Getting Started

Hello Bounty Hunters!

I’ve always been fascinated by ways to make passive income from idle assets, whether that’s a spare room, your car or even a camera or power tool. But I doubt most people would put their professional network on that list even though it probably has the highest return on investment.

I decided to start Bounties when I saw just how many companies are offering referral bonuses (as high as $25,000) to people who don’t even work there for introductions to top talent. They’re not easy to find, so I wanted to put them in one place and share them with you so have the opportunity to make a side income from helping companies hire from your network.

But before you get going, there are a few pointers I wanted to share with you to give you the best chance of cashing in on these amazing bounties.

I find bounties through various sources, including direct company relationships and publicly available information. But I’m not plugged into their job listings directly, so there’s a possibility that roles will be filled before we know about it. Policies can change and we might not be informed if a bounty is removed or the conditions have been updated. For some roles, you only need to give companies a name and they’ll put you on the application or even reach out to the person directly, whereas for others you need to have the person you refer apply directly and put your name on the form.

If you have someone you want to refer for a position, use the contact details provided to double-check the details with the team and don’t send over your candidates until you’ve heard back.

Each job I list in the weekly newsletter has been evidenced recently or verified directly with the companies themselves. In many cases, they offer bounties for some roles and not others and reward amounts or conditions can change from role to role.

To be eligible for the bounties listed in the newsletter, make sure to only refer candidates to the roles that I’ve shared or you may be disappointed.

The companies listed in the newsletter typically get lots of applications and already have a hard time screening out poor applicants. They certainly don’t need more to add to the process. The whole reason they offer bounties is to meet the very best candidates, ideally that people have experience working with.

Introducing them to high-quality, suitable candidates is the only way you’ll have a chance at claiming the referral bonus and it makes it more likely they’ll continue to offer them for future roles.

Let’s say you know a rockstar developer who would be good at Company X offering $10k, great at Company Y offering $5,000 and even better at Company Z offering $2,000. What should you do?

You can of course refer them to multiple companies, but you need to consider the probability of them getting (and staying) hired and remember tip #3 above!

The bigger and higher the quality of your network, the greater your ability to refer great candidates and claim bounties.

It’s worth occasionally checking in on your LinkedIn connections and other contacts to understand what they’re up to and their current work situation. If you’ve been meaning to catch up with someone for a while, maybe drop them a message. And finally, always be looking to meet new people and grow your professional network where you can.

I can’t provide any advice on the tax you might need to pay on referral bonuses (especially for payments made across borders), so be sure to check the tax rules in your own country.

Hopefully, that gives you some things to think about before you get started. If you have any other questions, just get in touch with me directly on X (Twitter) or by replying to one of my emails.

Let’s go!

Freddie Altman