JPA's Candidate Charter

Introduction to Jonathan Paul Associates, Inc.

Our environmental search firm is based on trust. Our clients trust us to provide them with candidates who are interested in and suitable for a specific role in their particular organization. Our candidates trust us to consider them for appropriate opportunities and to advise them professionally, both in relation to individual assignments and also in more general career development terms. It is important that candidates know what to expect from us.

In summary you can expect us to treat you as fellow professionals and as individuals – just as we ourselves would like to be treated in our dealings with others. We expect our relationships with individuals to evolve over time and not to be limited to assignment-specific conversations. We hope you will always find us accessible and approachable; it is an important part of our approach to providing a service that is valued by clients and candidates.

Confidentiality
If you are discussing or considering a potential change of employment or a change of career, there is always the possibility that you put yourself at a certain amount of risk with your current employer. For that and other reasons, you are entitled to the highest levels of confidentiality from the recruitment consultancy and the client organization.

To safeguard your confidentiality, Jonathan Paul Associates (JPA) will:

• Following discussions about your potential candidacy, obtain your authorization before submitting your name and your details to the client organization.
• Contact you directly through your preferred means of communication, rather than other less confidential means.
• Not contact references provided by you without your permission.
• Not discuss your potential candidacy with anyone outside the recruitment consultancy, and ensure that all employees of the firm abide by the same rules.
• Caution the client to also safeguard your confidentiality.

It is important to remember that you do not become a candidate for a specific role until JPA has conducted an initial evaluation of your suitability for the position and you have expressed an interest in it. If either of these two criteria is missing, you cannot, at that time, be considered a candidate for the position.

However, even if the position about which you are being contacted is not right for you at that time, you may still benefit from conversations with JPA consultants by being kept informed about market developments. Candidates not selected for one assignment may be suitable for another.

Full Disclosure

In order to make the right decision, you need to know as much as possible about the position and the client organization. This ultimately requires detailed disclosure regarding the nature and requirements of the position, including compensation, location and pertinent information about the client. However during your initial conversation, when you are still being evaluated as a potential candidate for the position, JPA is under no obligation to divulge confidential information about the position or the client. Only after you have been identified as a legitimate candidate should you expect JPA to disclose more than the most basic information. Even then, there are times when certain information about the client must remain confidential until a later stage in the recruitment process.

Timely Communication

The completion of an assignment can take several months, with many steps between initial contact and the ultimate hiring of the successful candidate. Once you become an active candidate, JPA will communicate with you in a timely manner at each and every step of the process. This means proactively updating you on the progress of the assignment as well as responding in a timely manner to any inquiries initiated by you.

Feedback

Based on his or her understanding of the position and the client's needs, the JPA Consultant managing the assignment will give you an honest appraisal of where you seem to fit the opportunity and where you do not seem to fit. If at any point in the process the client decides not to proceed with your candidacy, JPA will provide as complete an explanation of the client's decision as possible.

Professional Treatment

JPA consultants are expected to comply with all the employment laws that apply to the normal hiring process. In addition, we will also demonstrate a high level of professionalism with each and every candidate. We believe that you should expect all your dealings with JPA to be informative, useful, purposeful and constructive. Our approach relies on open dialogue; we will always answer your questions and we expect the same in return. You should expect to know how the process is likely to unfold and the probable timetable, as well as reasons for any delays or changes in the situation.

About Consistency, Evolving Situations and Negotiations

Please remember that JPA represents the client organization but does not have complete control over the client's communication with you during the latter stages of an assignment. We will usually be in a position to brief you about any situational or contextual changes and explain the potential ramifications, but occasionally there will be additional unexpected changes that come to your attention. If this happens you should immediately ask JPA for clarification.

If the position is offered to you, we will then proceed with formal verbal offers, written offers and closure as per the terms of your employment agreement. As this can involve highly sensitive issues, JPA can play a crucial role as intermediary, facilitating effective communication between client and candidate. Experience shows that this 'honest broker' channel of communication can be invaluable in resolving any issues or concerns, or addressing any special requirements that you may have, relating to terms and conditions.

JPA will also work with you on your resignation letter, counter offers and exit strategy to make the transition seamless to your new role.

About Ongoing Dialogue

If your candidacy does not result in a hire, JPA consultants will want to keep you in their pool of candidates and contacts for the future. We may contact you from time to time to maintain the relationship and keep you appraised of any upcoming assignments. We may also use you as a resource to help identify candidates for assignments that are not a good fit for you. We hope that you will value your relationship with JPA and that you may want to take your own steps to maintain your links with us.

How Can You Help Us?

The recruitment process is not a one-way street. Although you have a right to expect courteous, professional treatment from everyone at JPA and the client, there are a number of things you can do to facilitate the process and advance your standing.

• Always be honest with us. Under no circumstances should you artificially inflate your achievements or misrepresent your work history. Also, be genuine about your interest (or lack of it) in the position under discussion. Complete and accurate disclosure by the candidate is an essential element in our process. Trust and integrity really do matter.
• Be flexible. Make every effort to fit appointments and interviews within your schedule.
• Educate yourself. Conduct your own due diligence on JPA and the clients we discuss with you, and understand the unique value of our style of recruitment consultancy.
• Have realistic expectations. Understand that the process takes time and that you may well be one of several qualified candidates.
• Negotiate in good faith. Do not lead us to believe you are in discussions only with us if you are at the same time considering offers from elsewhere.

In conclusion, if there is anything that needs clarification, or that you think we should be telling you about, or that you think we should know about, then contact us and let us know.