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I had contacted a recruiter about a position which is available in "XYZ" Company. The recruiter asked me to send my resume. After sending the resume, I didn't get response for 2 weeks. Now, I got a connection via friend who will refer me to the "XYZ" Company.
Is it unethical/wrong to apply via referral now? Or should I wait longer for the recruiter to respond?
Write the recruiter again and ask them for a quick update.
Then give them 3 days.
If they don't answer, go ahead and apply in any way you deem valid.
It's not unethical or wrong but you want to minimize the risk that the recruiter has forwarded your CV to the company to prevent the company from wondering why you apply twice.
I wouldn't worry about the duplicate application. Most companies won't really get worked up about an extra copy of a resume for a candidate they liked.
The recruiter situation is a little tricky, but I wouldn't worry about it too much. It's important to remember that the recruiter doesn't work for you, they get paid for filling Job Orders. Think of them a little like a car salesman. You don't actually owe them anything, but it's a good practice to deal politely and honestly with everyone.
In your situation you've already given him two weeks, if they still don't responded it's likely that the company already passed on your resume and the recruiter didn't care enough to bother telling you. It's rude, but when you get paid per placement time is money and manners often get dropped. You should definitely still reapply with your referral, because having that real person to vouch for your skills might make the difference.
If either of these is true the hiring HR department will have to sort out who gets paid what. That's part of their job, by the way. Don't worry about it too much.
What you can do: be transparent. Tell your friend the name of the recruiter you sent your resume to. And tell the recruiter about your friend. You're sending your resume via a recruiter and a friend because you really want to work there.
One of the things I get asked my recruiters is to keep them updated of who I am interviewing for.
The only reason this is asked is to not hamper your chances of getting the interview.
Why is that you ask?
If the same applicant arrives at their desk from 2 different agencies, even if it is a good candidate, they would have to sort out who gets paid a fee for the candidate being hired. Between going through the hassle of this and interviewing someone else, most places will just look at interviewing someone else unless the pool of candidates is small enough. The reality is that the recruiter will find out if you get the job at the company if you update any of your social media information and would then contact the company to request payment of their fee even if it was your friend's referral that got you the job.
Chase it up with them, even mention you have someone there who wants to talk to the hiring manager about you so ask them if they have sent your application and if they haven't you can then ask your friend instead.
