Web recruitment firm touts pay-per-view CVs

A new method charges companies only for profiles of applicants who fit their needs

A web-based recruitment firm believes it can save money for employers by paying candidates whenever a company wants to look at their CV.

A maxim in the recruiting industry is that the best candidates are those who are content in their current jobs but would happily look at an attractive offer. The key has been to connect them with the right opportunity.

Applicant Tree encourages these people to post their CV online by offering to pay them whenever a company wants to look at their profile.

Jen Cooper, president of Applicant Tree, said: "We wanted to build a system that would entice employees to post their CV online.

"This would 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 website are vetted through a phone screening to have their CV price set.

Their information is then listed on the site where employers search to match their job requirements with an applicant.

The entire CV, except for the contact information, will be available. 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.

Prices range from $15 to $100 depending on the applicant's education and experience. The candidate receives half of the purchase price.

Companies also have the option to post open positions on the site's job boards. When an applicant actively applies to a listing, the company can purchase the CV at half price.

Cooper claimed that this business model will substantially cut 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 this process while saving companies money by charging them exclusively for the profiles of applicants who fit their needs.