Privacy Policy

We collect only the personal information reasonably necessary to provide recruitment services, assess fit, and maintain professional records. This may include:

• Full name and contact details (email, phone number, mailing address).
• Resumes, CVs, cover letters, LinkedIn profiles and other career documents you submit.
• Employment history, education, qualifications, compensation expectations, and career preferences.
• Reference information and notes from reference conversations, interviews and client debriefs.
• For recruiter applicants: business metrics such as recent placements, billings, fill rates, average fees, time-to-fill and candidate-offer conversion rates.
• For clients: company name, role requirements, hiring timeline, and retention attestation data used in our employer vetting process.
• Account credentials and session data when you register for the candidate portal or client portal.

We use personal information for the following purposes:

• To evaluate candidates for search mandates, bench membership, and employer suitability.
• To match candidates with employer search requirements and coordinate interviews.
• To verify credentials, conduct references, and document vetting outcomes.
• To assess recruiter applicants, independent contractors, and prospective business partners.
• To manage client engagements, issue search orders, and deliver signed contracts.
• To communicate with you, respond to enquiries, and provide secure portal access.
• To maintain records required for legal, regulatory, accounting, and professional liability purposes.

We rely on the following bases, depending on the information and the purpose:

• Performance of a contract, to deliver a search engagement or a portal account.
• Legitimate interests, to run and improve our recruiting operation, protect our systems, prevent fraud, and contact professional contacts about relevant roles.
• Consent, for optional marketing, diversity questions, and reference outreach.
• Legal obligation, to meet tax, accounting, employment and record keeping requirements.

Merit does not sell, rent or trade personal information. We share it only with the following categories of recipients:

• The specific employer or prospective employer considering you for a role, limited to what that process reasonably requires.
• Service providers and subprocessors who host our systems, store documents, run background checks, or send email and SMS on our behalf, under confidentiality and security obligations.
• Professional advisers such as legal counsel and accountants.
• Authorities or courts where required by law or to protect our legal rights.

Our systems are hosted in Canada and the United States, so information may be processed outside your province or country under contractual safeguards with our providers.

Merit does not sell, rent, trade, or otherwise disclose personal information to third parties for marketing, advertising, or unrelated commercial purposes. We share information only:

• With the specific employer or prospective employer when you are being considered for a role, and only to the extent reasonably necessary for that recruitment process.
• With service providers who host our systems, process documents, or send emails on our behalf under strict confidentiality and security obligations.
• When required by law, court order, or to protect our legal rights.

We protect personal information using appropriate technical and organizational measures, including encrypted database storage, access controls, role-based permissions, audit logging, and secure file transfer. Access to candidate records is limited to authorized Merit staff and, when applicable, the client for the specific search.

We retain personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, to comply with legal and professional obligations, and to resolve disputes. Candidate records are generally retained for up to seven years from the date of last activity unless you request earlier deletion, after which they are securely deleted or anonymized. Anonymous analytics and diversity data may be retained indefinitely in de-identified form.

You have the right to access the personal information we hold about you, to request corrections, and to request deletion subject to our legal and professional obligations. To make a request, email us at the privacy contact above with enough detail to identify your record. We will respond within 30 days and may request identity verification before disclosing sensitive records.

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies for basic functionality, analytics, and engagement measurement. These do not identify you personally unless you sign in to a portal. You can manage cookie preferences through your browser settings.

We may update this policy from time to time. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated "Last updated" date. Significant changes will be communicated through the contact information we hold on file or via a prominent notice on the website.

This Privacy Policy is provided for general transparency and should be reviewed by legal counsel before being relied upon as final legal advice or a binding compliance document.