What has your experience been with Bounty Jobs?

As a recruiter I was intrigued with Bounty Jobs when they first arrived on the scene. At time I thought I could easily fill some of the positions listed based on my 16 years of experience as an executive search consultant.

I have found the experience to be less then positive. First of all the impersonal nature of the process is distressing. I like to communicate with my clients and get to know them and their business personally, thereby getting a better result of our work.

When you do get engaged, the information available to recrutiers is limited and you have very little to share with your potential candidates.

I personally have given up on trying to work with Bounty jobs. I prefer to work with clients on a 1and 1 basis.

Addtionally, i have talked with companies who have had little success and this can be found by the number of jobs posted and the actual fill rate. Lastly, most solid candidates will not appreciate being shopped around.

Interested to hear what if any experience you've had.

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Amber on May 19, 2011 at 3:48pm

So far, I have not really heard of much success. I personally have not tried it, but a potential client I contacted requires it. I went and registered in their system, but decided not to sign up for Bounty Jobs. I had reservations about pursuing the company as a client after seeing it was pretty much a vendor system, and after hearing and reading others experiences with BJ made the final decision not to continue trying to sign that client. I guess the premise would be o.k., until you look at the reasons a hiring company would choose to use it - avoiding having direct contact with recruiters (the same people they are gong to for assistance?), negotiating the cheapest fee (be my client and WANT a great relationship and I assure you will feel you are getting great results even paying me my full fee).

Your post just drives home for me that there are pieces of BJ that may not be a good fit for many recruiters.

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Permalink Reply by John on May 20, 2011 at 11:04am

We have had significant success with BountyJobs. Our team interview rate is over 35% and we make consistent placements theough them.

They also pay right on time.

It is true that some client companies have a hands-off approach, however, we have developed significant relationships with several clients who use BountyJobs to give us private bounties.

Most of the companies we deal with through BountyJobs allow an open and direct dialogue using BountyJobs simply as a way to not have to deal with various contracts and approvals of multiple recruiting firms.

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Permalink Reply by Marc Roberts on May 20, 2011 at 11:20am

John,

Can you tell me more about the Private Bounties and how that works??

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Permalink Reply by Jamie Spurlock on May 20, 2011 at 12:08pm

As a corporate recruiting manager I decided to use Bounty Jobs because I needed one location to manage agency recruiters. For the most part the only way I was exposed to an agency recruiter prior to Bounty was when they contacted me and I have yet to meet an agency recruiter who did not tell me they were the answer to my issues. After back and forth negotiations on fees and finally settling on a fee I quickly would learn that the agency recruiter was not able to find me what I was looking for. At Bounty I get to set the fee and then several headhunters (HH) get to view my needs and essentially request to engage. I get to review their credentials and backgrounds and in some cases I choose to call them and have a discussion. I can choose as many as I want and then that allows for a better pool of candidates. What I have found with Bounty is that when I have an issue finding quality HH then they help me locate the ones they feel would help me the best. Bounty also sets up a weekly call with me and listens to my feedback and then makes recommendations to help. With any relationship it still requires that the company and the HH speak on a consistent basis. Bounty has connected me with some really good HH who have made money because they submit the level of talent I require. They have also connected me with HH I would have never have been exposed to. Bounty works for the HH and the company IF both view it as a partnership and utilize the resources Bounty offers to both sides. Our organization has hired somewhere around 10 new employees through Bounty over the past 1 year and I have developed some really good relationships with HH whom I will continue to engage in future searches.

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Permalink Reply by Shannon Drawbaugh on May 20, 2011 at 4:23pm

Hi there. I've been using BJ for awhile now and have seen a lot of success. I think it's a great concept, and I enjoy being a customer. Marc-Have you given it a chance? BJ is like any other job or client you decide to spend time on...you may not make a placement the 1st, 2nd or even 3rd time you try, but then all of a sudden, you might have a couple placements back to back. I think given that BJ is a members only site that people go into it with unrealistic expectations...they're expecting that every client is a dream client, and that's not going to exist in any situation. The same dynamics are going to exist in the BJ marketplace as they do on your own. You're going to have good clients, and you're going to get some duds! You have to take it for what it is...it's an avenue for you to pursue to gain a few clients that you may not have had otherwise. I'll tell you a quick story...there was a company that I had been trying to get into. I called them several times, spoke with the HR person...she was very nice, always took my calls, but always said no. I see her post a job on BJ. I request to engage. She says yes! I sent 1 candidate over, and they hired her. They clearly didn't want to use recruiters outside of BJ. BJ opened that door for me that wouldn't have been open otherwise, and I appreciate that. Sure, there are clients on there that don't want to talk, but doesn't that happen on your own too? I have some clients on my own that only want to communicate thru email...that's fine...I don't care...we don't need to be friends...if they're going to pay you a fee, who cares?? I just made a placement with a client from BJ a few weeks ago...never once spoke to my contact. In fact, she didn't even want me to set up interviews...she wanted to do all communications with the candidate herself (scheduling interviews, getting feedback, doing references, extending offers). I sent in a resume...I followed up with my candidate a few times during the interview process, and then I made 20K. Can't complain about that!! BJ has also been encouraging the clients to do a conference call with all the engaged recruiters once the bounty posts. Then the contact doesnt have to talk to 10 or 15 recruiters seperately...everyone can ask their questions...everyone has the same information and you get to have verbal contact with the client...works out great. I would encourage you to give it another try. I've been really happy with them since joining. They also have excellent customer service. Anytime I've ever had a question or concern, they are on it right away. Hope this helps!

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Permalink Reply by Mike Hard on May 20, 2011 at 5:36pm

This is Mike - I've been lucky enough to lead the team at BountyJobs for almost 2 years now so I'd love to leave a quick comment then clear the way...

Marc - sorry your experience is not great. I took a look into your jobs and have some advice I'll send offline. If you're open to it, I think you can actually do quite well. You might be surprised at the opportunties to interact with employers, alot has changed in the last 18 months and maybe we have not done a good job letting you know. Private Bounties are jobs where the employers invite only 2-3 headhunters. I can let you know about those.

Amber - although there are employers all over the industry that try to discount fees with HH's, they don't use BountyJobs to do that. IMHO - BountyJobs is the way employers determine the market rate is for a role. The employer sets the fee - HH's vote with thier feet. Every role is different - big % fees are common for one of a kind roles while fixed fees are common for standing Bounties - but the average fee on our marketplace has been 20% for the last 3 years.