And you thought that e-mail inviting you to be paid to interview for jobs was spam, didn’t you?ÂÂ
In what could be the ultimate acknowledgement that it is easier to find a job when you have a job, a startup called notchup.com arranges for “passive” job seekers (employed workers who are not seeking opportunities) to be paid for interviews.  Job seekers (who aren’t really passive if they sign up, are they?) register, set a price for an interview (the site calculates a suggested fee) and wait for an invitation. Payment relies upon the employer agreeing that the interviewee was active and engaged in the process.
If you are happy at your current job, good at what you do and NOT looking for a new job, you are notchup.com’s target audience.
How can companies afford to pay for interviews? Founders Jim Ambras and Rob Ellis explain on their site that a candidate who would earn $100,000 annually could cost $20,000 to hire using a recruiter. If that same organization selected a hire from a pool of 10 people paid $500 each to interview, the company can save $15,000.
The AP reports that founder Ambras, former vice president of engineering at the search engine AltaVista said,
”In every job I’ve had, I’ve had to, under time pressure, build a team of engineers. I learned years ago that the best people you want to hire are the people who aren’t in the job market.”
The over 10,000 registrants and potential notchup.com candidates may be interested in reading about potential privacy issues they may encounter using the site. Others may prefer to dive in with wild abandon!
Keppie Careers helps active and passive job seekers! Your resume should always be up-to-date and ready to use at a moment’s notice. We also offer mock intervews. Prepare for the job hunt: www.keppiecareers.com