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Charging Job Seekers to View or Apply for Jobs

Posted By: Thomas Shaw, 8:00pm Tuesday 15 September 2009    Print Article

Charging job seekers to help them find work is a very touchy subject. Yes there may be some laws and the RCSA will say it is unethical for Recruiters to double dip etc. Except in the real world, there is nothing stopping a online job site from charging job seekers a fee to access premium content.

I was quite critical in my previous comments regarding a new premium SMS Job Alerts service about to launch. Except later that day, I remembered that there are already existing websites that charge the job seeker to access to premium content or bolt-on products (eg. SMS alerts).
So before you go complain about these sites (which I am sure some of you will kick up your feet and stomp a little) we need to understand the reasons why these job sites are charging the job seeker.
  • Only serious job seekers will apply for the role
  • It creates a niche community for your job site
  • Job seekers want EXCLUSIVE access to jobs, content and extra services that they do not get on other job boards
  • There is no such thing as a "free job board"
  • If job seekers are serious about finding work, they will pay for the convenience of these extras
Let's face it. We all need to earn a living, and these premium sites are actually adding value to the job seeker.

In Australia, our leading news publications; News Ltd and Fairfax, will soon charge readers a fee to access the websites news content. SEEK has ruled out charging job seekers, but what about CareerOne (50% owned by News Ltd/Monster) or MyCareer (owned by Fairfax) ??

So if your job site is going start charging the job seeker make sure that
  • The jobs are 100% unique and not available elsewhere else
  • The job seekers are financially able to pay for access. Aim at the professional/executive industry
  • Your marketing has to effectively communicate and convince job seekers that they are paying for exclusive, valuable content
What do you think?


































Article URL: http://www.recruitmentdirectory.com.au/Blog/charging-job-seekers-to-view-or-apply-for-jobs-a267.html

Article Tags: sixfigures.com.au sixfigures ragtradejobs ragtradejobs.com.au smsthejob smsthejob.com.au smsmejobs smsmejobs.com artshub.com.au artshub localbacon localbacon.com charging candidates charging job seekers for work rcsa theladders theladders.com sms job alerts seek seek.com.au mycareer careerone fairfax news ltd

Comments Hide Comments (4)

Feel free to join in on the conversation. All comments are moderated before publishing. Comments posted by subscribers don't necessarily reflect the views of Recruitment Directory.

 kellymagowan (4:04pm Thursday 17 September 2009)

Hi Thomas,

I’d like to clarify your blog post on charging job seekers, as some may misconstrue that Six Figures charges job seekers to View and Apply for Jobs – we don’t.

Paying to access jobs and career related information is well accepted in the USA and UK and has been done for many years. The model is somewhat newer to Australia. Sites like Six Figures offer the job seeker a choice of level of membership, one being free and the other paid; similar to what you see on sites like LinkedIn.

Six Figures does not charge people to access and apply for jobs, which may also be the point of difference here. Premium Members pay to access other quality, career-related services and benefits pertinent to our Executive audience.

Niche sites and those that charge offer their members value beyond jobs, including relevant resources, guides, services and so on that the generalist sites don’t. It is a very different model all together to that of servicing a membership, which you see with different job site models.

Let’s not forget that charging people to access information that is targeted and relevant saves them time, which in turn saves them money (unless you don’t value your time).

What is terrific is that job seekers today have more options available to them and they can choose free and paid services to assist them with their job search and career.


 Dana Ward (11:02am Friday 20 November 2009)

I love to read about job seekers balking at the idea of "paying to find a job". Recall when most jobs were advertised in print? Did'nt those papers cost money? Boy has the internet spoiled millions in a relatively short period of time. The job seeker is sure to become a revenue source if/when this economy rebounds.


 noneedtoknowmyname (3:42am Sunday 14 February 2010)

What do I think? I think it's a load of balls. It's just some crappy scam artist oriented businesses out to charge what is otherwise a free service. It's the same as if you started charging to make a post on this blog, would it increase the relevancy of the blog? No. It's just that some people will pay for any old crap so these scam artists, and I use the term loosely, will be able to scrape some profits together out of these misguided fools. Dana, whether or not job seekers paid for a paper, they did not pay any clients or recruitment firm for consideration of their application. You have a point, but it's somewhat mis-represented.


 Rob (10:33pm Monday 15 February 2010)

I think it's total unfair for job seekers, where there is thousand of recruitment alternatives!

I have worked in the staffing, recruiting, and the human resources sectors for over 7 years. I help people with their current careers, future career plans, and career transitions.

I created a blog in an effort to pass on my knowledge of the industry, inform professionals of the available resources that provide assistance to job seekers free of charge, provide quality job leads, and much more.


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