Terms of Use

General Terms and Conditions of Use for Applicants

By using our website, our services and submitting reviews, you accept our following terms of use.

Stepstone is your lifelong career companion and offers various career services via the various platforms. If your life plan changes, you develop further or strive for new goals, Stepstone offers the right support for your further career. Our goal is to build a long-term relationship and create a product and service that is available 24/7, seven days a week, so that you can take control of your life and future.

1. General; Circumference

1.1. These Terms of Use of The Stepstone Group Österreich GmbH, Prinz-Eugen-Straße 8-10, A-1040 Vienna (“Stepstone” or “we”) apply to the contractual agreement (hereinafter referred to as the “Agreement”) between Stepstone on the one hand and the user (also referred to as “User” or “you”) on the other hand, who is involved in anyhttps://www.Stepstone.at/, whose subpages, or any website of the Stepstone Group that contains these Terms of Use, as well as the career services offered in our mobile applications (“Apps”) (hereinafter collectively referred to as the “Services”) or uses such a service. The Websites and Apps are hereinafter collectively referred to as the “Stepstone Platforms”. If you wish to post a job offer (“Stepstone Customer”), these Terms of Use do not apply, but ourTerms & Conditionsfor entrepreneurs. Additional terms and conditions may apply to certain services, which we will inform you about separately. Please read these Terms of Use carefully. If you do not accept our Terms of Use, you will not be able to use our services and we ask you to refrain from any further use.

1.2. The services subject to these Terms of Use are intended only for the individual job search or job placement within the meaning of Section 2 (3) of the Labour Market Promotion Act (AMFG) of natural persons as employees or freelancers. It is not permitted to use our services commercially in any other way, such as to promote a company’s services.

2. Subject of the Agreement and Scope of Services

2.1. The Stepstone Platforms contain a significant amount of information and services related to careers and professions for candidates and users of the Platforms. The services include, in particular, the provision of published job advertisements of Stepstone customers or the provision of technical tools for the application process, as well as information on their proper use.

2.2. If you register on the Stepstone Platforms in order to use the Services, parts of your CV and information from your user profile will be visible on the Platform to Stepstone Clients and Stepstone may suggest your profile to Stepstone Clients for consideration. For more information, please refer to section 2.9.

2.3. In order to balance the interests of users and Stepstone customers and to ensure the usability of the platform, it is essential in particular to prepare and present the available information for candidates and users. To this end, candidates and users who agree to these general terms and conditions of use and provide their contact details will receive regular notifications with published job advertisements. You can adjust the frequency and mode of transmission of the various notifications in your account settings according to your needs. The sending of notifications that inform about the correct use of the platforms is part of the contract and cannot be completely unsubscribed.

2.4. Some services can be used without registration. Registration gives you access to additional features and services that cannot be used without registration. Stepstone is under no obligation to provide these services to you without registration.

2.5. Notifications about suitable vacancies and services

2.5.1. You may periodically subscribe through our Platforms to receive email notifications informing you of job opportunities or other services (“Notifications”) that Stepstone believes may be of interest to or may be relevant to you. An assessment is based on information from your user account, settings for notifications made by yourself and/or based on your search and usage behavior on the Stepstone platforms. You have the option to set up multiple notifications and delivery modes for different searches and services. Methods of transmission include e-mails, SMS or instant messaging services. Please note that if you no longer wish to receive notifications, you will need to unsubscribe from any notifications you have set up individually, in order to avoid deleting notifications that you wish to continue to receive.

2.5.2. If a Registered User uses the Platforms again after a period of inactivity, Stepstone believes that he or she will start a new “search cycle”. In order to continue to ensure the usability of the Platforms, Stepstone will again regularly send the User notifications by e-mail that Stepstone believes may be of interest to the User or may be relevant to him.

2.5.3. Based on empirical values and comprehensive analyses of the career of employees in companies, Stepstone can identify a so-called “employee life cycle” for almost every user. The employee life cycle describes a candidate’s career path within one or more companies, or their professional life. In order to optimize a candidate’s career planning, Stepstone may send information about further career development to inactive, registered users who have not been active on the platforms for a long time by email or via their user account.

2.5.4. In order to ensure your authentication, i.e. to avoid unauthorized notification subscriptions on behalf of third parties, we will send you a confirmation email after your initial registration, in which we ask you to confirm your registration again by clicking on a link in the email. The authentication process is omitted if you are logged in as a registered user and set up notifications for suitable job offers or services. Authentication by entering a password may also be omitted if you click on the link provided there in a notification to you (“soft-login”), and gives you the opportunity to gain limited access to your account without prior login.

2.5.5. By registering, you create a user account for candidates (“User Account”) and automatically receive notifications about your searches. Settings, such as the frequency or deactivation of all or only some of your subscribed notifications, can be made in the settings of your user account.

2.6. Newsletter

You can subscribe to various newsletters that we offer on different topics. We may also send you e-mail newsletters about Stepstone services that are similar to the Stepstone services you are already using, if you have not objected to these newsletters. You can object to receiving all Stepstone newsletters at any time free of charge. We will inform you about your right to object when we collect your e-mail address, and also in the respective newsletter. If you no longer wish to receive our email messages, please click on the unsubscribe link found in each message and/or contact us at office@Stepstone.at. In addition, you can view changed settings in your user account if you have registered for a user account.

2.7. User Account

Certain Services are only available for registered Users with a User account. How to register for a User account is described in section 3.

2.8. Saved job advertisements

You can save job advertisements that you have viewed by clicking on the button provided for this purpose in the job ad. After that, you will be able to access entries saved in this way in your user account. Stepstone can analyze your saved entries and, based on this analysis, optimize the services offered to you and tailor them specifically to you. Stepstone may send you an email reminding you of your saved vacancies.

2.9. User Profil

You may create a resume profile (“User Profile” or “Profile”) within your user account that contains information you have provided to us about yourself, such as resume data or attachments. If you upload attachments or create a CV using the CV Builder to complete your profile, we analyse their content and structure in an automated process and use this analysis to improve the services we offer you. We also use the information you provide to recommend job recommendations tailored to your needs on our Platforms based on your profile data or to send you notifications as described in Section 2.3. We may also use your profile data to automatically fill in forms for other services that we provide to you on our platforms that may be linked to the user profile when you use them. We also use information stored in your profile to improve your search experience and make your application process more efficient. We also store analytical data about you and your user behaviour, together with a pseudonymous user ID, in a statistical database, whereby you are not identifiable.

You can choose between two profile settings: your profile can be visible or not visible. Your profile will be visible by default, you can change this setting at any time in your settings.

If your profile is set to “visible”, parts of your profile will be visible to Stepstone customers. In addition, Stepstone can suggest your profile to its customers if your profile matches their job description.

2.10. Applications for users with a user account

You can use your profile to apply for vacancies that are published on the Stepstone websites or in the apps, provided that the Stepstone customer has intended to apply via the platform for the respective job advertisement. We use your existing data to auto-fill certain fields of the application form, and you can upload additional files. Once you have clicked on the respective button, we will either, depending on the choice of the Stepstone customer, i) store the data you enter in the application form on the Stepstone platform so that the respective Stepstone customer can access it there, or ii) send your application directly to the applicant tracking system of the Stepstone customer. If we store the application on our platform (i)), the Stepstone customer to whom you have applied will also have access to your profile and will be able to view the data you have entered into your profile. If your application is sent directly to the Stepstone customer’s system (ii), the application will not be saved in your profile. Since Stepstone customers from all over the world may post job advertisements on our platforms, the respective Stepstone customer may be based outside the EU or the European Economic Area (“EEA”), which is why access and disclosure may also take place from and transfer to such third countries.

2.11. Applications for users without a user account

You can apply for some jobs without creating a user account, which are published on the Stepstone websites or in the apps. To do this, enter the required data in the fields of the application form and upload any additional files that may be required. Once you have clicked on the respective button, we will either, depending on the choice of the Stepstone customer, i) store the data you enter in the application form on the Stepstone platform so that the respective Stepstone customer can access it there, or ii) send your application directly to the applicant tracking system of the Stepstone customer. Since Stepstone customers from all over the world may post job advertisements on our platforms, the respective Stepstone customer may be based outside the EU or the European Economic Area (“EEA”), which is why access and disclosure may also take place from and transfer to such third countries.

2.12. Application for cipher notices

A cipher ad is a job advertisement that does not specify the company that is looking for an employee. If you respond to a job advertisement with a cipher, we will forward your application, including the cover letter and all data contained therein, to the client with this cipher. We do not regularly review the content of your message, but we are entitled to review it at any time. If the content of your cover letter violates these Terms of Use, we will not forward it. We accept blocking notices for certain companies if you have given us the detailed and correct name (name and legal form of the company) and address. However, due to the time-consuming research involved, we do not accept blocking notices for an entire group of companies.

2.13. Storage of CV Data in your Profile

If the Stepstone customer does not use its own applicant tracking system to process your application, but the Stepstone platform, your application, including the respective attachments, will be stored within your user account in a history that you can access at any time.

Information from your applications or information you provide in order to use Stepstone services will automatically be used to enrich your own profile with information if there is no information there.

If you have not yet added a CV to your profile before your first application by uploading or creating it with the CV Generator, the CV of your first application will automatically be added to your profile if the recipient of your application uses the Stepstone platform to process your application.

You have the option to object to the inclusion of a CV in your profile before submitting an application, as well as to change or delete information automatically transferred to your profile at any time.

Depending on the service, you have the option of adding other CVs to your profile as an additional CV or replacing the CV you already have. You will be informed of this option when you apply and can make use of it by clicking on the corresponding button. If you upload a new CV for an application process or create it on the Platform, the new CV will be added to your profile.

2.14. Modification and discontinuation of services

In order to balance the interests of users and Stepstone customers and to ensure the usability of the platform and to adapt it to the conditions of the market, it is essential to continuously develop the Stepstone platforms. As a result, services may be modified or discontinued altogether. The User is not entitled to the retention of any service, view or functioning of the Platform. If you do not agree to any such modification or discontinuance, you may only terminate this Agreement in accordance with Section 9 of this Agreement and cease and desist from using the Stepstone Platforms.

3. Registration for a user account

3.1. If you wish to register for a User Account, you must provide us with a valid email address and password, which we will store.

3.2. If we have received your request to create a user account, we will confirm receipt of this request by sending a message to the email address you have provided. The agreement between you and us regarding your user account will become effective when we activate your user account. The completion of the registration by you merely constitutes an offer to enter into a contract. Stepstone reserves the right to accept or reject the conclusion of the contract at its sole discretion. There is no legal entitlement to conclude a contract.

3.3. You must provide complete and truthful information about the requested information and data. You are responsible for keeping your contact details (in particular your email address) up to date and ensuring that you can be reached at the address provided and that the email address is not transferred to another person. If any of the information provided changes, you will need to adjust and correct the information. In the event that you provide false information, Stepstone has the right to suspend your user account and access to our platform temporarily or permanently and/or terminate it in accordance with clause 9 contained herein.

3.4. Each User may create only one User Account. The user account is non-transferable.

3.5. A user account is created permanently and is not automatically deleted at the end of a search cycle or at the end of a certain period of time. However, the User has the option to terminate this Agreement and delete their account at any time via their account setting or by notifying Stepstone.

4. Obligations and responsibilities of the User

4.1. Users are solely responsible for providing themselves with the hardware and internet connection necessary for the use of Stepstone’s services.

4.2. Please ensure that the Services within the scope of your User Account are only used by yourself. You must keep all access data and passwords strictly confidential. You are responsible for all use of the login credentials and passwords, as well as all activities that occur in connection with the use of your user account. If an unauthorized third party has actually or possibly had access to your login data (e-mail address in combination with the password), you must inform Stepstone immediately and change each affected password immediately as possible.

4.3. You must not act unlawfully and/or violate any applicable law in connection with the use of our services, in particular you are not allowed to:

4.3.1 Provide content that:

          • is harassing, abusive, harmful to minors, or otherwise illegal;
          • infringe the rights of any third party, including, but not limited to, copyright, privacy rights, or other proprietary rights;
          • confidential, e.g. contain trade secrets;

4.3.2. impersonate any other person, such as a public official, a representative of Stepstone, or pretend to have a non-existent relationship with such a person, forge usernames or otherwise manipulate identifiers, and/or disguise the origin of any content transmitted in connection with the Services;

4.3.3. store, post and/or send advertising, junk or bulk emails, chain letters, pyramid schemes or other commercial communications;

4.3.4. use scraping or similar techniques to capture content and use it for any other purpose, republish it, or use it in any way other than the intended purpose of the Services;

4.3.5. use techniques or other automated services that aim or cause user activities to be misdisplayed, e.g. by using bots, botnets, scripts, apps, plugins, extensions or other automated tools to play content, send messages, post comments or perform other actions;

4.3.6. harass, threaten, insult or defame any person or entity, disparage or discriminate on the basis of gender, race, religion or beliefs, or make or disseminate untrue claims about any person or entity;

4.3.7. collect, store or transmit personal data of another user, unless the data subject has consented to this;

4.3.8. Post links to third-party content that violates the provisions of these Terms of Use or other regulations.

4.4. All information contained in your User Account and any other information or content that you provide to us (“Content”) must be truthful. This means that you are not allowed to create user accounts for third parties or create user accounts for non-existent persons without the consent of the data subjects, and that any profile picture you submit must show you.

4.5. Content that you provide to us must not contain viruses, worms or other harmful code.

4.6. Personal data that you send to or provide to Stepstone should not contain the following information, and you warrant and warrant that you will not include the following information:

      • racial or ethnic origin,
      • political views,
      • religious or philosophical beliefs,
      • membership of a trade union,
      • genetic data,
      • biometric data for the sole purpose of identifying a natural person;
      • health data,
      • Data relating to the sex life or sexual orientation of any natural person.

4.7. If you transfer personal data to other users or recruiters, you do so at your own risk. Stepstone cannot control the actual use of your personal data by the recipients. Therefore, please check the identity of the recipients of your data before sending it. For example, you should not send your personal information to a private email address. Furthermore, we advise you not to send sensitive data to recruiters, even if you are asked to do so. Such sensitive data includes, for example, passport number, social security number, or bank details.

4.8. Stepstone may give the User the opportunity to create content himself via certain services and to send it to Stepstone, which can then be published on the Websites.

4.8.1 The User undertakes not to create any content that violates applicable law or morality. In particular, the user undertakes not to create any contributions whose publication constitutes a criminal offence or an administrative offence, which violate copyright, trademark or competition law, which contain offensive, racist, discriminatory or pornographic content or contain advertising.

4.8.2 By sending the created content, the user grants Stepstone an unrestricted, irrevocable, exclusive and transferable right of use of the transmitted content. Stepstone is entitled to any exploitation and use of the content.

4.8.3. The User fully indemnifies Stepstone against all claims of third parties arising from the fact that it violates its obligations under these Terms of Use, i.e. that third parties assert for infringement of their rights by the content created by the User.

4.8.4. Stepstone reserves the right not to publish submitted entries. There is no legal entitlement to the publication of the contributions.

4.8.5. The contributions created are personal statements of the users and do not represent the opinion of Stepstone.

4.9. If the User violates the provisions of these General Terms and Conditions of Use or violates applicable law, Stepstone may temporarily or indefinitely exclude the User from using the Platform or his/her User Account. The extent of the exclusion will be determined by the severity and frequency of the violation and will be at the discretion of Stepstone.

5. License in and to User’s Content

5.1. You may use our Services and transmit content to us in accordance with these Terms of Use. We do not investigate or claim ownership of such content. By providing content to Stepstone, you authorize Stepstone to store, host, and, if applicable, make it available to the public. We will use your content in accordance with the agreement between you and us and these Terms of Use. By providing your Content to Stepstone, you grant Stepstone a non-exclusive, geographically perpetual license for the duration of the Agreement to use the Content for the purposes of providing the Services under your agreement with us, including the right to store, reproduce, format, reformat, technically edit, transmit the Content,  and to analyze, have analyzed, statistically evaluated and/or statistically evaluated by oneself or by third parties.

5.2. You warrant and warrant that you have all rights to the Content or have a license to the Content necessary to grant Stepstone the rights set forth in Section 5.1 and that the Content and its use by Stepstone under the agreement with you does not violate our Terms of Use or applicable legal provisions and does not infringe any intellectual property rights or other rights of any third party.

6. Content Reporting System and Moderation

6.1. As part of its legal obligations, Stepstone has implemented an electronic reporting and complaints procedure to verify allegedly unlawful content published by third parties on the platform operated by Stepstone.

6.2. If, after reviewing a report, it is determined that the reported content is not compliant with the applicable legal requirements and/or violates the provisions of these General Terms and Conditions, Stepstone reserves the right to block, remove or otherwise restrict access to the reported content (“moderation measure”). The same applies to content that Stepstone deems to be unlawful and/or contrary to the Terms and Conditions on the basis of a voluntary investigation and review. However, Stepstone is under no obligation to review the content provided in general.  

6.3. Stepstone reserves the right to suspend the processing of a report if, after careful consideration of all circumstances, it is obvious that abusive behaviour has occurred on the part of the reporting person. Such abuse occurs in particular if the reporting person repeatedly uses the reporting function for a large number of cases and the review by Stepstone shows that there is no legitimate reason for the report. Stepstone will, as far as technically possible, inform the reporting person about the suspension of processing.

7. Complaints procedure after moderation decision

7.1. If the data subject or entity does not agree with a decision made on the basis of a report via the established reporting function, they generally have the option of filing a complaint via the internal complaint management procedure set up by Stepstone. The same applies to moderation measures that were carried out on the basis of a voluntary review of the content provided.

7.2 Access to the Complaints Procedure shall be granted to persons and entities (“Complainants”) who have allegedly reported illegal content but have not taken any moderation action by Stepstone. Access is also granted in cases where the complainant is affected by a specific moderation measure, such as the temporary removal of published content.

7.3. The possibility of internal complaint is available to the data subjects for a period of six months after the decision made by Stepstone on the reported content.

7.4. Stepstone reserves the right to suspend the processing of a complaint if, after careful consideration of all circumstances, it is obvious that the complaint is being filed abusively by the complainant. In particular, such abuse occurs where the complainant repeatedly raises the complaint for a large number of cases and Stepstone’s review shows that there is no legitimate reason for the complaint. Stepstone will, to the extent technically feasible, inform the complainant of the suspension of processing.

8. Fees

Stepstone’s services subject to these Terms of Use are free of charge.

9. No Warranty; Backup Copies

9.1. We do not guarantee the topicality, correctness, completeness, usability, or suitability of any content on our Platforms for a particular purpose. In addition, we do not guarantee the conclusion of an employment contract between persons who use platforms as applicants and an employer or Stepstone customer.

9.2. Stepstone does not guarantee that the services offered will be available at certain times or permanently. Disruptions, interruptions or possible downtimes of the (online) services cannot be ruled out. For technical or operational reasons, there may be temporarily limited availability. This is possible, in particular, with regard to capacity limitations, the security or integrity of data processing systems, or the implementation of technical measures necessary for proper or improved performance.

9.3. Stepstone’s servers are regularly backed up. Nevertheless, data loss cannot be ruled out. When you transfer or upload data to us, regardless of the form in which it is transmitted, we advise you to make backup copies. This also applies in the event that you terminate your contract with us because we do not retain a copy of your data after deletion, unless there are legal obligations to store it.

9.4. You may have the option of setting selection or exclusion criteria (“Criteria”) for the various Services in order to personalize or adapt a Service to your needs. This applies in particular to search results or the (non-)visibility of your user profile for certain employers. Stepstone does not guarantee that your entered criteria will be fully taken into account, especially not for variations of an entered criterion.

9.5. We do not guarantee or warrant any minimum storage capacity for your User Account. We reserve the right to temporarily or permanently limit the volume of data for data uploads, in particular if this is necessary for technical or user-friendliness reasons, for example to maintain or optimize the service.

10. Liability

10.1. In accordance with applicable law, Stepstone shall be liable for damages,

      • resulting from injury to life, limb or health due to a breach of duty on the part of Stepstone, a legal representative or a vicarious agent of Stepstone,
      • resulting from the lack of a quality guaranteed by Stepstone,
      • which are caused intentionally or through gross negligence, including by our legal representatives and vicarious agents, or the
      • caused by Stepstone’s malicious conduct.

10.2. In the event of property or financial damage caused by slightly negligent conduct on the part of Stepstone, a legal representative or a vicarious agent of Stepstone, Stepstone shall only be liable in the event of a material breach of a material contractual obligation, but only up to the amount of a typical damage foreseeable in the event of the conclusion of the contract. Essential contractual obligations are obligations the fulfilment of which enables the proper fulfilment of an agreement and on the observance of which the contracting parties may regularly rely.

10.3. Any possible liability under the Product Liability Act remains unaffected.

10.4. Any further liability on the part of Stepstone is excluded.

10.5. Stepstone is not liable by law in the event of slight negligence.

10.6. Insofar as Stepstone’s liability is excluded or limited, this also applies to the personal liability of Stepstone’s legal representatives, executives and vicarious agents.

11. Termination

11.1. The agreement with you regarding the User Account and the services provided within it, as well as notifications about suitable job offers and services under this Agreement, is made for an indefinite period. Either party may terminate this Agreement with immediate effect and for any reason.

11.2. When the User Account Agreement or notifications about suitable job offers and services ends, we will delete your personal data that we have stored or store your data in anonymized form for analytical purposes, unless processing is required by law and for another purpose.

12. Intellectual Property Rights in and to our Platforms

12.1. Our Platform and any related software, databases, graphics, user interfaces, designs and additional content, names and trademarks are protected by copyright, trademark and additional proprietary rights. In the relationship between you and Stepstone, Stepstone shall be deemed to be the sole owner of all intellectual property rights.

12.2. Subject to your compliance with these Terms of Use and any other applicable provisions, Stepstone grants you the non-exclusive and non-transferable right to use the Platforms and Services. You are prohibited from (i) using the Platforms or the Services to develop other Services; (ii) activate or use any features of the Platforms or Services that you do not have the right to use; (iii) modify, translate, reproduce or decompile the source code or study its functions, except as required by law.

13. Confidentiality and data protection

Stepstone treats your personal data confidentially. Stepstone will only use and publish them if this is necessary under these Terms of Use. Any collection and processing of users’ personal data is carried out in accordance with applicable data protection law. For more information about the use of personal data on the Stepstone Platforms, please refer to the respective Privacy Policy.

In order to provide you with the specific services for which you have registered or to calculate transit times, Stepstone stores the date of your last activity on the Stepstone Platforms (“Date of Last Activity”), including the date of your registration, as well as your last use of Stepstone services, e.g. logging into your user account, clicking on links in the Stepstone newsletter, notifications in accordance with Section 2.4.,  may include the use of a Stepstone profile or any other activity that indicates that you are interested in using the Services.

14. Modification of these Terms of Use

14.1. Modification of the Terms of Use of Services for which registration is required

14.1.1. Stepstone reserves the right to amend the Terms of Use for Services for which registration is required at any time, provided that this is reasonable for the Users. In the event of such a change to the Terms of Use, we will inform you at least four weeks in advance either i.) at your next login with the help of an appropriate screen mask or ii.) by e-mail. If you do not object or log in again within this four-week period, the amended Terms of Use will be effective for the future and will become part of the Agreement on the effective date. Stepstone will inform you of the effect of the silence and the significance of the four-week period in a notice of the amended terms.

14.1.2. Changes to the subject matter of the contract and the material obligations are excluded from the power to amend in accordance with clause 12.1.1. In these cases, Stepstone will inform you of the intended changes and offer you the continuation of the contractual relationship with changed conditions.

14.2. Modification of Terms of Use of Services for which registration is not required

For Services that are available without registration, these Terms of Use apply in their current form, which is published on the Platform at the time you use the Services, and Stepstone may amend these Terms of Use at any time.

15. Applicable Law, Jurisdiction and Other Provisions

15.1. This Agreement and its interpretation shall be governed by and construed in accordance with Austrian law. However, if you are a consumer within the meaning of Article 6(2) of Regulation (EC) No 593/2008, this choice of law may not deprive you of the protection afforded to you by mandatory provisions by virtue of the law that would have applied (in the absence of a choice).

15.2. If any provision of these Terms of Use is found to be invalid or unenforceable, in whole or in part, that provision shall be deemed severable from these Terms of Use and the validity and enforceability of all other provisions of these Terms of Use shall not be affected. In this case, the invalid or unenforceable provision will be replaced by a statutory provision.

15.3. Notices for Dispute Resolution:
Stepstone is not obliged or willing to participate in dispute resolution proceedings through any consumer arbitration board. You can find information on alternative dispute resolution on the European Online Dispute Resolution Platform http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/ (Please note: we do not currently participate in this program).

 

Last Updated 02.2024

  1. Stepstone
  2. Terms of Use
  3. Terms of Use