without a blocking signal. We do not publish the weights or that limit, because together they are a sum you could use to stay just below it.
| Signal | Consequence |
|---|---|
| Industry code starts with 78 | Reject |
| Name states temping, mediation or recruitment | Reject |
| Text recruits for a client or principal | Reject |
| Name contains a word that occurs more often at agencies | A person takes a look |
| Registration with a free email address | A person takes a look |
| Application address on a different domain | A person takes a look |
| Email domain matches their own website | Positive signal |
Where our checking reaches its limits
We are honest about this, including about what we cannot do. Three things are hard:
- Payrolling at a genuine employer. An organisation can post a vacancy itself and then put the employee on the payroll through a payrolling company. We cannot see that in the trade register. We do ask about it at registration.
- Agencies with a clean industry code. An agency can register with the Chamber of Commerce under a code other than the one for mediation. Our SBI check then says nothing, and the name, domain and text checks have to close the gap.
- New phrasings. Anyone who knows what we look for can adjust their text. That is why the exact word list is not on this page, and why we extend it as soon as we see something new.
That is why the report button matters. Under every vacancy you will find "Report this vacancy". If you recognise an agency, we look at it the same day. If the report turns out to be correct, the vacancy goes offline and we block the organisation.
What happens after a rejection
A rejected registration gets an email naming the check where we saw something: the Chamber of Commerce entry, the name, the email domain or the text. Not "you do not fit our profile", but the actual reason. We do not say which word or sentence it was exactly; that would mostly be a manual for phrasing it differently next time. If you think it is wrong, a person will look at it.
When we block an organisation, all its open vacancies go offline at once.
What we never do
- Scraping vacancies from other sites and putting them here without permission.
- Allowing agency vacancies in exchange for payment.
- Selling on or renting out candidates' CVs or details.
- Making an exception because it is a big name.
Seen a vacancy that does not belong here?
One report is enough. You do not need an account for it and your email address is optional.