IMHO they're offering you help to increase your yearly salary and get a job that you enjoy more, basically risk free. For example, if they increase your salary from 80K/year to 90K/year, they'll get $1350 (1.5%). From a value based perspective, they've more than delivered of solid return on investment. That's more than a 7X ROI in the first year alone. Not to mention the subjective value of enjoying life more from a job you like more.
Maybe I'm wrong but it appears to me you tell them what job you are applying for:
"Fill out a form with details about yourself, your background, and the company/position you're applying for. All your information is kept safe and confidential."
Then they create a custom landing page for the job application, give you some tips, and if you get the job they take 3% of your gross. If that job is $100k you pay them $3k, after taxes.
On top of that, I do wonder if they are or will start double dipping on the other side, typical recruiters will charge up to 15% of gross salary to the company.
I'll be sharing a post in the near-future that outlines our process and tool/hosting stack so that anyone can put together a website with all our details (sans design and creative direction). Even if you've never built a site, you can copy our procedures directly. If you design/develop/build sites, you don't need us. If you are technical and/or have impressive credentials, you probably don't need us.
Talemark isn't a replacement for recruiters, brute force networking, and LinkedIn Premium. It's for when you're applying for a stretch company or if you're having trouble hearing back from any companies. Some people simply aren't the best candidates in the resume stack, and a unique-domain targeted-content microsite is super useful in provoking a response.
We talked with early friends/family users, and we ended up with 3% as a fair given the ROI for all parties. Not everyone will get the job, and that's factored in. We don't take recruitment fees from employers. Talemark lets you offload the stress to us (free upfront / no risk) and saves you time (you just have to provide the content).
There seems to be a lot of startups in the hiring place just now. I got contacted the other day, wanting me to a technical test or interview, but they only offered jobs that I was already aware of. No point in using them if I am not getting any extra value as its just another middleman to pay.
Assuming you make $100K, $3,000 is your opportunity cost. Oh, plus $10.
That's ~100 coffee meetings (say $20 because it's fancy coffee and bread pudding) with managers and lead engineers at companies you want to work at, including gas and a LinkedIn pro account.
In 100 meetings, you're bound to at least find someone to mentor you, if not hire you right away. Plus make some real connections.
You could also drop a couple hundred on a resume designer if you like, but being detailed on your LinkedIn profile is probably more effective.
Full disclosure: I'm a software consultant who also does recruiting/staffing. But an exceptionally ethical one.
3% of your first year's salary only when you get hired. To celebrate our launch, we're offering 50% off for a limited time only!