*Disclaimer: this content was sponsored by ZipRecruiter, and we may also get a commission for trials and purchases after you click links on this page.
If you are looking for a more straight-forward cost structure for your job postings, we would recommend trying out a free trial of ZipRecruiter. We go into more detail about this point below, but ZipRecruiter offers easy-to-understand pricing and some of the best job site features around.
It seems crazy that you have to spend money to spend money. This is the case when you are paying a job board to find candidates, and then paying an employee once they are hired.
As with anyone ready to post jobs online, you may be wondering what the Indeed job posting cost is, and how much using the popular job platform will set you back.
Well, I want to shed a little light on the situation by exploring the cost of posting a job on Indeed, as well as an alternative to take into consideration.
Does it Cost Money to Post a Job on Indeed?
You can get started with Indeed by posting your job for free*.
I have the asterisk there because they also do on their website. That means that you need to sift through their *terms and conditions to find out what that really means, or just keep reading this article.
Essentially, you are able to submit and post your jobs to Indeed for free. That said, it lays out in the terms and conditions that they hold the right to make you pay for a sponsored listing of the job at their discretion.
Their discretion could mean:
- identical jobs posted in multiple locations
- jobs posted with a confidential or generic company name
- jobs that are commission only
- hard-to-fill jobs
- jobs posted by a staffing agency
- positions posted by a recruitment process outsourcer
- jobs by other recruitment-based companies
- and any other jobs as determined by Indeed
From what this sounds like, you can post jobs for free to the platform, but you better be ready to pay-to-play if they decide they want you to.
Free listings obviously don’t get the eyeballs that sponsored listings do, and your job will show in the feed and constantly get pushed down as new jobs are added.
According to Indeed, sponsored positions are 3.5x more likely to result in a hire.
With that said, is it worth paying to play?
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Do You Have to Pay to Advertise?
In order to give your job posting a better chance at finding you the help you need, you are likely going to want to pay the Indeed job posting cost and get your listing sponsored.
This will give you more visibility, and more freedom to post the jobs you want (as we saw in the previous section, free postings are limited in the results you can get).
According to their website, sponsored postings are a pay-per-click auction-style advertising system. This means that you can get started with as little as $5 per day, set what you are willing to pay-per-click, and your ranking in search results is based on your bid.
For more competitive positions, this means that you may be paying way more per click, as it is an auction system that takes the best bid into consideration.
What’s Included in an Indeed Sponsored Job?
Sponsored jobs allow your job listing to be found much more easily than a non-paid listing.
If your bid allows for you to be placed on page 1 of the search results, then your ad will stay there until you quit sponsoring the posting, fill the postion, or you are outbid.
Since it is pay-per-click, you won’t waste money on applicants who aren’t interested in your job at all and scroll on by. The downside being if someone clicks in and clicks out quick without reading much or applying, you are out that advertising money with no results.
With sponsored postings you get the ability to for Instant Match where Indeed will match you with candidates that fit what you are looking for. You will also get the ability to invite candidates to apply for your position, and reach more candidates through desktop, mobile, and Job Alert emails.
There are also other paid options through Indeed.
You can pay an extra fee to search resumes and reach out to potential applicants (starting at $100/mo for 30 contacts), hyper-target who sees your ad based on their location and industry, and you can get a premium company profile to help build out your brand’s presence on the site.
Indeed job posting cost all depends on how much you are willing to pay to flesh out your brand and your reach on Indeed.
How To Maximize Your Listing on Any Job Board
Whether you are going for a free job posting or a paid one, there are several things that you can do to maximize your listing and make it attractive to job seekers.
First, make sure you know what your company stands for, its mission, and what makes it a good and unique place to work for. Starting your job description with an interesting value proposition may not appeal to some, but to the right candidates who want to know more about your company, it’s vital.
Next, make sure you are putting together an accurate job description. Rattling off generic descriptions of tasks won’t help attract anyone to your job posting. If you aren’t paying the Indeed job posting cost, you have to make sure you are making a listing that is attractive to people before your job fades back in the search results.
Also remember that candidates have other options too. You want to make sure to sell yourself well and not just assume that candidates need you for a job. Don’t look at them as commodities. They can look for employment elsewhere just as you can look for other candidates.
Next, make sure you are only listing the requirements that are necessary to complete the job. While some jobs do require degrees and specialized education, many don’t. Don’t ask for diplomas where they aren’t warranted, and if you do require one, make sure you are paying a fair wage.
Lastly, list the wage! People want to know what salary to expect when applying for jobs. List what range you are willing to pay for the position and you will attract candidates that fit within that range. If you wait until the interview and find a mismatch in this area, everyone’s time is wasted.
Is it worth it to sponsor a job on Indeed?
Sponsoring a job on Indeed can be a great way to give your job listing extra attention so you can fill positions easily.
Indeed has millions of job postings, so it’s easy to get lost in the sea of options.
By sponsoring a job, you can give your listing more exposure and attract more attention from potential candidates.
However, it’s important to consider the cost before you sponsor jobs on Indeed.
Can you message candidates on Indeed?
Indeed’s employer dashboard makes it easy for employers to manage the recruitment process.
Employers can schedule interviews, review applications, contact candidates, and more.
What are the advantages of online job boards?
Job boards provide employers with a one-stop shop for finding qualified candidates.
Most of them also offer access to their databases, which makes it easy for employers to use their comprehensive search engine features to browse thousands of resumes.
Probably the biggest advantage of using online job boards is how it makes the hiring process quick, compared to the traditional methods.
Employers can simply post jobs and find qualified candidates in one place.
Additionally, online job boards make it easy to track applicants and keep track of the hiring process since most of them have a built-in applicant tracking system.
What does it mean to pre-screen candidates?
Every organization wants to find high-quality job candidates for a job opening, but sometimes it’s difficult to determine who is the best fit.
One way to improve your chances of finding the perfect candidate is to pre-screen them.
Pre-screening candidates is a common practice done by hiring managers.
This is done in order to eliminate candidates who are not a good fit for the position or who may not be honest about their qualifications.
Some reasons why pre-screening candidates may be beneficial include:
Hiring managers can weed out unqualified candidates more quickly and save time and energy.
Pre-screening can help ensure that the available pool of qualified candidates is narrowed down to those who are most likely to be a good fit for the position.
It can help ensure that only qualified candidates are interviewed, which can lead to better hires.
What are the 3 things to look for when you hire someone?
When you are looking for the perfect candidate, you should take into account their qualifications, skills, and experience.
Qualifications
The first thing you should look for is the person’s qualifications.
Make sure they are knowledgeable enough to do the job well and that they have experience doing similar work.
Although experience isn’t always the most important factor, an applicant’s experience should help you determine if they are a good fit for the job.
You can gauge whether or not they will be able to successfully complete the work required of them by taking into account their previous work history.
Skills
Make sure the person has the skills needed for the position.
You don’t want to hire someone who doesn’t have any relevant experience or training for the position.
Look for skills that match the position you are hiring for.
For instance, if you are looking for a software developer, look for skills in programming languages and software development tools.
Be sure to ask candidates specific questions about their skills so that you can verify their knowledge.
Personality traits
When you are looking to hire someone, it is important to look for personality traits that will make them a good fit for the job.
This includes things like:
Integrity: Are they honest and not afraid to admit when they make a mistake?
Passion: Do they care about what they do and are engaged in the task at hand?
Leadership: Do they have the ability to lead and motivate others?
Dependability: Are they able to work with minimal supervision, come up with solutions on their own, and handle unexpected situations smoothly?
Self-Aware: Do they recognize that they have strengths and weaknesses?
Tips to Increase Your Candidate Pool
The job market is always changing, and with that, the job requirements for certain positions may change as well.
This can be a boon for those who are looking to find new employment opportunities, but it can also be difficult for candidates to keep up with all the changes.
Here are some ways to increase your applicant pool and get more applicants for your company’s open job positions:
1. Make sure your job listing is well-written and easy to understand. Include specific details about the position, such as the required skills and experience.
2. Increase the visibility of open job positions by posting them on social media and online job boards.
3. Update your job listing regularly to reflect the latest industry trends.
4. Network with other industry professionals to find candidates that you may not have discovered on your own.
5. Ask your current employees to refer candidates they might know people who are interested in the position.
6. Offer competitive benefits packages that appeal to today’s workforce.
7. Share your company culture. This will give applicants a better sense of whether or not this is the right job for them.
8. Make it easy to apply. Make it clear how and when candidates should submit their applications, and make sure all required information is easily accessible.
Is Indeed Better than ZipRecruiter?
One of the more innovative job recruitment sites around is ZipRecruiter.
Where Indeed is tried and true, ZipRecruiter hit the ground running with a revolutionary job posting platform and a more transparent pricing model.
You can get started with a free trial of ZipRecruiter by signing up and posting your first job. I feel like ZipRecruiter is a little more straight-forward in this way, as you know what you are getting into, whereas Indeed has the have the asterisk (*) next to their *free posting.
When it comes to Indeed job posting cost vs. posting on ZipRecruiter the pricing structure is very different.
On Indeed you have to post your job and then you can pay to sponsor to get it more premium listing space as we have discussed. You also have to pay for additional features such as being able to reach out to candidates directly. These extra fees and the auction-style bidding system can add up fast and you don’t know what you are getting into from the offset.
With ZipRecruiter you can start with a $299/mo plan that allows for 1 job to be posted at any given time.
That means if you fill a position during that month, you can replace the listing with a new job post for no additional fee. This is a great perk since ZipRecruiter boasts that 80% of employers find a quality applicant within 1 day of posting their job. That’s the algorithm at work for you.
Overall, both platforms offer a lot of the same features, but ZipRecruiter seems to have taken the best of Indeed and updated it into a more innovative and simpler, streamlined platform. I also feel that their pricing structure is more forthcoming, without having to dig into the fine print to see what they really mean by “*free”.
Are You Having a Hard Time Hiring?
Hiring can be a long and stressful endeavor, especially if you have a company that hires on a daily or weekly basis.
Employee turnover and the length of time it takes to find good employees cost your company big time and can affect the bottom-line.
If you want to skip a lot of the stress and let artificial-intelligence and a platform that already attracts the best candidates do a lot of the heavy lifting for you, I would give ZipRecruiter’s free trial a try.
Skip wondering what the Indeed job posting cost really is, and go with a more straight forward platform.
