The recruiting industry believes that the best candidates are the ones content in their current jobs, but whom statistics show would happily look at an attractive offer. The key has been to connect them with the right opportunity. Applicant Tree will encourage these people to post their résumés by offering to pay them whenever a company wants to look at their profile.
Applicant Tree President Jen Cooper feels that her service offers the best option for companies. “We wanted to build a system that would help entice employees to post their résumés online and therefore assist recruiters with contacting a pool of applicants that was formerly unavailable to them. We determined that a ‘pay per results’ model would accomplish that.”
Job seekers registering at the Web site are vetted through a phone screening to determine their résumé prices. Their information is then listed on the site where employers match their job requirements with applicants. The applicants’ entire résumé, minus contact information, will be available to employers. Once the decision has been made and the employer wants to contact the applicant, the employer clicks on the purchase button and his or her credit card is billed at that time.
Applicant prices will range from $15 to $100 depending on the level of education and experience of the applicant. Applicant Tree will also pass on half of the purchase price to the applicant.
Businesses will also have the option to post open positions on the Web site’s job boards. When an applicant actively applies to a listing, the company can purchase the résumé for half price, providing even greater value.
This business model will substantially cut down on the recruitment costs normally associated with finding quality applicants. For years, major job boards have been making money from job seekers by charging companies large amounts to root through thousands of profiles, few of whom completely meet their requirements. Cooper hopes to simplify that process while at the same time save companies money by charging them exclusively for the profiles of applicants that fit their needs.
