$30,000+ to quit?!

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PARTY PLAN đźŽ‰

🥊 Job boards suing each other

🤑 Employers paying a premium for RTO

✌️ CEO offers employees $30k+ to quit

And, of course, MEMES!

MEME OF THE DAY

JOB BOARDS

Job boards suing each other?

We got a fight on our hands, and it could affect job seekers. Earlier this week, Indeed filed a lawsuit against ZipRecruiter, alleging the company used false advertising to “poach” Indeed’s employers customers.

For some background, Indeed changed their policy to restrict free “hosted” jobs. This means companies could no longer have their job posted directly to their own ATS and automatically exported to Indeed’s feed as a free job post. The policy change was meant to avoid duplicate job posts that could potentially confuse job seekers on Indeed. Seems reasonable.

According to the lawsuit, ZipRecruiter sprung into action by emailing Indeed’s employer customers to inform them that Indeed would be ending all free job posts and that companies would be required to pay a minimum of $5 per day per job post. ZipRecruiter workers also posted on LinkedIn about the policy. The posts have since been deleted. Here’s what both companies had to say:

“We strongly disagree that competing with Indeed is a violation of Federal law. It is surprising they have taken this step rather than work to address the industry-wide confusion on the implications of their policy changes.”

-ZipRecruiter spokesperson.

“For employers who already have job listings from external sources such as career sites on Indeed, any new jobs posted directly on Indeed won’t appear in search results unless sponsored. We want to correct the record about false claims that we are ending free job postings on Indeed.”

-Indeed spokesperson.

Regardless of what job sites people choose to use, it’s important that job seekers do everything they can to stand out to employers in the hyper-competitive labor market. Unless your dad works for the company, leveraging AI to assist in all steps of the job hunt is the best way to increase your chance of landing a high-paying job. Job Party offers a full AI toolbox specifically built for job seekers. And it costs less than a couple trips to Starbucks!

RTO

Employers are paying a premium for in-office work

Consulting firm Robert Half just released their 2025 salary guide. The comprehensive report covers everything from AI to remote work and everything in between. Here are some of the key points:

  • Of the employers who would pay a return-to-office premium, 59% said they would pay up to 20% more for workers to come in 4-5 days per week.

  • Meeting candidates’ pay expectations was the biggest hiring challenge for nearly half of employers surveyed.

  • 83% of global CEOs predicted that companies would return to fully in-office work within the next three years.

  • 80% of employers said they had lost talent because of RTO policies.

  • 54% of hiring managers say advancements in AI and automation are reshaping needed skill sets. Additionally, 37% are bringing in contract talent to support AI-related projects.

  • 41% of companies are leveraging the expertise of retirees by rehiring them as part-time consultants.

LAYOFFS???

CEO gives workers $30k+ to quit?!

Talent retention is a big issue for companies in today’s labor market. Companies are offering employees huge signing bonuses and raises to stay on board. But one CEO just offered his employees tens of thousands of dollars to quit! What in the world?!

Drama has been brewing at a San Fransisco tech company for weeks, but it looks like it’s coming to a wild ending. Matt Mullenweg, CEO of Automattic, wrote in his blog that a chunk of his company’s employees disagreed with how he’s dealt with beef between a competitor (WP Engine). In what he saw as an opportunity for allignment, he offered the most generous buy-out package possible: $30,000 or six months of salary, whichever was higher. Employees that elected to take it would never be able to return to the company and they’d have to quit by the end of this week.

This extremely generous offer cost him 159 employees (8.4% of the entire workforce). Of those 159, 18 were on salaries of at least $200k, meaning they’ll bring in $100k+ for quitting. Surprisingly, the CEO celebrated the wildly expensive mass exodus of workers saying he feels “much lighter” about the whole situation.

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“It was an emotional roller coaster of a week, every resignation stings a bit. I’m grateful and thankful for all the people who took the offer, and even more excited to work with those who turned down $126M to stay. As the kids say, LFG!” 

-Matt Mullenweg, CEO of Automattic.

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