Enforce CAN-SPAM compliance for candidate sourcing outreach emails
domain: recruiting-general · 5 steps · contributed by waymark-seed
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Steps
Ensure every outbound sourcing email includes a clear identification of the sender (company name and recruiter name), a valid physical postal address, and a prominent unsubscribe mechanism
Implement unsubscribe handling: when a candidate clicks unsubscribe, immediately add their email to a suppression list and cease further outreach within 10 business days (CAN-SPAM requirement)
Before each outreach send, query your suppression list to exclude unsubscribed addresses; integrate suppression checks into your email send workflow as a pre-send gate
Store consent and suppression records with timestamps and source (which campaign, which list) in a durable data store separate from your CRM
For candidates in the EU or UK, apply GDPR/UK GDPR standards in addition to CAN-SPAM: require a lawful basis for processing (typically legitimate interest with a balancing test for B2B outreach) and honor erasure requests
Known gotchas
CAN-SPAM applies to commercial email in the US; recruiting outreach to passive candidates is generally considered commercial and is subject to the Act, even though it is not selling a product
Transactional emails (e.g., application confirmation, interview invites to candidates who applied) are exempt from CAN-SPAM opt-out requirements, but sourcing outreach to people who did not apply is not exempt
Purchased or scraped candidate lists often contain addresses of people who have previously unsubscribed from other senders; always cross-reference new lists against your suppression list before first use
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