Indeed's Resume Subscription: Pushing Employers Away?

Back in my recruiting days, Indeed was one of the most cost-effective solutions to sourcing talent for high-volume, entry-level positions. The best part? Most of it was free or cheap compared to other resume databases such as CareerBuilder, Monster, or LinkedIn.

Fast forward to today, and Indeed has announced a new employer resume subscription pricing model that smells a lot like LinkedIn, only not as sweet.

No Subscription = No Contact Information

When I used to work as a recruiter, I would use Indeed frequently. With a newly created account, it was free to post a certain number of open jobs. I also had the ability to source for potential candidates and view their contact information. Once I’d hit the cap on the number of people I could reach out to, I’d just create a new account and repeat the cycle.

Now, eventually you get caught repeating the cycle and have to start using Indeed’s pay per contact pricing model, which was roughly a dollar per contact. That model no longer exists.

Employers wishing to use Indeed to source talent will now have two options: purchase the standard subscription at $100 per month for 30 new contacts or buy the professional subscription at $250 per month for 100 new contacts.

This new subscription pricing model is going to push employers away.

Indeed vs. LinkedIn

It looks like Indeed is taking a page out of LinkedIn’s book, but not in a good way. With approximately 100 million searchable resumes on Indeed versus LinkedIn’s over 450 million members, there’s no comparison.

Talent acquisition leaders will have an easier time convincing the c-suite of the benefits of using LinkedIn to network and source talent versus paying for Indeed’s smaller and less robust talent pool.

I currently pay $29.99 per month for my LinkedIn Premium account, and as a result, I have 15 InMail credits per month. I can use these to network or to reach out to potential candidates, and if any respond, I get my credits back.

The Uncertainty of Indeed’s Contact Credits

Indeed professes to have the same system in place of crediting users based on those candidates who respond to their messages. With a 44 percent average response rate, Indeed states that many employers should have a lower cost per contact than what they currently experience. However, according to Indeed’s footer on their website, “contact credits will be rewarded solely at Indeed’s discretion, and Indeed reserves the right to change the contact credit system at any time.”

That sounds a little fishy to me, and as an employer, I would have a hard time investing in Indeed’s resume database as a result.