Mo’ Money, Mo’ Hires: 5 Split Job Boards

Look, sometimes we recruiters need to make a little money on the side. Just like social media marketers do consulting for Facebook, we hire on the side. We make extra placements, to make extra cash. That’s where split job boards come in. Young recruiters looking to make money, listen up.

Split job boards are a great way for independent recruiters to make money without doing any advertising or business development. Those boards are a way to connect with job orders that would have otherwise been extremely difficult to connect with.

However, with more money comes more problems, of course. Two negatives in particular.The first thing is the high competition that would not generally be there with direct clientele. A recruiter using split job boards will be competing against 100’s of recruiters who are all working on the same positions in the same market pool.

The second thing that all split boards have in common is the disconnect between the client and recruiter. It is very hard for candidates to get feedback from hiring managers
and the support from Split job board account managers is not sufficient. The negative impact from these similarities results in poor relationships with our candidates.

Candidates don’t trust recruiters who cannot give them feedback on their status.Recruiters thrive on the relationships we build. In this case, it is hard to have interpersonal relationships with technology. It is extremely difficult to make placements with Split Job Boards. Here are the 5 Split Job Boards I have tried:

1. JobHuk (jobhuk.com)

JobHuk is a split board where recruiters can work on both full-time positions and contracting jobs. Recruiters can also share their jobs with other recruiters. Job Applicants can refer candidates to the positions on the site as well.

Cost of Use: Free to Use. There are commission based fees if you place someone using their platform.

Cool Factors: You can work on both contract jobs and full-time opportunities. Very few split job boards offer working on contract requirements.

Pros: Feedback is faster than most other split boards. You can also share your jobs with other recruiters. They are working on programs to help support independent recruiters such as discounts in getting subscriptions to job boards, payroll funding, and a few other services that are extremely helpful.

Cons: Unlike other split boards, they are very limited on the positions that are listed to work on. There are a lot of agencies posting jobs. You may be working on jobs that have multiple layers of engagement. This split job board has very few direct clients.

2. Bounty Jobs (bountyjobs.com)

Bounty Jobs is a split Recruiting site and a VMS (Vendor Management System). It gives agencies the opportunity to work with some of the world’s largest employers, and it gives companies the opportunity to work with many specialized agencies.

Cost: There is no fee to join Bounty Jobs. However, there is a fee to submit candidates to jobs you are not engaged on. That fee can range from $6.00- $25.00. There is no guarantee that hiring managers will review your candidates. Placement fees are ¼ of the agreed upon amount. For example, if you earn $10,000 from a placement fee, $2500 would go to Bounty Jobs.

Cool Factors: This platform gives you the opportunity to work with large technology companies and banks. Submissions are very simple to do on this platform.

Pros: The placement fees are extremely generous in comparison with other split boards. On average, a recruiter can walk away clear with a 15% fee of a candidate’s first-year salary. Other split boards offer 10% or lower.

Cons: Recruiters/Agencies have first to go through an interview process to be accepted by Bounty Jobs. Once they go through the interview process, they attend an orientation. According to their website, there are 10,000 approved headhunters. That is a lot of competition. It is very difficult to get engagement on jobs. Most of the organizations that use Bounty Jobs have specific agencies they want to work with, and they are not open to working with new agencies/recruiters. It is extremely difficult to get feedback on candidates. With this portal, you are not building relationships with your clients. The portal is like a black box which you submit your candidates too. It is very hard to get detailed feedback on candidates.

3.     Recruitifi (www.recruitifi.com)

Recruitifi is a Split Job Board, which only features direct positions. No splits are done with agencies. There is an account manager for each client that a recruiter can reach out to for questions.

Cost: There is no fee to join and submit candidates to jobs Recruiters earn 10% in the first year salary.

Cool Factors: The platform is extremely easy to use, and you can see feedback in real time.

Pros: The clientele is very interesting for this platform. You have the opportunity to work with startups as well as huge developed companies. Recruiter support is very prompt and helpful. They respond within a few hours usually.

Cons: Candidate submission process can be very tedious. There is way too much to fill out to get a candidate submitted. There is not a sense that they have great relationships with their clients. It can very hard to get feedback or close a candidate.

4. Recruiter.com /Formerly CandidateXchange (www.recruiter.com)

Recruiter.com is a direct client and agency split board. The system offers a variety of different services. There is an extremely large network of recruiters.

Cool Factors: The platform has an extremely advanced user interface. Something unique about this product is that you can earn points for prizes just for using the site. There is a sense of trying to appreciate the recruiter.Cost: There is no fee to join and submit candidates to jobs

Pros: This split job board has more positions than any of the other job boards. There is so much opportunity. It is very easy to submit candidates to positions. It can be done in less than a minute.

Cons: There are a lot of cons to using this platform. The first con is the client name is not listed. On other platforms, it is listed. This can cause a lot of issues. It can cause unnecessary duplicate submissions. It can also make it difficult to build a rapport with candidates. Once you submit a candidate, the candidate goes through review with the account manager. After the account manager approves the candidate, the candidate is submitted to the hiring manager. In a lot of cases after the candidate is submitted to the hiring manager, no feedback is given. This platform also boosts that it has 1000’s of recruiters working on positions. That is way too much competition to be able to earn money.

5.     FeeTrader.com (FeeTrader.com)

FeeTrader.com is a job posting and recruitment tool that allows employers and agency/independent recruiters to connect and make placements.

Cost: There are a variety of different packages. They are offering a special for $299 a year. It costs money to work on positions.

Cool Factors: There is no cool factor. This site is extremely old fashioned.

Pros: The only pro is the placement fee. You may keep more of your placement fee in comparisons with other Split Boards.

Cons: The cost is extremely high just use the platform. You have to bid on jobs and be accepted to work on positions. You may have to bid very low to be competitive. In that case, you may not earn as much as you would with others split sites. You shouldn’t have to pay to work on positions. Another con is you would be working with client managers on positions which adds another layer. You don’t submit candidates through the site instead you send them to your account managers. This is an extremely old-fashioned way of working. It resembles systems from the early 2000’s.

Should you be using split boards? That is kind of a personal decision.  It is nice that they are available, I mean a split fee is better than no fee. But always remember, not all split boards are created equal.

By Tanya Bourque

Tanya Bourque is CEO of OpExpert, a staffing firm based in Wyomissing, PA. She is a technology enthusiast who is obsessed with finding the best tools available for recruiters.She has experience with sourcing, marketing tools, CRMs, and applicant tracking systems. You can connect with her on LinkedIn or follow her on Twitter.