Reverse Recruiting Services, Ranked

Pros:

• Madelyn has been a recruiter at Meta, Microsoft and LinkedIn, so her advice is sound.
• Madelyn is trusted by many followers and her content has high engagement.
• Career Finesse offers affordable resume and cover letter templates made by a former recruiter.

Cons:

• Career Finesse charges fees up front.
• Career Finesse works 4 weeks at a time so you are looking at $4,500 for 3 months.
• Career Finesse does not guarantee that you find a job using their resume and LinkedIn templates.

If you want Reverse Recruiting + Client Strategy, there are a few addition details:

In their FAQs, in "How long will it take to get a job?", Find My Profession specifies that "For a well-rounded job seeker with reasonable job search expectations, we typically see our clients getting hired in 3 months...".

With their fees started at $3,000 for 4 weeks, you are looking at approximately $12,000 for their job search services.

Still, FMP offers a lot of advantages over other reverse recruiters.

Pros:

• 100% US-based Reverse Recruiters and Client Strategists
• This is a big question to look out for around privacy and expertise
• The company started in 2015 and has >900 positive reviews
• Media exposure has been strong, including CNET, Bloomberg and Forbes

Cons:

• Incentives are misaligned, as FMP charges for time, not results. FMP gets paid for each 4 week block of work.
• Charges $3,999 up front for 4 weeks and estimates 3 months of work required ($12k)
• Charges separately for Resume, LinkedIn optimization
• Has a 4-8 week waitlist, which it seems you can pay to skip

Pros:

• Focused on tech and engineering niche
• Expertise: traditional recruiter who has placed over 100 high-paying engineers

Cons:

• Incentives are misaligned, as Talenticians charges for time, not results. Talenticians gets paid for each 4 week block of work
• Charges $1,500 up front for 4 weeks

Pros:

• Full support on your job search

Cons:

• Incentives are misaligned, as AC charges for time, not results & is paid for each 4 week block of work
• Career coaching is not included in the base package
• # of applications, # of networking calls not specified in the website

4. Candix

Candix is a bit different than other reverse recruiters outlined in this article.

Candix is building a two-sided marketplace: candidates <> recruiters.

The idea is to "Describe your ideal next job and get approached by top-paying startups. It's free and confidential."

Candix charges the employer for access to the pool of candidates, so it does not optimize for churning candidates through the system.

Candix offers 1 main service:

• Platform Listing - $0
• List your profile on the platform
• Mark yourself as Actively Searching or Not Searching
• Privacy is ensured so your current employer does not see
• The platform is currently "open to anyone but works best for people in the software industry in the US or Europe"

Pros:

• Free and open to anyone
• Charges the company, not the candidate
• Part of  Y-Combinator startup accelerator and incubator so will innovate quickly

Cons:

• Small risk of having your profile seen by your current employer, though Candix focuses on preventing this and likely does
  

3. Free Agency

Free Agency is a VC-backed, tech-focused reverse recruiting platform.

Free Agency offers an income share agreement (ISA) so professionals in their program pay 9-10% after they land a job. 

Focused largely on FAANG or, in human speak, top tech company jobs, promising:

"Hollywood Style Representation for Tech....[s]ince 2019, [they've] helped hundreds of candidates in tech achieve >$400M in job offers from startups and big tech companies.

You get a dedicated Talent Agent to help you find, engage, and win top of market roles. We share in the upside through a % of your future income."

Free Agency is a contingency reverse recruitment model (i.e., % of future income).

However, we've heard that, if you work with them for 6 months and get a job through other means,

Free Agency will still charge you ~$500/month or $6k.

With that in mind, we've also heard they try to negotiate a signing bonus or you to cover their 9% fee, which is great.

Free Agency is on a waitlist, so their packages are not clear, but assuming the below:

• Reverse Recruiting Package - $0
• Resume Review
• LinkedIn Optimization
• Networking On Your Behalf
• Job Applications
• Salary Negotiation
• Coaching
• Direct intros to companies

Here a few additional reviews of Free Agency (1,2,3,4, 5)

Pros:

• Fully contingent on success (% of future salary) so incentives are aligned
• Helps negotiate a signing bonus to cover their fee

Cons:

• Not a con, but Free Agency is largely tech-focused and on a waitlist til 2025

2. Kadima Careers

Kadima Careers is a career coaching platform focused on finding you your next job.

Their site says "Get a Better Job Quickly, Confidently, and with Lots More Money....We help ambitious professionals successfully navigate the current job market to land a high-paying job."

Kadima offers 1-1 coaching in the The Job Acquisition Coaching Program.

Kadima references having helped dozens of professionals find jobs, with real testimonials (we checked)!

Kadima offers 2 main coaching packages:

• Job Acquisition Coaching Program - $2,497
• Personalized Coaching
• Weekly Group Coaching
• Narrative Development
• Mock Interviews
• Lifetime Access to the Job Acquisition Course
• Access to Kadima's Powerful Resources
• Negotiation Support
• Private Community
• Direct Referrals
• Unlimited Support
• Behavioral-based Interview Prep (Group Only)
• Resume & LinkedIn Optimization (Group Only)
• Job Acquisition Personalized Coaching - $10,000
• Everything in the above
• Executive Level Group Coaching
• Access to Real Recorded Interviews
• Individual Coaching
• Post Job Coaching
• Job Offer Negotiation Service
• Interview Prep
• Resume & LinkedIn Feedback
  

Pros:

• Very comprehensive coaching program
• Founder has a great background in Tech & Leadership

Cons:

• The key services are in the top package
• Not success fee based, however, this is more of an educational and coaching program than a reverse recruiting program

1. Reverse Recruiting Agency

Reverse Recruiting Agency (RRA) is a win/win service which helps clients find a job, faster.

RRA only operates on a success-fee arrangement, with minimal up-front costs.

Incentives are thus aligned to getting you a job, not charging you for services.

RRA is the only company on this list which commits to reaching out to 100 recruiters or hiring managers a week on your behalf.

Most just say "networking is done for you", without specifics.

RRA has real testimonials who you can look up on LinkedIn.  Other firms have general, anonymous testimonials.

Reverse Recruiting Agency offers 1 package:

• RRA - $99-250/month, 10% success fee
• Books 3 calls/week with recruiters or hiring managers
• LinkedIn Profile Optimization to generate inbound InMails
• Resume customization for each application
• 10-20 Job Applications done for you/week
• Follow-up via InMail, email & phone with 3-5 hiring managers for each app
• Interview preparation, coaching + feedback
• Salary negotiation + bonus coaching
• Health & performance coaching to perform well in interviews and in your job afterwards (by Alex Shinkarovsky)