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Alison Doyle
Alison's Job Searching Blog

By Alison Doyle, About.com Guide to Job Searching

NotchUp

Tuesday January 29, 2008
NotchUp is a start-up with a different twist on job searching. Participating employers (including Google, Yahoo, and Baraccuda) pay candidates to interview.

To participate, you have to be accepted by NotchUp as an outstanding candidate or receive an invitation to join. The application process includes uploading a resume or providing a link to your online resume. NotchUp uses a LinkedIn profile URL as an example, so a link to your LinkedIn profile should work. According to the application information, your application will be processed within three business days.

The goals are to save money for companies and earn money for candidates, as well as saving them job search time, because companies will be approaching you rather than the other way around. In theory, it's cheaper for a company to pay for a candidate's time than it is to pay a recruiter or post on a job site. There are some checks and balances, so that candidates can't just interview for the sake of making money. Companies can rate candidates and you won't get paid if you're a no-show or late, aren't serious, or lied in your profile.

If you would like to know what your interview time is worth, there is a calculator you can use to help determine your price.

Here's more on how NotchUp works, and how it can help you job search and build your career. Also, I'm interested in learning more about NotchUp. If you're using it, I'd be thrilled to hear about well it is working for you. Contact me at jobsearch.guide@about.com and let me know what you think.

Comments

January 30, 2008 at 12:33 pm
(1) Kay Stout says:

Alison,

As a career advisor, I have two clients who are going to have an “adventure” with NotchUp and will let me know how it goes. I will share information as I get it. But the concept certainly caught my attention!!
The internet is truly changing the way people should search for their next career position - - and it is changing at a rapid (and, for the most part) pace.

January 31, 2008 at 4:23 pm
(2) Russ says:

There’s a lot to be said about NotchUp.com right now, unfortunately, I think so many people are missing the important pieces.

I strongly urge you to read their Terms of Service, which of course, you cannot do unless you’ve got an invite, and then you have to click the link, next to the checkbox that says you agree to the Terms–and I’m guessing almost everyone quickly ignores that part.

So then, you slurp up your LinkedIn profile and the Privacy Policy / Terms that LI offers you is basically gone.

There are a couple of articles at http://www.userglue.com/blog/ - one that details the Terms of Service concerns and another that compares the website’s design to that of GrandCentral.com. The designer of GrandCentral.com even chime’s in to let us know that he didn’t work on NotchUp and he certainly didn’t take the design from a template–but you decide, really.

And then maybe decide to discuss the risks with your public–it’s very important.

February 5, 2008 at 12:11 am
(3) Gregg Bender says:

Hi Alison,

I applied, just to see what happens. I’ll let you know if I’m accepted and where it goes from there. It certainly looks interesting.

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