I wouldn't bother. Legal recourse is not worth it unless you are planning
to back it up with lawyers. The shady recruiting firms/employers know
this, which is why they can get away with what some view as illegal
measures. It's too expensive to make them stop (would you spend $20,000 in
legal fees over a lost hire?) Your best defense is your friends and
colleagues. Only work with those you trust, and those your friends trust.
As for putting a copyright on the resume, at best you'll get an inquisitive
comment from employers, at worst they'll throw out the resume because they
don't understand why that sits at the bottom of the page (like "Does this
mean I can't send it over to my tech lead for evaluation?") I've seen a
lot of resumes/CVs, and I've never seen one copyrighted.
- Dave
Here's a suggestion for the future. Put a copyright notice on your
resume, something like
Copyright (C) 2000 John Q. Public. All rights reserved. No
duplication or distribution permitted without the author's
permission.
That way if they do give it to someone without your permission, you
can hold the flame of copyright law to their feet to get them to back
off.
I'm not sure whether this would work, but it may be worth a try. Any
feedback?
Eric