Hiring? ZipRecruiter and CareerPlug team up to help small businesses

As the United States unemployment rate continues to drop and states around the country reopen, firms are readying themselves for a post-coronavirus hiring rebound. A new partnership between CareerPlug and ZipRecruiter makes finding quality candidates easier.

The partnership between the recruiting platforms promotes CareerPlug’s clients’ job postings on the ZipRecruiter site. Promoted postings receive 10 times as many applicants as non-promoted postings, according to ZipRecruiter.

The partnership will allow small businesses and franchises free use of CareerPlug’s software for two months, and free sponsored job postings on ZipRecruiter for 30 days, in an effort to “give back,” says Chris Igou, CareerPlug’s senior director of sales.

"In late 2019, we were looking for a way to increase applicants for our clients during the tightest job market the U.S. has ever seen,” Igou says. “However, the collaboration evolved quickly during the COVID-19 pandemic, and we pivoted. Our new goal became trying to figure out how we could best help small business owners hire up and rebuild their business.”

Since the beginning of the pandemic, employment has been in a freefall. More than 44 million people have filed for state unemployment benefits, according to the Department of Labor. Small businesses have been hit the hardest, with many forced to stop operations and lay off or furlough their employees during the lockdown.

A recent survey by MetLife and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce found that almost 80% of small businesses surveyed plan to hire back nearly all employees they laid off or furloughed. The number increases to 86% for businesses with over 20 employees. As companies begin the process of rehiring, many will have to rely on remote recruiting and hiring services.

The partnership with CareerPlug presents an opportunity for small businesses to streamline hiring processes and reach a broader network of applicants. State Farm agency owner Nick Peters of Lilburn, GA was included in the soft launch of the program and has started the process of rehiring.

“The way [CareerPlug] manages candidates is super intuitive,” Peters says. Peters’ agency has hired two employees so far with CareerPlug’s software.

The partnership comes after years of collaboration between ZipRecruiter and CareerPlug, Igou says 一 job postings from CareerPlug’s clients are already automatically posted to ZipRecruiter’s job boards.

“This partnership is going to help the small to medium-sized businesses that work with CareerPlug attract more quality applicants faster,” said ZipRecruiter CEO Ian Siegel in a press release.