If your agency sends candidate profiles to clients, assess a tool on the finished file: what it removes, what experience it keeps, whether a recruiter can correct the output and whether it exports the format the client needs. That is a different purchase from blind screening inside your ATS or removing data from an old database record.
A CV redaction tool for recruitment agency client submissions should therefore be tested against the document and hand-off your team actually needs. Use one representative sample, review the risk of identifying the person with the appropriate colleague, and compare the result with your current workflow.
Three different jobs called “anonymisation”
| Job | Where it happens | Intended output | Ask the vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Client-ready profile | Outside or alongside the ATS, before a shortlist is sent | A readable document for a particular client, with selected details withheld | Can a recruiter inspect and edit each change before export? |
| Blind CV in the ATS | Internal screening in the recruitment system | A view or document that hides selected identifiers during assessment | Does redaction work in our ATS, and which fields does it cover? |
| ATS database lifecycle | Records retained by the agency after a process | Deletion or irreversible anonymisation, according to the organisation’s process | What happens to copies, history and data that could reconnect a record to a person? |
Do not select one tool because all three jobs share a label. Each row has a different audience, point in the workflow and result.
Client submissions: test the file that leaves your agency
Follow the complete route from source CV to the file the client receives. Agree which details should be removed and which experience and qualifications must remain useful. Check whether a recruiter can correct the text, apply the agency’s template and export PDF or Word.
Use the same sample with each tool and record:
- which fields were removed or changed, and whether the result needs manual review;
- whether hidden details remain in headers, footers, filenames or links;
- whether the final profile keeps the information the client needs to assess;
- who approves the file and how it is shared.
This tests your workflow; hiding a name alone does not establish that a document is anonymous in the legal sense.
Blind screening in an ATS is not a client profile
Services such as MeVitae’s eRecruiter integration describe document redaction within an ATS for screening. That may fit a team seeking to limit visibility of selected details during internal assessment.
Ask which fields are redacted, whether settings can be adjusted, and how recruiters regain the context needed later. Do not assume that this step also creates an agency-branded document ready for a client.
ATS database retention is a separate workflow
Managing a database record is another job. For example, Recruitify describes consent and retention features and anonymising candidate data while retaining process statistics. Check the exact scope: profiles, attachments, copies and connected systems may need separate rules.
The GDPR distinguishes personal data from pseudonymisation; pseudonymised data may still be attributable to a person if additional information is available. See the definitions in Article 4 GDPR. Do not treat editing a client document as completion of the organisation’s database-retention process.
A vendor demo using one sample
Use a fictional or approved test sample and complete the table during the demo. Do not put a real candidate’s data into an untrusted demo environment.
| Check | Client profile | Blind CV in ATS | ATS database record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting point | CV and client requirements | Candidate document in an active process | Record after a process ends |
| Recipient | Agency client | Screening team | Team authorised to manage the database |
| Result | Editable profile or export | Internal view/document | Deletion or anonymisation within an agreed scope |
| Pass when… | File is clear and does not expose unintended identifiers | ATS redacts agreed fields at the required stage | Vendor shows scope, copies and whether relinking is possible |
Before rollout, agree with the person responsible for data protection what process and outcome are appropriate. A vendor can demonstrate features; your organisation determines its processing rules.
When is your ATS enough?
If clients receive a simple, repeatable export and your ATS can produce it in the required template, another tool may not be necessary. If your agency prepares different profiles for many clients, compare editing, templates and output formats in a dedicated client-profile workflow.
TalentVeil turns source CVs into blind CVs, branded candidate profiles or standard client-ready CVs, with editable templates and PDF/Word export. See how recruitment agencies prepare client profiles. In a demo, compare a sample output with your existing process rather than assuming one tool replaces all three jobs.