Desperate Job Market Has Workers Paying Recruiters

Finding a job has become so difficult that some candidates are flipping the script — paying recruiters to land them work instead of the other way around, The Wall Street Journal reports.

In a labor market where hiring is at a 12-year low and layoffs are spreading across major companies, a growing number of professionals are turning to “reverse recruiters.”

Thousands of workers from companies including Amazon, Dow and United Parcel Service have entered the job market in recent months, intensifying competition for fewer openings.

Instead of employers paying a headhunter to find key talent, reverse recruiters are paid by job seekers to pitch candidates directly to hiring managers, submit applications on their behalf, and even broker introductions using AI tools.

“It was refreshing,” said Daniel Bejarano, a 36-year-old engineer who used one such service after months of searching.

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Bejarano said the process helped him avoid being “lost in a sea of candidates sorted by an applicant-tracking system.” After landing a role, he paid the service 20% of his first month’s pay.

The rise of reverse recruiting reflects the pressure facing job seekers.

By late 2025, the U.S. had more unemployed workers than open roles for the first time since the pandemic, and the average job hunt was stretching toward six months, according to federal data.

That milestone marked a sharp reversal from the tight labor market that followed COVID-era hiring booms.

Some services charge a cut of future pay; others collect upfront fees to mass-apply for jobs.

Refer, a fast-growing platform, says its model aligns incentives and that about 50 new job seekers are signing up each day, up from roughly 10 per day last summer, and that more than 2,000 companies are now on its platform.

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

But critics warn the approach can prey on desperation.

“These companies are really good at marketing, and I think job seekers that are vulnerable can be easily swayed,” said Ken Jordan, co-founder of executive-search firm Purple Gold Partners.

Jordan also cautioned candidates to closely review how reverse recruiters handle personal data and whether applications are submitted under the job seeker’s name.

Others, like former Netflix employee Sean Cole, say the gamble felt unavoidable after a year of searching. “I’m sending you money, I’m hoping this works,” he recalled.

Cole said he paid about $400 for resume customization and applications to roughly 50 jobs — though none resulted in interviews.

While his first attempt didn’t lead to interviews, it sparked yet another a new idea: starting a reverse-recruiting side business himself.

As long as competition for white-collar roles remains fierce, recruiters may increasingly find their next clients aren’t the companies doing the hiring — they’re the candidates eager to find a job.