micro1 review: AI-vetted talent, flat bounties, and a 20-minute interview.

What micro1 actually is

micro1 runs an AI recruiter called Zara that vets candidates before human hiring managers ever see them. You apply, Zara screens you, and if you pass, you're in the talent pool for roles that range from eval and technical-screening work up to full engineering contracts.

The Zara interview

Expect a conversational AI interview that runs roughly 20–40 minutes. It's not a coding gauntlet — it's more like a structured conversation about your background and how you think. Treat it like a real interview, because the output decides whether you move forward.

Pay: $20–45/hr for eval work

Eval and screening work on micro1 pays roughly $20–45/hr depending on the role and your background. The exact amount is listed per job, so you'll see it before you commit. That's real money for this kind of work — but it's a range, and the higher end usually goes to people with more technical depth.

The referral program, honestly

micro1 pays a flat per-hire bounty of up to $3,000 when someone you referred gets hired and completes 10+ paid hours. Two things worth knowing: the exact bounty amount is listed on each job posting, and the payout is locked in at the time you apply — it doesn't change later. Anyone can hold a link; you don't need to be a micro1 worker first.

The payout lands as wallet credit, which you can withdraw anytime. No waiting on a threshold after the bounty clears.

Should you bother?

If you're already doing AI eval work, micro1's screening is one of the lighter gates out there, and the pay range is competitive with the rest of the directory. The flat-bounty referral setup also means you can share it even if you never get hired yourself. It's worth the 20–40 minutes to find out where you land.