What job search help costs
Prices checked October 2026. Free options first.
| Kind of help | Cost | What you're paying for |
|---|---|---|
| American Job Center | Free | Resume review, workshops, job leads |
| AARP Foundation BACK TO WORK 50+ | Free | Group coaching for people over 50 |
| SCSEP | Free, and it pays you | Part-time paid training if you're 55+, unemployed and low-income |
| Indeed, AARP job board | Free | Listings. You do the rest |
| FlexJobs | $2.95 trial, then $23.95 every 4 weeks | Screened remote and part-time listings. Details |
| TopResume | $179 to $599 once | A written resume. Details |
| Keen | Free for early users | A resume you talk out on your phone, plus open jobs by email or text |
| Career coach | $80 to $225 an hour | Advice and accountability. Executive coaches run $220 to $550 |
| Executive resume writer | $750 to $2,500 | A resume and often LinkedIn, by interview |
| Reverse recruiter | $1,500 to $4,500 a month | Someone runs your whole search and applies for you |
"Job placement services for seniors"
Be careful with this phrase. A real placement firm is paid by the employer, never by you. If a company asks you for money and promises to place you in a job, walk away. The FTC says the same.
What you can fairly pay for is work: a resume written, a list researched, an hour of coaching. Not a promised job.
Which is worth paying for?
- A coach helps if you don't know what you want next. It's slow and adds up fast.
- A resume writer helps if your resume is the thing holding you back. For most people over 50 who haven't searched in years, it is.
- A paid job board helps if you want remote or part-time work and already have a good resume.
- A reverse recruiter only makes sense at a high salary.
What we'd do with $0
- Book a resume review at your American Job Center.
- Ask your library if it runs a job-seeker group for people over 50.
- Sign up for a BACK TO WORK 50+ workshop.
What Keen does
You talk through your work on your phone and the resume writes itself on screen. It's free for our first users. Then we send you openings you'd be a real candidate for, by email or text, when they come up.