Job ads can make you money - even if you don't want the job

Updated
Make money from job adverts
Make money from job adverts



Have you spotted a job advert locally? You may not actually fancy the job itself, but thanks to a new app, you could make cash from your discovery - without ever doing a stroke of work. The app in question is called Job-Spotter, and one user has made £5,000 in a year from it.

See also: Jealous of what everyone else earns? Don't be

See also: Pret A Manger 'to struggle post-Brexit due to lack of British job applicants'

See also: How much work are you doing for free?


The jobs site behind the app - Indeed - highlights that most people look for a job online nowadays. It means they may miss opportunities within a few miles of their home, just because they don't happen to walk down the right street at the right moment.

The idea is to help publicise jobs online, so that those who may have missed a sign in a shop window, have the opportunity to apply.

Commenting on the launch of the app in the UK, Chris Hyams, President of Indeed said: "The 'help wanted' sign has long been a staple of high street windows, and they've performed an important role in getting people into work. But our high streets are changing, and this means those signs aren't as effective as they used to be. It's time to rethink how people find local jobs. Job Spotter can help."

How it works

Once you have downloaded the app, you just go about your everyday activities but keep your eyes peeled for 'help wanted' signs in shop windows. When you spot one, you take photo of the job advert, and upload it to the app. If the website accepts your vacancy, it will be approved (which can take up to 72 hours) and you will earn points.

Each point is worth one US cent, which is converted to sterling once a day. The number of points varies between 10 and 100 - with more points awarded for job adverts for local businesses than for high street stalwarts. If you were to earn the average for each photo, and upload three photos a day for a week, that would earn you £8.40. It's not a bad little earner for something that takes a couple of minutes, and can be carried out while you do the things you would be doing anyway. Once you have earned enough points, Indeed will email you an electronic Amazon gift card of that value.

There's no limit to the number of local jobs you can submit. The app launched in the US and Australia last summer, and since then, one user has earned the equivalent of £5,000 from submitting job adverts. This is unusual, however, as the rest of the top five job spotters of all time made closer to £1,000 in that time.

Alternatives
If this doesn't appeal, it's a useful reminder that we can make significant sums from downloading apps and carrying on life as usual - with a cashback website. There are a number of these - including big players like topcashback.co.uk or quidco.com. It's worth joining at least two - and shopping around for the most cashback on any purchase.

As an extra bonus, when you sign up to each site, you should be able to bag a freebie while you're there - which can be anything from a pizza to a box of chocolates, or money off your supermarket shopping.

Then all you have to do is go through the cashback site when you do the shopping you were going to do anyway. It can apply for anything from fashion to eating out, but one of the areas with the most cashback potential is travel. If, for example, you were to spend £3,000 on a family holiday through Expedia, and click to collect the 12% cashback through Topcashback, you could have £360 sitting in your cashback account.

It turns out you can earn money for nothing - so what are you waiting for?


Advertisement