ZipRecruiter vs. Indeed — Which Should You Actually Be Using to Hire New Employees?
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If employers of any size want to grow their business or fill vacant positions, they’re going to need the best job sites to connect with applicants online. It’s not surprise, then, that ZipRecruiter and Indeed have become two of the biggest recruiting sites in the world, with thousands of job listings and millions of job seekers using their platforms daily. So then the next obvious question is, which platform is the best?
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Since ZipRecruiter and Indeed are so ubiquitous in the job market, the best hiring platform for your business is going to come down to just that — your business. Whether you’re volume-hiring, or trying to fill local roles, you have specific needs in your hiring process that might be better met by one job search site over the other. That’s why we’re here to help.
Modern job boards cast a wide net, and have very specific tools you can utilize to streamline the hiring process, so it’s all about arming yourself with knowledge before diving in and posting a big batch of listings. We dive deep into the ins and outs of ZipRecruiter and Indeed, so you’ll know which site can bring you the most qualified candidates, fast. Here’s how they measure up to each other in key recruiting areas.
Posting Jobs: ZipRecruiter vs. Indeed
ZipRecruiter goes above and beyond only being a job board for employers to post openings. With just one click, you won’t have to manually post your job ads to multiple, individual job sites.
Just create and post your job listing on ZipRecruiter using one of their customizable templates, and the platform will automatically send it to 100+ top job sites. There’s even the option to spread your job posts further through social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, improving your odds of reaching potential job seekers interested in the position.
ZipRecruiter job listings work through a system called slots, with slots being the number of job listings you can have up at any given time. Based on the specific plan you choose you can spring for more or fewer slots, but any job posting you put up will still get distributed to top job boards across the web. Once you’ve filled a position, simply swap out your job listing for a new one.
Indeed is more of an old-school job board site, where you can build and account and immediately start posting job openings for free. One of the benefits as an employer, though, is that you can create your own Company Pages, which lets you boost your online presence by adding a description of your company, photos, logo, contact information, etc. Potential applicants can also see reviews of the company on your page, something that’s important to attracting job seekers.
Depending on the number job ads you have, and your preferred amount of distribution for your listings, there’s a few ways ZipRecruiter and Indeed can work for you. Having a tougher-than-average-to-fill position? You can use ZipRecruiter‘s “TrafficBoost” tool to give your job posting a little extra boost, including increased placement and visibility across their linked job boards. You’ll be certain to secure some more eyeballs, too, since the tool will promote the position until it receives the number of views you’re aiming for (100-300 views per post), or for up to 30 days.
Indeed also gives you the option to boost your posts through sponsored job listings, but they charge per click in a similar way to Google Adwords. Based on the job, and how aggressive you want the “campaign” for your listing to be, prices can range from $0 to $5 per click. This can give you a lot of leeway in terms of which positions you want to promote, but doesn’t necessarily guarantee the listing will get the eyeballs needed to pay for itself.
Finding Candidates: ZipRecruiter vs. Indeed
So you’ve posted your open positions — what next? Even if you’ve filled all your listing slots on ZipRecruiter, there’s no limit to the number of applicants you can screen. ZipRecruiter actually uses a powerful matching algorithm and AI technology to create instant matches between your listings and the right candidates.
Using information about a job seeker’s skills (such as education, skills, and experience), it can connect all kinds of businesses with millions of potential employees currently on the web through their browser site, mobile app, and email program. You can then use their Candidate Dashboard to narrow down your picks, reviewing profile information and resumes, applications, and check answers to any required screener questions.
Already have a candidate in mind? One key to unlocking ZipRecruiter‘s potential is their ‘Invite to Apply’ tool. You can either send pre-written or personal messages to your favorite candidates, which is sure to encourage a quick response so you can fast-track your search. ‘Invite to Apply’ finds qualified candidates for open roles even before they apply, with a rating indicating how strong a match they are for the position.
Indeed also offers an AI-powered recruiting system, where after a candidate applies, you can review their resume, cover letter, application, and more before scheduling an interview. You can also add screener questions to your application, message directly, and virtually interview potential candidates, all on the site itself. Through sponsored posts, you can invite candidates to apply for your job, and get resume-matching.
One downside is that unlike ZipRecruiter, Indeed doesn’t post job listings across other job board sites, and your listings won’t show up in search results for Google Jobs. But for small businesses, their extra resources to ensure that more eyes will see your postings.
Pricing Model: ZipRecruiter vs. Indeed
Whether you go with ZipRecruiter or Indeed, you’ll have to choose the pricing model that works best for the size of your company, the hiring timeline, and the number of positions you’re trying to fill.
ZipRecruiter states that “80 percent of employers who post a job get a quality candidate through the site on the first day.” There are two plans available, a Standard and Premium job listing plan. While they don’t list their official pricing online, the Standard plan is for more budget-friendly hiring, and will give you distribution to 100+ job sites, unlimited candidate applications, and one reusable job slot.
The Premium plan offers everything in the Standard plan, but you’ll find qualified candidates fast with prime placement in job alert emails, as well as access to ZipRecruiter’s database of 31 million+ resumes. Both are priced per-job post, per-day, but both plans will be billed on a monthly basis.
Before you even start looking over your qualified candidates, you can post jobs on ZipRecruiter free with their free trial plan. You’ll have access to the same candidates, post job openings, and track the status of applicants during your free trial, the way you would with a Standard or Premium plan.
Indeed lets you post job openings for free, but also gives you the option to use paid sponsored posts to promote your listings and help them get in front of as many eyes as possible, and rank at the top of searches. Depending on the number of targeted ads you’ll want to use for your hiring campaign, the price may vary.
Bottom Line: Which Job Search Site Is Best?
Employers who are looking to hire qualified candidates fast will find a variety of resources and features on both ZipRecruiter and Indeed. But while both sites have ways to “boost” your job postings, overall, we thought that ZipRecruiter was the more versatile job board, where you’ll get the most bang for your buck.
The job matching system is intuitive, and lets you reach out to the candidates that you want to hear more from as opposed to just putting up postings and hoping for the best. The “TrafficBoost” option is key to guaranteeing more potential employees will see your post, and by one-click posting to over a hundred job board, you have the potential to see a significant increase in visibility for your listings. Consider signing up for a ZipRecruiter free trial and see how uncomplicated the hiring process can be, with the right job board in your corner.
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