Privacy notice de Wervingsspecialist

Last updated: 9 October 2026

De Wervingsspecialist helps organisations and professionals with recruitment, executive search, sourcing, headhunting, recruitment and selection, interim placements and recruitment advice.

In providing these services, we use personal data. This notice explains which data we use, why we use it, who we share it with and what rights you have.

This notice applies to website visitors, candidates, self-employed interim professionals, people who recommend professionals, contacts at client organisations and other business contacts.

1. Who is responsible for your data?
De Wervingsspecialist B.V. is the controller responsible for the processing described in this notice.

De Wervingsspecialist B.V.
Middenweg 85
1098 AG Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Email: michael@dewervingsspecialist.nl
Telephone: +31 6 24768758

De Referral Specialist is a trading name of the same company. This does not mean that we automatically use data you provide for recruitment for marketing or other purposes associated with de Referral Specialist. We assess separately whether any other use is permitted and inform you where necessary.

For our own search and placement activities, we determine why and how personal data is used. Clients are generally responsible for their own selection procedures and personnel administration.

Where we process personal data solely on behalf of a client, we put the necessary arrangements in place with that client. Each party’s data protection role depends on the services actually provided.

2. What personal data do we use?
The data we use depends on our contact with you and the services involved. It may include:

Your name, contact details and correspondence.
Your role, organisation and business contact details.
Your CV, employment history, education, qualifications and professional skills.
Your interest in roles or assignments, availability, preferred contractual arrangements and relevant employment terms or rates.
Information from discussions and the progress of an application or placement process.
Relevant information about a recommendation.
Data needed for agreements, timesheets, invoicing and payments.
Records of your consent, preferences and requests to unsubscribe.
Technical information about website use, where this is collected.

We do not request or use more data than necessary.

When first registering with us, please do not send your Dutch citizen service number (BSN), a copy of your identity document, medical information or other sensitive data. If any such information is legally required at a later stage, we will discuss this separately.

3. Where do we obtain data?
We receive data directly from you, for example when you contact us, apply for a role, arrange an introductory conversation, request a publication or recommend someone.

We may also receive relevant professional information from clients, people making recommendations and other business contacts. For targeted searches, we may consult public professional sources, such as LinkedIn and company websites.

Information being publicly available does not mean that we may collect or use it without limits. We restrict our use to information relevant to a specific professional approach.

If we obtain your data from someone else or from a public source, we will inform you about its use and origin. We will do so at our first contact, before first disclosing it to another recipient, or within one month, whichever occurs first. Statutory exceptions may apply.

4. Why do we use your data?

Contact and business enquiries
We use contact details and correspondence to answer questions, discuss our services and fulfil agreed arrangements.

Where we have an agreement with you, processing may be necessary to perform that agreement or to take steps you request before entering into it. When communicating with employees of organisations, we generally rely on our legitimate interest in maintaining business relationships and carrying out assignments.

Applications and placements
We use relevant professional information to consider your interest, assess potential suitability, communicate with you and support recruitment processes.

Where processing is necessary to perform a placement agreement with you, or to take steps you request before entering into one, we rely on that basis. For other necessary recruitment activities, we may rely on our legitimate interest in carefully matching professionals with suitable roles or assignments. We take your privacy interests into account.

Search and personal recommendations
We may use limited professional information to approach someone about a relevant opportunity. Our legitimate interest is to identify and contact suitable professionals.

We consider factors including the source, relevance, the person’s reasonable expectations and the impact on their privacy. If you do not wish to be contacted, please let us know.

Future opportunities
We ask for separate consent to include you in our talent pool. You do not have to give this consent to take part in a specific recruitment process. You may withdraw it later.

Assignments and administration
We use necessary data to administer assignments, placements and interim recruitment. Depending on the circumstances, we rely on performance of a contract, a legal obligation or our legitimate interest in maintaining accurate business records.

Evidence and disputes
We may retain limited data to substantiate agreements, introductions and legal claims. Our legitimate interest is to protect our legal position. We do not retain a complete candidate file for this purpose where a limited record is sufficient.

Publications and newsletters
We use your contact details to send a publication you have requested. We ask for separate consent for newsletters. Downloading a publication or making an enquiry does not automatically subscribe you. You can unsubscribe through the newsletter or by contacting us.

Website operation and security
We use necessary technical data to operate and secure the website and resolve problems. We obtain prior consent for optional technologies where consent is required.

5. Registering and sharing your profile
Registering with us, accepting terms and giving consent for a specific use of personal data are separate actions.
Registration does not give unrestricted consent for marketing, screening, long-term storage or sharing your CV.

Before introducing you in an identifiable way or sharing your CV with a client, we discuss the organisation, role or assignment concerned and the information we intend to share. We do this only with your prior agreement.

This practical agreement is distinct from the legal basis for processing. Where consent under the GDPR is required, we obtain it separately.

An agreement concerning a placement fee or protection of candidate introductions does not authorise us to forward your profile to other or affiliated organisations without prior discussion.

6. References and screening
Reference checks, qualification checks, assessments and other background checks take place only where agreed in advance, relevant and legally permitted.

We inform you about checks we carry out. We do not contact your current employer without discussing this with you beforehand and obtaining your agreement.

Additional legal conditions apply to special category personal data and data relating to criminal convictions and offences. General consent given when registering is not a sufficient basis for processing such data.

7. Who do we share data with?
Our website and content management system run on Wix. We use Yourhosting to manage our domain name and Group-Office to manage client and candidate information.

These providers have different roles and are given access to data only to the extent necessary to provide their services.

8. Is data processed outside Europe?
Wix and other service providers may process personal data outside the European Economic Area (EEA), which comprises the EU countries, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.

Such transfers require a valid legal mechanism. This may be a European Commission adequacy decision or approved standard contractual clauses, supplemented by additional safeguards where necessary.

Using a Dutch provider does not automatically mean that all data is stored in the Netherlands. With Group-Office, the hosting location also depends on the service or installation used.

Please contact us if you would like information about a transfer or the applicable safeguards.

9. How long do we retain data?
We retain personal data for no longer than necessary. Some data is subject to a statutory retention requirement. We apply the following periods.

Contact and introductory enquiries

Enquiries and informal introductory discussions with no further engagement: up to six months after they have been dealt with.
Publication requests: up to three months after dispatch. If further contact follows, we retain only the data needed for that separate purpose.
Quotations that do not lead to an assignment: up to one year after the last substantive contact.

Candidates and recommendations

Completed application and selection processes: up to four weeks after completion, unless you separately consent to inclusion in our talent pool.
Talent pool: twelve months from your consent. We extend this period only after obtaining fresh consent.
Recommendations that do not lead to further placement activity: up to three months after they have been dealt with.
Data from targeted searches that receive no response or lead to no further engagement: up to three months after our last targeted approach.
Minimal records evidencing candidate introductions: for the twelve-month introduction protection period. We retain these for longer only where a specific claim or dispute makes this necessary.

A new contact does not automatically restart a retention period.

Assignments, placements and administration

Business assignment and placement records: up to five years after completion. We limit these records to data needed to substantiate agreements and potential claims.
Financial records subject to a statutory retention requirement: generally seven years.

For placed professionals, we retain necessary contractual and administrative data in accordance with these periods. A placement does not mean that we retain complete CVs, interview notes or screening information indefinitely.

Newsletters, consent and unsubscribing

Newsletter data: until you unsubscribe or we discontinue the newsletter.
Evidence of consent: up to five years after withdrawal or the last use of that consent. We retain only what is needed to demonstrate consent.
Unsubscribe records: for as long as necessary to respect your request, using as little data as possible.

Technical data and cookies
We retain technical data for as long as necessary to operate and secure the website or investigate a specific problem.

Cookie lifetimes are shown in the cookie settings where available. A cookie’s lifetime is not necessarily the same as the retention period for data held on servers.

When the retention period ends
We delete the data or anonymise it so that it can no longer be linked to you.
Where a dispute or legal obligation requires it, we may retain necessary data for longer. Once that reason no longer applies, we delete or anonymise the data.

10. Cookies and external content
Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to store information on, or access information from, your device.

Essential technologies support the operation and security of the website and remember your cookie choice. We do not ask for consent for these.

For optional technologies requiring consent, we use a Usercentrics for Wix cookie banner. You can decline these and continue using the website. You can change your preferences or withdraw consent using the privacy button.
When embedded external content, such as a Google Maps map, loads, its provider may receive data. Technologies requiring consent may be activated only after consent has been given. A standard link to an external website opens that website only when you click it.

Further information about the applications covered is available in the cookie settings. You can also delete cookies through your browser. Doing so may remove your saved preference.

11. Digital tools and security
We are responsible for providing appropriate protection for personal data. We tailor security and access arrangements to the nature of the data and the risks involved in processing it.

Data protection rules continue to apply if external digital or AI tools are used. Confidential or identifiable data may be used only with an appropriate legal basis, arrangements and safeguards. Data must not be made available to train external AI models without appropriate arrangements.

We do not make decisions based solely on automated processing that produce legal effects for candidates or similarly significantly affect them.

12. What rights do you have?
Depending on the circumstances, you may:

Request access to your personal data.
Ask us to correct inaccurate data.
Request deletion of your data.
Request restriction of processing.
Request data portability, where that right applies.
Object to processing based on legitimate interests.

You may withdraw consent at any time. This does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

If you object to direct marketing, we will stop using your data for that purpose. Other rights may be subject to legal conditions and exceptions.

Send your request to michael@dewervingsspecialist.nl. We normally respond within one month. For a complex request, this period may be extended by up to two further months. We will inform you of this within the first month.
We do not routinely request a complete copy of your identity document. If identity verification is necessary, we use an appropriate method that requires as little additional data as possible.

If you are unhappy with how we use your data, please contact us. You may also lodge a complaint with the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens, the Dutch Data Protection Authority, through autoriteitpersoonsgegevens.nl.

13. Changes
We may update this notice when our services, data processing or applicable rules change. The current version is published on this page.

Publishing a new version does not give us fresh consent. If a change requires additional information or consent, we will address this separately.