The job market has reached a point where candidates are now paying to be recruited
Multiple services have opened up in the country that charge people for interviews with companies.
Feb. 9 2026, Published 8:35 a.m. ET
The American job market is in crisis. For the first time since the pandemic, there are more unemployed people than open roles. The situation has gotten so bad that people are now paying to get a job. It is usually the other way around, but there is a service that allows people to pay employers a part of their salary if they land the job. For many, this has eased the stress of waiting for a job considerably.
It is not easy to find the right workplace, but that’s exactly what Refer hopes to do for its customers. It is a service that matches a candidate with the best possible job based on preferences. The service has allowed many to attend interviews and land jobs that otherwise might have seemed impossible. As per a Washington Post report, customers have said that the experience has been refreshing.
This model was dubbed a reverse-recruiting model, and the report claims that Amazon.com, Dow, and United Parcel Service are entering the job market. Refer’s model even allows recruiters to apply on behalf of the candidate. “If you are not paying, you are the product,” said Andre Hamra, Refer’s CEO. “It incentivizes us to actually help the person.” While some may believe this model allows them to land a job more quickly, others have experienced concern.
Questions have been raised about the ethics of asking a job seeker to pay to get a job. There is also the matter of manipulation tactics that companies may employ to influence desperate job seekers. “These companies are really good at marketing, and I think job seekers who are vulnerable can be easily swayed,” Ken Jordan, co-founder of executive-search firm Purple Gold Partners, said. He also urged those applying for the service to look into how their resumes were being handled.
Boutique service Reverse Recruiting Agency charges job seekers $1,500 in monthly fees. The whole package includes career coaching and improvement of one’s resume and LinkedIn profile. The report claims that it submits up to 100 job applications a week. If one lands a job, they have to pay 10% of their first-year salary, minus the first month’s fee they paid to the agency.
While the question of ethics remains valid, those desperate to be employed see this as their best way forward. “Some folks just don’t have time to do it, some folks are scared, some folks are unemployed and on their last effort,” founder Alex Shinkarovsky said. His agency has placed 20 of 44 customers, and was working with 20 more at the time. Less than half were placed, meaning that the success of this model is not guaranteed.
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