Sources
Every outside fact in The Handoff comes from one of the 33 pages below, each read on November 8, 2026. Facts about Dreamwork, the publisher, come from Dreamwork's own published plans and product description, checked November 8, 2026. Prices change; if one here no longer matches the provider's page, the provider's page is right.
By the editors of The Handoff Updated First published
Recruiter fees
- SHRM, How to work effectively with an executive search firm (2016)
- Contingency recruiters are paid only if they fill the role, usually 20% to 25% of first-year cash compensation.
- The standard retained fee is about 33% of the role's annual salary, bonus and signing bonus, paid whether or not a hire results.
- Heidrick & Struggles SEC filing, Form 10-K for fiscal 2018
- Retained search firms are paid a retainer of about one third of the hire's estimated first-year compensation, whether or not the client hires a candidate.
- Contingency firms are paid only when they place a candidate.
- AESC, Global guide to choosing an executive search firm (PDF)
- Retained fees are a retainer plus payments at set times or milestones.
- Contingent recruiters are most often used for mid-level or lower-level roles.
- AESC, Candidate bill of rights
- AESC member firms hold an exclusive agreement with the client for each assignment.
- Robert Half SEC filing, Form 10-K for fiscal 2023 (PDF)
- Placement fees are paid only by the employer, generally as a percentage of the new hire's annual compensation.
- No placement fee is charged to candidates.
- Contract workers are Robert Half employees; the client pays a fixed rate for hours worked, and a one-time fee to hire one permanently.
- Permanent placements carry a 90-day guarantee period.
- Find My Profession, Home page and pricing
- Its reverse-recruiting service costs $1,500 a month plus 8% of first-year salary after you accept a job, or $3,000 a month with no success fee.
Law and consumer protection
- Federal Trade Commission, Job scams
- Honest placement firms do not typically charge job candidates; the hiring company pays them.
- If a placement firm asks for a fee, especially in advance, walk away.
- Honest employers never ask you to pay to get a job.
- New York State Senate, General Business Law section 185
- A New York employment agency may not require or accept a deposit or advance fee from an applicant.
- California Civil Code, Section 1812.504
- A California employment agency must give a written contract to any jobseeker it takes a fee from.
- If you decline the job, the agency must return the fee within 48 hours on request.
Career coaching
- International Coaching Federation, About ICF
- ICF defines coaching as partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process to maximize their potential.
- ICF's credentials are ACC, PCC and MCC.
- International Coaching Federation, Regulation
- ICF describes coaching as a self-regulated profession.
- Leland, Career development coaches
- Coaches listed for career development set their own hourly rates; the listings we read ran from $75 to $499 an hour.
Resume writing
- TopResume, Plans
- Resume Writing starts at $179 and is backed by a 60-day interview guarantee.
- Get Hired Now starts at $2,495 and includes unlimited career coaching sessions, a cover letter and a LinkedIn makeover.
- DIY tools cost $24.95 a month.
- Let's Eat, Grandma, Packages
- Starter is $439 and Premium is $689; both include a resume, cover letter, LinkedIn rewrite, a 30-minute consultation and 2 revisions in 7 days.
- Transform is $889 and Executive Concierge is $1,899.
- Executive Concierge has unlimited revisions within 10 days instead of 2 revisions in 7 days.
- First drafts arrive 7 days after the consultation, followed by up to 7 more days for revisions.
- TopResume, Resume writing services
- Professional Growth is $179, Career Evolution (resume and cover letter) $229, Career Confidence $349, and Executive Priority, for leadership roles, $599.
- Each package lists a 60-day interview guarantee.
- Each package also lists "We apply for you: 20 jobs per day" and "Send your resume: 200 recruiters".
- TopResume, Terms of use
- Except as noted on a specific site, purchases of professional resume-writing services are final and no refunds are given.
- Some services include a specific guarantee; the package description says which.
- ResumeSpice, Home page and packages
- Entry Level Resume (0 to 2 years of work) is $479, Professional Resume (2+ years) $589, and Executive Resume $699.
- Each includes a phone consultation, a first draft within three business days of it, and 14 days of unlimited revisions.
- ResumeSpice, Resume service guarantee
- If you get no interview request within 60 days of your final resume, ResumeSpice reworks the resume at no cost.
- To qualify you must have sent the final resume to at least 15 companies and ask in writing within 90 days, with 2 to 4 of the job descriptions.
- The guarantee covers the resume only, not cover letters.
- PARWCC, Certified Professional Résumé Writer (CPRW), Professional Association of Résumé Writers and Career Coaches
- The CPRW is earned by passing a timed exam, graded anonymously by a committee of CPRW-certified writers, within 12 months of registering.
- It costs $295 for members and $470 for non-members, which includes the $175 annual membership.
- The credential stays valid while PARWCC membership is active, with no further continuing-education requirement.
- PARWCC describes resume writing as an industry where anyone can claim to be a resume writer.
- NRWA, NCRW certification, National Résumé Writers' Association
- A Nationally Certified Resume Writer must be an NRWA member, report 10 continuing-education units from the prior three years, pass a sample review, and pass an exam that asks for a resume and cover letter from a fictional client profile.
- Fees listed: $297 membership, $75 sample review, $250 exam.
- NCRW status lasts three years; renewal needs continuous membership and 15 continuing-education units.
- The NRWA publishes a directory of Nationally Certified Resume Writers.
- CDI, Certified Master Resume Writer (CMRW), Career Directors International
- Applicants must already hold a recognized resume certification, such as the CPRW or NCRW.
- They submit an essay or article of at least 1,000 words, seven resumes, one ATS-friendly resume and two cover letters, reviewed blind by a committee.
- The registration fee is $297.
AI job agents and autofill tools
- Simplify, Copilot
- Copilot autofills applications, tailors resumes and tracks applications for free.
- Simplify, What's included in Simplify (help center)
- With Copilot you review and submit each application yourself.
- Simplify+ costs $19.99 a week, $39.99 a month or $89.99 for 3 months.
- Simplify+ Autopilot fills and submits without a review step, with 20 credits a week.
- Jobright, Jobright Agent
- Jobright Agent matches roles, customizes your resume and applies for you.
- LazyApply, Pricing
- Annual plans: Basic $99 (15 applications a day), Premium $149 (150 a day), Ultimate $999 (1,500 a day).
- Its agent handles the whole application process.
- JobCopilot, Pricing
- Premium starts at $0.93 a day, with up to 20 job matches a day; JobCopilot applies to jobs for you.
- LoopCV, Pricing
- LoopCV submits applications on your behalf. It has a free plan; paid plans start at €9.99 a month.
- AIApply, Pricing and Auto Apply
- Auto Apply finds listings, tailors your documents and submits applications for you; you can review drafts first.
- Careerflow, Home page and pricing
- Careerflow autofills forms so you apply faster. Premium is $23.99 a month.
Job market and other tools
- Huntr, Job search trends, Q3 2026
- Comparing the same 4,456 job seekers across their own weeks, the usual week averaged 2.5 applications and the busiest weeks 17.5.
- In weeks at 3 or more times their usual pace, interviews per month rose from 0.7 to 2.9, while the interview rate per application fell from 9.5% to 5.6%.
- Huntr's advice: send more applications only when you can still match each one to the job.
- For people who used both, employer career sites had a 6.2% interview rate against 4.9% for job boards.
- The data describes Huntr users, who log their own activity, and may not match the full job market; it is most reliable for US tech and professional roles.
- Huntr, Pricing
- The free plan tracks up to 100 jobs and includes a Chrome job clipper.
- Pro is $40 a month.
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Situation, table A-12: unemployed persons by duration
- In October 2026 the median spell of unemployment was 11.9 weeks, seasonally adjusted. This measures time unemployed, not time spent searching.
The publisher
- Dreamwork, plans and product description
- Free: $0. Unlimited matches, and a tailored resume and cover letter for 5 jobs a day.
- Pro: $39/month or $99/quarter. 50 applications a month with Apply or Autopilot, and a recruiter inbox.
- New accounts can try Pro free for 7 days, then it's $39 a month unless you cancel. The trial is on monthly billing, one per account, and checkout asks for a card.
- Limit: Listing coverage is thinner outside tech.
- Limit: If a site does not support automatic submit, the pack is ready for you to send yourself.
- Limit: A search built mostly on referrals and networking is better served by LinkedIn.