Through good economic times and bad, recruiters have usually operated the other way around: Companies pay them to find talent for tough-to-fill positions. Now, though, job seekers are hiring a new crop of what are called reverse recruiters to help them crack a competitive market.

Daniel Bejarano, 36 years old, signed up for reverse-recruiting service Refer last year after receiving an email pitch from the company.

Refer’s AI agent connected him with an executive at Golden, a volunteer-management company, which was looking for a platform engineer and data scientist. Bejarano got the offer after several interviews. He then paid Refer 20% of his first month’s pay once it landed in his bank account.

It was “refreshing,” he said, not to be lost in a sea of candidates sorted by an applicant-tracking system.

The reverse-recruiting model is another sign of the mounting challenges for white-collar job seekers. For the first time since the pandemic, there were more unemployed people than open roles as of late 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The average job search is now approaching about six months, according to December federal data.

That means recruiters chasing business might have more luck pitching themselves to job seekers instead of employers. Thousands from companies including Amazon.com, Dow and United Parcel Service are entering the job market, too.

Reverse-recruiter models vary, but many require job seekers to pay them part of their salary once they accept a job. Others charge a set rate to submit applications on a candidate’s behalf. Such services typically go beyond career coaching or résumé reviews, and sometimes involve the recruiter applying on behalf of the candidate.

“If you are not paying, you are the product,” said Andre Hamra, Refer’s chief executive. “It incentivizes us to actually help the person.”

Refer currently works with job seekers from 20 top-ranked universities but will soon expand to anyone interested in tech. It shows them hiring managers who have expressed interest in their profiles. Candidates can also ask an AI agent named “Lia” for an introduction.

“Lia” is currently making 20-plus introductions daily, and a small percentage result in hires, Hamra said. About 50 new candidates are signing up each day, up from 10 in August, and about 2,000 companies are on the platform.

Some traditional recruiters are skeptical of the model. They question the ethics of charging job seekers and the success rate of mass-applying on behalf of candidates—a tactic many reverse recruiters deploy.

Ken Jordan, co-founder of executive-search firm Purple Gold Partners, said companies have charged job seekers in the past for career coaching and résumé reviews, but reverse recruiters have been rare. Recently, he has seen an uptick, and more job seekers are asking him about the model.

“These companies are really good at marketing, and I think job seekers that are vulnerable can be easily swayed,” he said.

Jordan urges job seekers to ask reverse recruiters who will handle their data, including logins to LinkedIn and Workday. And they should ask how they handle applications that require candidates to affirm they are the ones submitting their résumés.

Sean Cole, who was laid off from Netflix, had qualms when he first paid a reverse recruiter from Fiverr, an online marketplace for freelance work. But he had looked unsuccessfully for a job for about a year.

“I’m sending you money, I’m hoping this works,” he recalled thinking. The total came to about $400 to customize his résumé and apply to 50 jobs within two weeks, he said.

Cole, 42, was surprised by some of the jobs the reverse-recruiter found, including VP-level positions. None led to interviews, and the Fiverr recruiter has agreed to do another round of applications for free. He used the break from applying to start a certification in project management, which he said could help him land a new role.

Now he wonders if he should parlay the experience into a side gig: “I’m taking a look at hosting my own reverse-recruiting service,” he said.

Boutique service Reverse Recruiting Agency charges job seekers $1,500 in monthly fees. It offers career coaching, and résumé and LinkedIn profile writing. It submits up to 100 job applications a week—including customized résumés—and contacts several current employees at every company to which a candidate applies.

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After accepting a job, clients pay 10% of their first-year salary, minus the first month’s fee they paid to the agency.

Alex Shinkarovsky, its founder, said he hired 15 people in Southeast Asia to find positions and customize résumés for applicants. Artificial intelligence then automates personalized messages, posing as the candidate, to people at the target company.

“Some folks just don’t have time to do it, some folks are scared, some folks are unemployed and on their last effort,” he said.

The agency has placed 20 of 44 previous clients, he said. His team is currently working with 22 job seekers. The monthly fee for clients has about tripled from January 2025, which Shinkarovsky attributed to steep costs of new technology. He said he gives refunds if a candidate doesn’t get nine interviews in the first three months.

Keeping the pool of job seekers small is critical for a high-touch service, Shinkarovsky said. Plus, if it grows too large, he said, “companies will figure out this is not the candidate reaching out.”

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5833046&forum_id=2Elisa#49659112)