Job Applicant Privacy Notice

1. Introduction

This Job Applicant Privacy Notice ("Notice") supplements our general Privacy Policy and provides specific information about how Vastika Inc ("we," "our," or "us") collects, uses, and protects the personal information of job applicants.

This Notice applies to individuals who apply for employment with Vastika Inc or any of our client companies through our recruitment portal, regardless of whether you are ultimately hired.

2. Scope of This Notice

This Notice applies to:

• Job applicants who submit applications through our online job portal
• Candidates referred to us by recruiters, employees, or third parties
• Individuals participating in our recruitment process (interviews, assessments, etc.)
• Former applicants whose information we retain in our systems

3. Personal Information We Collect About Applicants

3.1 Information You Provide Directly

When you apply for a position, we collect:

• Contact Information: Full name, email address, phone number, mailing address, city, state, country
• Professional Information: Resume/CV, work history, job titles, employment dates, employer names, job responsibilities, professional accomplishments
• Educational Information: Schools attended, degrees obtained, graduation dates, GPA (if provided), certifications, licenses
• Skills and Qualifications: Technical skills, programming languages, software proficiencies, language fluencies, professional certifications
• Application Materials: Cover letters, portfolios, work samples, references, letters of recommendation
• Compensation Information: Salary expectations, current compensation (if voluntarily provided), desired salary range
• Work Authorization: Visa status, work authorization status, citizenship (where legally permitted)
• Availability: Start date availability, notice period, relocation willingness, work mode preferences (remote, hybrid, onsite)
• Responses to Application Questions: Answers to screening questions, assessment results, pre-employment test results

3.2 Information from Third Parties

We may receive information about you from:

• References: Information from professional references you provide
• Recruiters: Information from recruitment agencies or headhunters
• Background Checks: Criminal history, employment verification, education verification (with your consent)
• Social Media: Public profile information from LinkedIn, GitHub, or other professional networks (where relevant to the position)
• Former Employers: Employment verification, performance information (with your consent)

3.3 Information Collected During the Recruitment Process

As you progress through our recruitment process, we may collect:

• Interview Notes: Interviewer feedback, assessment scores, evaluation forms
• Communication Records: Email correspondence, messages, phone call logs, meeting notes
• Assessment Results: Technical assessments, coding challenges, personality tests, aptitude tests
• Video/Audio: Recorded video interviews (with your consent)
• Travel Information: Travel arrangements for on-site interviews (if applicable)

4. How We Use Your Information

We use your personal information for the following purposes:

4.1 Recruitment and Hiring

• Reviewing and evaluating your application and qualifications
• Matching your skills and experience with open positions
• Communicating with you about your application status
• Scheduling and conducting interviews
• Performing reference checks and background verification
• Making hiring decisions and extending job offers
• Onboarding new hires

4.2 Legal Compliance

• Complying with employment laws and regulations (EEO, affirmative action, etc.)
• Verifying work authorization and immigration status
• Maintaining records for compliance purposes
• Responding to legal requests, court orders, or regulatory inquiries

4.3 Talent Pipeline

• Maintaining a database of qualified candidates for future opportunities
• Contacting you about other positions that may match your qualifications
• Building relationships with potential future employees

4.4 Analytics and Improvement

• Analyzing recruitment metrics and effectiveness
• Improving our recruitment processes and candidate experience
• Understanding diversity and inclusion in our applicant pool (aggregate data only)

5. Legal Basis for Processing (For EEA/UK Applicants)

If you are located in the European Economic Area or United Kingdom, our legal basis for processing your personal information includes:

• Consent: Where you have given us consent to process your information for recruitment purposes
• Contract: Processing necessary for entering into an employment contract with you
• Legitimate Interests: Our legitimate interest in recruiting qualified employees and managing our workforce
• Legal Obligation: Compliance with employment laws and regulations

6. How We Share Your Information

6.1 Within Our Organization

Your application and related information are shared with:

• Hiring managers and interview panel members
• Human Resources personnel
• Recruitment team members
• Department heads and decision-makers
• Employees involved in the hiring decision (on a need-to-know basis)

6.2 With Third Parties

We may share your information with:

• Background Check Providers: For employment verification, criminal background checks, education verification (with your consent)
• Assessment Vendors: For skills testing, personality assessments, or other pre-employment evaluations
• Recruitment Partners: Staffing agencies, recruiters, or job boards we work with
• Service Providers: Cloud storage providers (Firebase), email service providers, applicant tracking system vendors
• Legal and Regulatory Authorities: When required by law or to comply with legal obligations
• Client Companies: If you apply for a position at one of our client companies, we share your application with that employer

6.3 Business Transfers

In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred to the acquiring entity.

7. How Long We Retain Your Information

7.1 Unsuccessful Applicants

If you are not selected for a position, we retain your application materials for:

• Standard Retention: 12 months from the date of your application
• Talent Pool (with consent): Up to 24 months if you consent to remain in our talent pool for future opportunities
• Legal Requirements: Longer if required by law (e.g., EEO compliance)

7.2 Hired Applicants

If you are hired, your application information becomes part of your employee file and is retained in accordance with our employee data retention policies and applicable employment laws.

7.3 Early Deletion

You may request deletion of your information at any time by contacting us at info@vastika.com. We will comply with your request unless we are required to retain your information for legal or compliance purposes.

8. Your Rights as a Job Applicant

8.1 All Applicants

Regardless of your location, you have the right to:

• Access: Request a copy of the personal information we hold about you
• Correction: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information
• Deletion: Request deletion of your application and related data
• Withdraw Consent: Withdraw consent for processing (where consent is the legal basis)
• Object: Object to certain processing activities

8.2 California Applicants (CCPA/CPRA Rights)

California residents have additional rights:

• Right to Know: Request specific details about the personal information we collected about you in the past 12 months
• Right to Delete: Request deletion of your personal information (subject to certain exceptions)
• Right to Opt-Out: Opt-out of sale or sharing of personal information (we do not sell applicant data)
• Right to Limit Use of Sensitive Information: Limit use of sensitive personal information
• Right to Non-Discrimination: Not be discriminated against for exercising your privacy rights

8.3 EEA/UK Applicants (GDPR Rights)

If you are in the European Economic Area or United Kingdom, you have additional rights:

• Data Portability: Receive your data in a portable format
• Restriction of Processing: Request restriction of processing under certain circumstances
• Lodge a Complaint: File a complaint with your local data protection authority

8.4 How to Exercise Your Rights

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at:

• Email: info@vastika.com
• Subject line: "Applicant Data Request"
• Include: Your full name, email address used in application, and specific request

We will respond to your request within 45 days (California and general requests) or within 30 days (GDPR requests).

9. How We Protect Your Information

We implement appropriate security measures to protect applicant data:

• Encryption: Data encrypted in transit (SSL/TLS) and at rest
• Access Controls: Restricted access to applicant data on a need-to-know basis
• Secure Storage: Cloud-based storage with enterprise-grade security (Google Firebase)
• Regular Audits: Security assessments and vulnerability testing
• Employee Training: HR and recruitment staff trained on data protection
• Third-Party Security: Vendors must meet our security standards

10. Automated Decision-Making

We do not make hiring decisions based solely on automated processing or algorithms. While we may use automated tools to screen applications or rank candidates based on qualifications, all final hiring decisions are made by human recruiters and hiring managers.

If you have concerns about how your application is being evaluated, you may contact us to request human review of any automated screening decisions.

11. International Data Transfers

Your information may be transferred to and processed in the United States, where our servers and service providers are located. If you are applying from outside the United States, please be aware that data protection laws in the U.S. may differ from those in your country.

For EEA/UK applicants, we rely on appropriate safeguards such as Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission to protect your data during international transfers.

13. Questions or Concerns

If you have any questions about this Job Applicant Privacy Notice or how we handle your personal information, please contact:

14. Updates to This Notice

We may update this Job Applicant Privacy Notice from time to time. When we make material changes, we will post the updated notice on our website and update the "Last Updated" date. We encourage you to review this notice periodically.