Fresh graduates and early-career professionals are increasingly offering their first month's salary in exchange for successful job referrals, highlighting the growing struggle to secure entry-level roles amid intense competition and a crowded hiring market.
Posts on platforms such as LinkedIn and Reddit show candidates promising to hand over their entire first paycheque — and in some cases even offering to sign legal agreements — if a referral leads to a job offer. The trend has emerged across roles in data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), software development, product design and user experience.
