Indeed Crowd launched August of last year, promising to reignite the pay-per-referral model that has seen so many crash and burn before it. For the world’s most popular job search site, the move seems like a natural progression to the existing business.
Indeed Crowd helps employers fill positions by offering rewards to people who share jobs with their network. When users submit a new candidate for a job, the candidate is contacted by Indeed and screened for fit.
If the candidate agrees, their resume will be sent to the employer. If hired, Indeed pays a referral fee, typically in the few thousands of dollars neighborhood.
Last week, Indeed added pay-per-match to the model. Now, affiliates who submit a candidate can get rewarded if their candidate is “qualified.” An Indeed employee decides whether someone is qualified or not. Payouts tend to be in the $10 range and come in the form of an Amazon gift card instead of cash. Bonuses are paid out immediately.
“Our team of internal recruiters looks at factors like the candidate’s background, experience, and resumé to determine whether they are a match for the role,” says a promotional email from the company. “If they are, you’ve earned a match bonus!”
Indeed’s popular mobile app, Job Spotter, also rewards users with Amazon gift cards when images of help-wanted signs in the real world are added via the app interface. Gift cards are easier to manage than cash and don’t come with as many legal strings.
Historically, the referral business has been a tough one. Companies like H3, refer.com, Jobster, Zubka, YorZ, and KarmaOne have come and gone. Those businesses, however, didn’t have Indeed’s traffic numbers and client base.
Not all jobs on Indeed Crowd come with a match reward, but the company says it’s adding new matches to open jobs on an ongoing basis. Targeted emails are also sent to Crowd members when relevant jobs are posted.