By James Chittenden

Hiring employees is always a challenge, and a cash-strapped startup or small business needs help finding good talent. Recruiting software helps businesses by posting open positions to job boards while keeping track of applicants. There are several, and many wonder what the difference between them is.

We will focus on ZipRecruiter, Glassdoor and Indeed.

ZipRecruiter

ZipRecruiter is a service that distributes a job listing to over 100 job boards instantly. Additionally, it captures data from your candidates from all of these job boards. It eliminates the need to gather and filter applications from multiple job sites, and the interface and app are simple and easy to use.

When should you use ZipRecruiter? ZipRecruiter is for employers who hire regularly, and who must hire quickly. ZipRecruiter is not the most inexpensive option, but offers a solution for employers that find themselves overwhelmed by candidates. If Indeed is like the Google of job boards, ZipRecruiter is like the Cadillac of recruiting sites.

What are some limitations of ZipRecruiter? ZipRecruiter does offer a four-day trial. That is long enough to set it up, familiarize yourself with it, post jobs, and get a few candidates to work with. However, four days is all you get. After four days, you will start paying, and the plans start at $249 per month. By comparison, Glassdoor provides a 10-day free trial, and Indeed postings are largely free.

VISIT ZIPRECRUITER

ZipRecruiter Features and Pricing

ZipRecruiter is known for its candidate matching service. When you post a job on ZipRecruiter, it scans resumes to find candidates who match the qualifications. These candidates then receive a pre-written message inviting them to apply for your job. Additionally, you can add screening questions; which weed out applicants who cannot meet non-negotiable requirements.

ZipRecruiter does offer a four-day free trial. They do not publish pricing, but the Standard plan starts at $249 per month with one job. For 50 reusable slots, ZipRecruiter can cost upward of $1569 per month.

Glassdoor

Glassdoor is a site that features a job board, interview reviews, salary comparison tools, CEO approval ratings, and company reviews. Like the name suggests, it is intended to serve as a “glass door”, giving applicants a view of the inside of the company. Reviews can be anonymous.

When should you use Glassdoor? If you are a business focused on your reputation as an employer, Glassdoor could be appropriate.

What are some limitations of Glassdoor? Glassdoor’s famous “Salary Database” is frequently wrong. Glassdoor’s employer review feature can be helpful to job seekers. However, the nature of these reviews present hazards for employers. Former employees may leave reviews while at heights of emotion, leaving the company vulnerable to reputation damage.

VISIT GLASSDOOR

Glassdoor Features and Pricing

An employer account is free and an employer can post a job for free for up to seven days. After seven days, Glassdoor charges between $249 and $600 monthly, which depends on specific features added, and number of jobs posted. Premium services add costs.

Glassdoor is easy to use and has a clean, simple interface. You can easily export and keep candidate resumes for later use. Glassdoor also provides easy-to-read analytics. You can rate candidates with a green “yes”, a yellow “maybe” and a red “no”.

Glassdoor does not publish prices. They are location-based as well, so higher-cost cities will be priced higher than lower-cost areas.

Indeed

Indeed is the largest job board in the United States. Some 3 million businesses post open jobs on Indeed, and it contains more than 200 million resumes from job seekers. You can post unlimited jobs on Indeed for free, unlike Glassdoor’s free version which is limited to three initial job posts. You can set your own budget instead of buying a package such as is required by Glassdoor.

When should you use Indeed? Use Indeed when actively seeking applicants. Indeed is also suitable for businesses that need to recruit on a tight budget. If ZipRecruiter is like the Cadillac of job sites, Indeed is like the Google of job boards.

What are some limitations of Indeed? Indeed is its own job board, so there are no other places where your job will be posted. And while Indeed does offer free postings, it has limitations. For example, a frequent complaint is automatic flagging of posts which are then removed, on vague grounds of, “…deemed not consistent with Indeed’s quality standards”. If you must post one job in multiple locations, expect to pay. Such postings will require “sponsorship” which can start at $5 per day per posting per location.

VISIT INDEED

Indeed Features and Pricing

Indeed starts free, but often requires that a job posting is “sponsored”, which is paid advertising. For $100-$250/monthly, you can contact 30-100 job seekers who have not applied for your job.

Job Sites Customer Service

All three services offer support online. ZipRecruiter customers have a live chat feature. ZipRecruiter offers phone support for customers, available at 1 (877)252-1062. Indeed also offers a live chat as well as phone support for customers at 1 (800)462-5862.

Glassdoor does not offer phone support. With Glassdoor, you complete contact forms to reach sales or support. Or, you are directed to an online help center where a search of your question hopefully can be answered by a pre-written article.

What’s the bottom line?

ZipRecruiter, Glassdoor and Indeed are all excellent tools for recruiting. While ZipRecruiter and Glassdoor are easy for business owners to use, they can be expensive. However, ZipRecruiter’s candidate matching service lends greater precision to your candidate search, saving untold hours. Many employers use all three of these services and more. By doing so, they cast a wide net, enabling them to cover many hiring needs and target a wide range of candidates.

The best approach is to try them all. Take advantage of free trials from ZipRecruiter and Glassdoor and free postings at Indeed.

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