HireMeNow – Temporary Employment Marketplace

NY-based HireMeNow is one of the companies that presented last night at the Ultra Light Startups meeting. The company provides a marketplace for temporary employment. Job seekers can post a profile for free and take HireMeNow skills tests to qualify for positions. Companies can post their open positions for free (I think there is a one-time setup fee).

Workers can name their own rate which is different than how a traditional employment agency works. HireMeNow also creates "viewing codes" which allow workers to send out links to the worker’s profile page — even if the company isn’t registered with HireMeNow.

One thing was mentioned in the pitch that makes HireMeNow different than the other services, they are responsible for the workers. Instead of the company having to deal with 1099s and other tax or financial implications, the company pays HireMeNow and they handle all the paperwork with the temporary workers.

The company also offers a service named VINTRO that helps people create video resumes. They describe the service as, "A video introduction of approximately one minute that highlights who you are, what you are looking for and what makes you stand out from everyone else looking for the same job."

The revenue model for HireMeNow is based on a markup of the hourly rates that the temporary workers charge. The markup is set at 42% for all workers. In the current economic environment, I can only imagine that supply and demand will increase for HireMeNow.