Talking with two recruitement agencies about the same job

[VetLegion]

I'm in an awkward position and would appreciate international
advice

An opportunity to do some consulting opened in a LinkedIn group
I follow. I applied, they replied, we agreed to talk on the phone
tommorow. Some hours later, I got called by another recruiter, who
found me on his own, and we talked about the same position. He said
he'll forward my CV to his client and call me tommorow.

So, when the first company, the one I contacted, calls me tommorow
9 AM, what should I do?

a) tell them to go away since my CV is probably already at their client
b) tell them I interviewed with another company for the same position
c) pretend I have no idea it's the same position and just conduct the
phone interview
d) ?

[loinburger]

A. Pretend that you talked to the recruiter who called you before you contacted these people, but by mistake you didn't notice that they were recruiting for the same job. (Alternatively tell the truth about the order of events, but this would be more likely to tick them off.)

[Lorizael]

My solution...

E) Freak out and respond to neither.

[KrazyHorse]

Why did you agree to have the second recruiter forward your cv?

[Ming]

Why did you agree to have the second recruiter forward your cv?

What he said...

And as to your question... D) THE TRUTH

[SlowwHand]

Plus learn how to spell "tomorrow".

[chequita guevara]

You tell the truth, and fast. Companies have agreements with recruiting agencies to pay a sum of money for people who get hired, and if you're forwarded by more than one agency, it creates a headache, and they will automatically reject you just to avoid it.

[KrazyHorse]

No, they won't. I had a similar situation happen where I didn't realize that two roles were the same. The employer's policy was to pay the recruiter who was first to file.

[VetLegion]

Why did you agree to have the second recruiter forward your cv?

I'm asking myself the same thing.

Thanks for all the input guys. I'll tell the guy tomorrow that I got called
out of the blue yesterday about what I think is the same position, and
innocently ask whether their client has multiple agencies looking around.
I won't hide it and won't apologize for it, but I will feel damn awkward.

[VetLegion]

You tell the truth, and fast. Companies have agreements with recruiting agencies to pay a sum of money for people who get hired, and if you're forwarded by more than one agency, it creates a headache, and they will automatically reject you just to avoid it.

Wow, when did you get back to the forum? Wellcome back!

And the client needs someone ASAP, but I don't know the client,
only the agencies, and they can perhaps screw me somehow if their
pride gets hurt or something, so I'm trying to be diplomatic.

[chequita guevara]

I was bored and decided to pop back in, see what's shaking.

[Provost Harrison]

First come first serve. Been in similar situations, but not so far progressed. Just contact them, tell them that, in fact, you've already been submitted for that job and cannot proceed. Recruitment agents are just a bunch of parasitic pimps at the end of the day - a necessary evil that you wish could be somehow cut out of the picture (I am not dealing with one currently, hurrah, direct contract). Don't shed a tear over them because you're just another meal ticket to them...

[DaShi]

Have them fight to the death over you. It's the only fair solution.