Privacy Policy

The SeekOut services include an online talent search and talent optimization solution that allows customers to (i) discover and engage with internal and external candidates; and (ii) analyze attributes of existing personnel for internal talent purposes, including through the compilation and maintenance of the SeekOut Candidate Database. The SeekOut services also include performing candidate sourcing and recruiting services for prospective employers. SeekOut is committed to data privacy and protection as a core value and governing principle for our company.

This Privacy Policy explains how ZipStorm, Inc. d/b/a SeekOut (“SeekOut”, “we”, “our”, or “us”) collects, uses, and shares personal information in order to create, maintain, and update the SeekOut Candidate Database and provide sourcing and recruiting services, and how you can exercise your privacy rights with respect to the personal information we collect. In addition to the SeekOut Candidate Database and sourcing and recruiting services, this Privacy Policy applies to information we collect when you visit our websites, including www.seekout.com, applications, and online services provided by us in connection with SeekOut; apply for a job with us; or when you otherwise interact with us (collectively, the “Services”). This Privacy Policy does not apply to data we process as a service provider on behalf of our customers. For information about the privacy practices of our customers or to exercise your rights with respect to such data, please consult their privacy policies.

In this Privacy Policy, “personal information” means information that identifies, relates to, describes, is reasonably capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with a particular individual. For the purposes of European data protection law, SeekOut is the data controller of your personal information as described in this Privacy Policy.

1. Personal Information We Collect

The personal information we collect depends on how you interact with our Services.

Information You Provide to Us

If you use of our Services, you may be asked to voluntarily provide personal information when you:

• access or use our Services, including a demo/trial;

• make a request to receive information about our Services;

• contact our sales team or customer support team; or

• attend one of our marketing events or webinars.

The personal information we collect may include your first and last name, job title, company name, email address, phone number, account password, search terms (including keywords and filter values), and any personal information contained in customer support requests.

Information Collected Automatically

If you use our Services we may automatically collect personal information from your device, including:

• Log Information:

   Including browser type and settings, access times, pages viewed, your IP address, and the page you visited before navigating to our websites.

• Device Information:

   Including the hardware model, operating system and version, unique device identifiers, and mobile network information related to your computer or mobile device.

• Location Information:

   Approximate location derived from your IP address.

• Usage Information:

  Including the content you view, features you use, the frequency and duration of your activities.

Cookies and Other Tracking Technologies: SeekOut and our service providers may collect personal information about your browser and device using various technologies, such as cookies and web beacons. We use cookies (small data files stored on your hard drive or in device memory) to count visits and traffic sources, see which areas and features of our Services are popular, and customize your browsing experience. We use web beacons (electronic images or pixels) to help deliver cookies, count visits, understand website usage, and measure marketing campaign effectiveness. You may disable the use of such cookies at any time by using your browser settings.

SeekOut Candidate Database

SeekOut maintains the SeekOut Candidate Database, which is primarily comprised of publicly available vocational information about a job candidate’s employment history, qualifications, and education. SeekOut licenses this publicly available information about job candidates from third-party data providers and stores that information in the SeekOut Candidate Database. If you have a professional profile on a publicly available website, we may license that information from our third-party data providers. Our third-party data providers may also collect information you have provided publicly on vocational websites, and our third-party data providers may also provide us with your contact information. The personal information we license may include your name, contact information, education, professional qualifications, work history, work title, and experience. We do not collect information such as job references or appraisal details. We also do not collect sensitive data (e.g., health, political affiliation) from any of these sites. We regularly update this information to ensure accuracy.

We use machine learning-powered functionality to infer other likely characteristics about job candidates in the SeekOut Candidate Database (e.g., our product uses binary machine learning classifiers to predict the likelihood of someone moving to a new role based on years at a company, years in a role, etc.) so that recruiters and hiring managers can be more targeted when approaching candidates. We also use this machine learning-powered functionality to make an inference of the demographic status of a candidate, including gender, race, ethnicity, and/or country of origin, using attributes extracted from candidate profiles (e.g., from first and last names, the country where they attended university, service in the armed forces, etc.). These inferences help recruiters easily find highly qualified and diverse candidates.

We use inferences to enable certain optional search filters within the SeekOut Candidate Database and candidate pipeline insights. Recruiters may elect to use these optional search filters and insights while searching within the SeekOut Candidate Database to find highly qualified and diverse candidates. Inferences are not stored on a candidate’s profile within the SeekOut Candidate Database, and inferences are not available for export outside of the SeekOut Candidate Database. Inferences about race or ethnic origin could be interpreted as sensitive personal information under some privacy laws. We voluntarily provide you with the ability to opt out of the use of this personal information, as outlined in the “Your Rights and Choices” section of this Privacy Policy.

For Candidates Sourced or Recruited via the SeekOut Spot Services

Prospective employers may engage us to source and recruit qualified candidates for open job opportunities. We refer to these services as “SeekOut Spot.” To provide the SeekOut Spot services, we collect data about potential job candidates from the SeekOut Candidate Database, information licensed from other companies, and interactions between candidates and our recruiters. This data includes name, contact information, education, professional qualifications, work history, work title, and experience, as well as inferred information.

SeekOut Job Applicants

If you apply to work for SeekOut, attend a recruitment event, or otherwise participate in the SeekOut recruitment process, we may collect and process personal information about you. The personal information we collect may include your name, email address, phone number, home address, employment history, education, qualifications, and any other information provided in your application materials. We may also collect information about you from third-party sources, such as recruitment agencies, referrals, references, or background checks.

As part of your application, you may provide information relating to your gender, race, ethnic origin, physical or mental health, or criminal records.

If your application is unsuccessful, SeekOut may still retain and use the personal information you provide to us for a reasonable period of time to handle issues that may arise in connection with your application, to contact you regarding other employment opportunities, and for SeekOut's legitimate business purposes.

Information Collected About Children

We do not knowingly collect any personal information directly from children under the age of 18. If we discover we have received any personal information from a child under the age of 18, we will take reasonable steps to delete that information as quickly as possible. If you find information on SeekOut about anyone under the age of 16, please contact us at privacy@seekout.com.

2. Use of Personal Information

We use your personal information for the following purposes, as well as for other purposes set forth in this Privacy Policy.

User of Services or Website Visitor

If you are a user of our Services we use your personal information for the following purposes:

• Business Purposes:

  We may use your personal information to provide services to you, manage our business operations, comply with legal and financial obligations, and administer our customer relationships; for accounting and tax purposes; and to send technical notices, updates, security alerts, confirmations, invoices, and other support and administrative messages.

• Maintenance and Improvement:

  We may use your personal information to personalize and improve the Services to provide content or features that match your profile or interests; or to provide customer service and answer your inquiries, comments, and feedback.

• Analytical:

  We may use your personal information related to your browser and usage to monitor and analyze trends, usage, and activities in connection with our Services.

• Security and Fraud Prevention:

  We may use your personal information to detect, investigate, and prevent fraudulent transactions and other illegal activities and protect the rights and property of SeekOut and others.

• Marketing and Promotion:

  We may use your personal information to develop new products and Services; and communicate with you about products, services, offers, promotions, rewards, and information we think will be of interest to you.

Use of SeekOut Candidate Database Information

SeekOut processes personal information relating to job candidates in the SeekOut Candidate Database to provide an effective recruitment solution for our customers. All job candidate information in our SeekOut Candidate Database is used by our customers to better source and match internal and external candidates with appropriate job opportunities. Customers’ use of the SeekOut Candidate Database is subject to the SeekOut Use Policy (available at www.seekout.com/terms/use-policy).

Use of Information for Candidates Sourced or Recruited via the SeekOut Spot Services

SeekOut Spot uses personal information relating to candidates to provide sourcing and recruiting services, including to:

• Identify job candidates for open roles with prospective employers;

• Match candidate qualifications with job requirements; and provide recommendations and profiles of job candidates to prospective employers.

Use of Job Applicant Information

We use the personal information we collect from job applicants to evaluate their qualifications for employment and to communicate with them about the hiring process. We may also use this information to comply with applicable legal requirements or to exercise or defend legal claims.

3. Targeted Advertising and Analytics

If you are a website visitor, this section applies to you. We engage others to provide analytics services, serve advertisements, and perform related services across the web and in mobile apps. These entities may use cookies, web beacons, SDKs, device identifiers and other technologies to collect information about your use of the Services and other websites and applications, including your IP address and other identifiers, web browser and mobile network information, pages viewed, time spent on pages or in apps, links clicked, and conversion information. This information is used to deliver advertising targeted to your interests on other companies’ sites or mobile apps and to analyze and track data including to understand how our ads perform and determine the popularity of certain content, and better understand your online activity.

Some of the activities described in this section may constitute “targeted advertising,” “sharing,” or “selling” under certain state privacy laws. See “Additional Information for Individuals in Certain U.S. States” for more information and the privacy rights available to residents of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Virginia, and Utah.

4. Disclosures of Personal Information

The personal information we collect about you will only be disclosed as described below and pursuant to this Privacy Policy.

Business Customers and End Users

If you are a business customer or end user of our services, we may disclose your information with the following categories of third parties:

Service Providers: We may share your personal information with our third-party service providers that work on behalf of SeekOut to provide Services. For example, we use technology vendors to host our platform, manage our website, and support our marketing activities. Certain optional functionality in the SeekOut platform uses Google Workspace APIs. We do not use Google Workspace APIs to develop, improve, or train generalized/non-personalized AI or machine learning models.

Merger, Sale, or Asset Transfer: We may disclose your personal information in connection with, or during negotiations of, any merger, sale of SeekOut assets, financing, or acquisition of all or a portion of our business by another company.

Affiliates and Subsidiaries: We may disclose your personal information between and among SeekOut and our current and future parents, affiliates, subsidiaries, and other companies under common control and ownership.

Compliance with Laws and Law Enforcement: We may disclose your personal information in response to a request for information from a competent law enforcement body, regulator, government agency, court, or third party if we believe the disclosure is in accordance with or required by: (i) any applicable law, regulation, or legal process; (ii) to exercise, establish, or defend our legal rights; or (iii) to protect your vital interests or those of any other person. We may also disclose your personal information if we believe your actions are inconsistent with our user agreements or policies, or to protect the rights, property, and safety of SeekOut or others.

Aggregated Data: We may also disclose aggregated or de-identified personal information that cannot reasonably be used to identify you. We will not attempt to re-identify such information except as permitted by law.

SeekOut Candidate Database

We disclose personal information (name, email address, phone number, education, professional qualifications, work history, etc.) about job candidates in the SeekOut Candidate Database with our business customers and users to provide an effective recruitment solution and to enable our customers’ recruiting professionals to better source and match candidates with appropriate job opportunities.

We may also disclose your personal information for any other purpose with your consent or at your direction.

Candidates Sourced or Recruited via the SeekOut Spot Services

If we identify you as a potential match for a job opportunity with a prospective employer, we may share your information with that employer.

Job Applicants

We may disclose personal information we collect from job applicants to third-party service providers that work on behalf of SeekOut to support our recruitment activities. We also use service providers to assist us in the hiring process such as background check providers.

5. International Data Transfers

In providing our Services to certain customers, we transfer data from international jurisdictions (including European Economic Area (EEA) countries) to the United States. As a result, your personal information may be transferred to and processed in countries other than the country in which you are resident. These countries may have data protection laws that are different than the laws of your country. We implement appropriate safeguards to protect your personal information in accordance with applicable law.

We are committed to transferring personal information in accordance with applicable law. In addition to the organizational and technical safeguards, we comply with our obligations under data processing agreements with our customers, including applicable standard contractual clauses (SCCs).

6. Data Retention

Job Candidate Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, while we have a legitimate business need to do so (e.g., to provide you with a service you have requested), or as required by law (e.g., for tax, legal, accounting, or other purposes), whichever is longer.

When we have no ongoing legitimate business need to process your personal information, we will delete it or if this is not possible (for example, because your personal information has been stored in backup archives), then we will securely store your personal information and isolate it from any further processing until deletion is possible. In some circumstances, we may anonymize your personal information so that it can no longer be associated with you, in which case it is no longer personal information.

We refresh and update the personal information in the SeekOut Candidate Database on a regular basis (the frequency will vary but in certain instances, refreshing occurs as frequently as on a daily basis).

7. Third Party Websites, Services, and Applications

The Services may include links to third-party websites, services, and applications that are not owned or operated by SeekOut. This Privacy Policy does not apply to those websites, services, or applications, which may have their own privacy policies or notices that you should review to understand how they may collect, use, or disclose your personal information. SeekOut is not responsible for the content or privacy practices of any linked websites, services, or applications that are operated by third parties.

8. Your Rights and Choices

Account Information

If you have an account with us, you may update your account information by logging into your online account. To delete your account, contact us at privacy@seekout.com. We may retain certain information as required by law or for legitimate business purposes. We may also retain cached or archived copies of information about you for up to two (2) months.

Promotional Communications

You may opt out of receiving promotional messages from us by following the instructions in those messages. If you opt out, we may still send you non-promotional communications, such as those about your account or our ongoing business relationship.

Cookies and Similar Tracking Technologies

SeekOut uses cookies and similar tracking technologies to analyze visits to our websites and interactions with our communications to help us improve our website, services, and marketing campaigns. Most web browsers are set to accept cookies by default. If you prefer, you can usually adjust your browser settings to remove or reject browser cookies. Please note that removing or rejecting cookies could affect the availability and functionality of our Services.

Privacy Rights

Depending on where you reside, you may have the following privacy rights related to the personal information that we collect:

Right to Know: You may request that we disclose what personal information we have collected, used, disclosed, sold, or shared about you, and how it is used and disclosed;

Right to Data Portability: You are entitled to receive your personal information in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format, and you have the right to transfer this information to another data controller;

Right to Delete: You can request that we delete the personal information we have collected from you (with some exceptions) and request that our service providers do the same;

Non-Discrimination: You have the right not to receive discriminatory treatment for the exercise of your privacy rights under applicable law;

Right to Correct: You can request we correct the inaccurate personal information that we have about you;

Right to Restrict Processing: You can request that we restrict the processing of your personal information;

Right to Object: You can object to the processing of your personal information on certain grounds; and

Right to opt-out of sale/sharing/targeted advertising: You can opt-out of the “sale,” “share,” or use of your personal information for targeted advertising.

If you live in California, you also have the right to limit use and disclosure of sensitive personal information for specific purposes, such as providing you with the Services you have requested.

If you wish to exercise any of these privacy rights, please submit a request via the Privacy Choices Portal or via email at privacy@seekout.com. You may also exercise your right to opt out of sales, sharing, or targeted advertising by visiting our Services with a legally recognized opt-out preference signal enabled, such as the Global Privacy Control.

In order to protect your personal information from unauthorized access or deletion, we may require you to verify your identity before we can process a privacy request related to your personal information. If we cannot verify your identity, we may be unable to comply with your request to provide, correct, or delete your personal information.

9. Additional Information for Individuals in Certain U.S. States

This section provides additional information for residents of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, and Virginia relating to their privacy rights under the consumer privacy laws enacted in those states that grant their residents certain rights and require additional disclosures (“State Laws”). If you are a resident of one of these states, this section applies to you.

This Privacy Policy describes the categories of personal information we have collected, disclosed for a business purpose, or sold over the preceding twelve (12) months. Please refer to the “Personal Information We Collect”, “Use of Personal Information”, and “Disclosures of Personal Information” sections above to see specifically what personal information is collected about you and how and to whom we disclose that personal information.

As required by certain State Laws, below we use tables to explain this same information, including the categories of personal information we collect (and have collected over the preceding twelve (12) months), types of entities to which we disclose such information, and the ways we use each category of information.

For Users of Our Services and Job Applicants

Collection, Use, and Disclosure of Personal Information for Business Purposes

Disclosure of Personal Information of SeekOut Job Applicants for Commercial Purposes

We do not disclose personal information of SeekOut Job Applicants for commercial purposes.

Disclosure of Personal Information of Users of our Services for Commercial Purposes

We may disclose the personal information of our customers and prospective customers to third parties for targeted advertising of our Services, such as to expand the reach and effectiveness of our marketing campaigns. Such disclosures are further reflected below:

These disclosures may be deemed as a “sale,” “share,” or “targeted advertising” under certain privacy laws. You may opt out of these disclosures by following the instructions below.

For Information Contained in the SeekOut Candidate Database

Collection, Use, and Disclosure of Personal Information for Business Purposes

Disclosure of Personal Information for Commercial Purposes

SeekOut works by providing professional information to employers and potential employers. Such disclosures are further reflected below. We do not disclose personal information from the SeekOut Candidate Database to third parties for purposes of targeted advertising.:

Sensitive and Demographic Personal Information

SeekOut makes certain inferences about individuals, including about their racial and ethnic origin, and stores that information in the SeekOut Candidate Database as disclosed in the “Personal Information We Collect” section. This information may be considered “sensitive information” under certain privacy laws, but relates to individuals solely in their professional capacity rather than their consumer or household capacity and is used solely to help recruiters to widen their potential recruitment pools to include historically underrepresented groups.

If you are a SeekOut job applicant, we may collect or process sensitive personal information from you during the recruitment process, including your race and/or ethnicity. This information is collected solely for the purpose of assessing your application for employment and complying with legal and regulatory requirements. We also use this information to assist us in our diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. We may also collect and process your Social Security number, driver's license number, or passport number to perform pre-employment background checks.

If you would like to request SeekOut to limit the use of your information or request that we delete any of information we have collected or inferred about you, please submit a request via the Privacy Choices Portal or via email at privacy@seekout.com.

For Candidates Sourced or Recruited via the SeekOut Spot Services

Collection, Use, and Disclosure of Personal Information for Business Purposes

Disclosure of Personal Information for Commercial Purposes

The purpose of the SeekOut Spot services is to source and recruit potential candidates for job opportunities with prospective employers. To match potential candidates with prospective employers, we provide professional information about such candidates to the prospective employers. Such disclosures are further reflected below. We do not disclose personal information from the SeekOut Spot services to third parties for purposes of targeted advertising.

Privacy Rights

For information on privacy rights available under the State Laws and how to exercise your rights, see the Privacy Rights section above.

Authorized Agents

California residents may use an authorized agent to submit privacy requests on their behalf. If you would like to submit a request on behalf of a California resident, please submit the request via the Privacy Choices Portal. Upon submission, you will be required to upload documentation showing proof of written permission from the resident authorizing you to submit a request on their behalf. We reserve the right to require residents to confirm their request and/or identity. We may deny a request from an agent that does not submit proof that they have been authorized by the California resident to act on the California resident's behalf.

Appeals

If we deny your request, you may appeal our decision by contacting us at privacy@seekout.com. If you have concerns about the result of an appeal, you may contact the attorney general in the state where you reside.

10. Additional Information for Individuals in Europe

If you are located in the European Economic Area (“EEA”), the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, the following section applies to you.

Legal Basis for Processing

When we process your personal data as described above, we do so in reliance on the following lawful bases:

• To perform our responsibilities under our contract with you (e.g., processing payments for and providing the products and services you requested). 

• When we have a legitimate interest in processing your personal data to operate our business or protect our interests (e.g., to provide, maintain, and improve our products and services, conduct data analytics, and communicate with you).

• To comply with our legal obligations (e.g., to maintain a record of your consents and track those who have opted out of marketing communications).

• When we have your consent to do so (e.g., when you opt in to receive marketing communications from us). When consent is the legal basis for our processing your personal data, you may withdraw such consent at any time. This will not affect the lawfulness of our actions before you withdrew your consent.

Special category (“sensitive”) information

We use machine learning-powered functionality to infer “likely” personal characteristics of candidates, which may include ethnicity, to help recruiters easily find highly qualified and diverse candidates. Inferences are not stored on a candidate’s profile within the SeekOut Candidate Database and inferences are not available for export outside of the SeekOut Candidate Database. When we process inferred ethnicity data, we do so in reliance on the following conditions under European data protection law:

• The processing is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest, including for the purposes of identifying or keeping under review the existence or absence of equality of opportunity or treatment; or

• The information has been manifestly made public by the candidate.

We voluntarily provide you with the ability to opt out of the use of this personal information, as outlined in the “Your Rights and Choices” section of this Privacy Policy.

Data Subject Rights

For information on privacy rights available to you and how to exercise your rights, see the Privacy Rights section above.

SeekOut can only fulfill privacy requests with respect to information for which we act as a data controller. For information about personal information we process on behalf of our customers, please contact the relevant customer.

11. Disputes Regarding Our Privacy Practices

Except for residents of the EU, UK, and Switzerland, if you have a dispute relating to our privacy practices, please email us at privacy@seekout.com. If you are a customer or a user and we can’t resolve our dispute that way, then please consult your subscription services agreement with SeekOut. For residents of the United States, SeekOut is subject to the investigatory and enforcement powers of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

For EU, UK, and Swiss residents, you have the right to complain to a data protection authority about our collection and use of your personal information. For more information, please contact your local data protection authority.

12. Updates to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we update our Privacy Policy, we will take appropriate measures to inform you, consistent with the significance of the changes we make. If we make material changes, we will provide you with additional notice and may obtain your consent where this is required by applicable data protection laws.

You can see when this Privacy Policy was last updated by checking the “last updated” date displayed at the top of this Privacy Policy.

13. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices please feel free to contact us at privacy@seekout.com or at the mailing address below. If you would like to exercise your privacy rights please submit your request via the Privacy Choices Portal.

Mailing Address:

SeekOut Attn: Legal Department 1100 112th Ave NE

Suite 150

Bellevue, WA 98004