So 2.5 years ago while I was still attending university I was once contacted by a recruiter, who later introduced me to a firm (firm A) where I had a interview but I didn't take the job at the time (I wanted to get another degree first).
Now 2,5 years later I would like to apply for a job at the same firm, which is put on their website. Before, I had no idea (naive) how recruiters work, now I know the firm has to pay those recruiters whenever they hire someone they introduced (and pretty large sums in the financial sector). So when two people apply for the same job, ceteris paribus the one that doesn't require an extra recruitment fee will have an advantage, and probably get the job.
So does this mean that those two meetings I had imply that for the rest of my life firm A will have to pay some extra bucks if they want to hire me? Seems ridiculous to me, to be honest. How can I bypass this legally?