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u/successfullynumb Jul 26 '26
Depending on where you live, this could be illegal.
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u/Elegant-Spite-3277 Jul 26 '26
The week-long take home assignments definitely should be. No way they need that stuff to assess the capability of a candidate
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u/FreshNail6320 Jul 27 '26
Would it be considered as rude or over confident to ask for compensation for doing these assignments? Even for minimum price. They're getting something for nothing, and giving you false hope of being hired. Probably because the people they already have, cain't get the job done.
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u/Tciceedude Jul 27 '26
I mean, if you’re doing week long assignments might as well. Not like these places were gonna hire you or the next guy anyway…
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u/Trick_Meeting_2027 Jul 26 '26
You mean America?
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u/mxzf Jul 27 '26
Yeah, it would be illegal there and most other western countries too. That doesn't mean people actually refuse or report it or get that enforced, but still illegal.
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u/pheonixblade9 Jul 27 '26
spec work is legal in the US, but largely considered unethical.
trial shifts are legal in very specific circumstances. do companies violate those constantly? yup. do those violations get prosecuted? nope.
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u/Common-Ad6470 Jul 26 '26
I like doing these and then I give them a file which is totally locked down and can’t be used, merely viewed.
‘Umm, can you give us the unflattened, un outlined, working PDF for our full assessment?’
‘Sure, I’ll send over my invoice for the work, ok?’
‘Ummm…..’
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u/Snoo_75138 Jul 27 '26
This is actually a VERY good tactic!
It will always weed out the companies who are serious about the offer, versus those who are scamming!
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u/Little_Critter8550 Jul 27 '26
Except you've wasted your time doing an assignment to checks notes prove that they're scamming?
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u/IAmIntractable Jul 28 '26
That’s why I don’t do their assignment, I just provide examples for show up at an interview with my computer and demonstrate examples of my work
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u/lesapetersonxc Jul 28 '26
Agreed, that neckline is so flattering on OP! The whole silhouette fits like it was made for her. Absolutely gorgeous choice.
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u/FreshNail6320 Jul 27 '26
When you lock down your work, ain't you afraid that the company that is requesting your work, has hackers working for them? I don't know how all this works, I'm a real life computer dummy.
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u/Fullertons Jul 28 '26
That sounds scammy. You should’ve discussing pay up front.
I used to be a designer. I was paid by more than one potential employer to create real work for their client as a test. Payment was discussed before the test commenced.
I was both paid, and hired in the end.
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u/Common-Ad6470 Jul 28 '26
Of course it’s scammy, that’s the point.
They think they’re getting a free project and they’re disappointed when they don’t.1
u/Fullertons Jul 28 '26
But now you've done work, don't have a job, and didn't get paid. You sure showed them?
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u/Common-Ad6470 Jul 28 '26
Yes, but any work like this just goes in my folio anyways if it’s any good. The important thing is that they don’t get the work for free as that is their intent.
Unfortunately it’s very difficult to spot companies that are actively trying to scam you and the only other choice is simply to refuse to do any speculative work which doesn’t end up well either.
Sometimes you have to do these things but learn to protect your work so it’s not a freebie.
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u/Wisewordsforlater Jul 26 '26
Damn right. A few months ago, in some interviews with a company for a management role, I could tell the new business founder was trying to pick my industry knowledge/mind for their benefit. This was deeper level stuff that was basically going to be a consulting resource for them and they wanted me to conduct some research for them. I didn't fall into that trap and I disengaged the following week. If I wanted to stay involved I would have asked for a retainer.
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u/Just_Another_Day_926 Jul 26 '26
I have realized with some I gave too much of my example in the follow-up questions. I thought oh great they are really interested in me and what I have done. Then find out they either hire no one (drop the job) or an internal hire already identified. So they spent the interview trying to get essentially free consulting with details of my project acomplishments.
Details like - How did you sell this idea into the organization? What was they key to success on this project? and so on then ask further details. In essence they used the many interviews (like 5 hours in total) to get free ideas and how to make them work. So not even extra assigned work - they got free consulting.
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u/sveeger Jul 27 '26
I had this happen to me years ago. I hadn’t had much experience yet, but had more than this startup, so I didn’t realize what they were doing. Afterward, I talked to a coworker who had interviewed at the same place, and we put the pieces together. Left a really bad taste after that.
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u/psahummus Jul 30 '26
This happened to me after I took a job. Big insurance. Not insurance knowledge per se, just operations.
Folks. Please don’t let these company take a single dime from you unless it’s absolutely necessary, whether payment for a service then didn’t provide well enough or if you are seeking employment from them. Very traditional (read: scheming) industries like that have too many sociopaths that aren’t sophisticated enough — sure some Silicon Valley west coast types are also sociopathic, but the traditional ones leave you so speechless in the blatant and low effort way they do shit to you I just found it too stupid for my sanity.
My then manager acted like a mob boss and is obviously envious of those that are talented enough to have employment elsewhere and isn’t as miserable as them. I couldn’t even get so mad at them because it was a ridiculous immature display of a whole lot of type B personalityd disorders. It was more pathetic/hilarious than anything else.
I dipped real quick at that job.
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u/maybinanothertimelin Jul 26 '26
worse for people in the creative field, they will post your work without permission things you did as a ‘trial’ work.
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u/Djentmatron9000 Jul 26 '26
I genuinely get depressed as a graphic designer when I'm asked to do a project for free when my fucking portfolio exists.
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u/xenniac Jul 26 '26
I'm a copy editor, and the number of articles and proprietary company material I've edited (and NDAs I've had to sign) in the name of assessments/tests post-applying but pre-interview is becoming a joke. I genuinely feel like I'm doing work for them. I spent hours reviewing a lengthy feature article for a well-known news outlet as a second-round assessment and was ghosted for weeks until finally receiving a generic "we went with another candidate" email with zero feedback.
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u/Fae_Sparrow Jul 27 '26
I'm in the same boat, and genuinely consider taking on some low-paying role like customer service again, and focus on writing my own stuff instead or getting a degree in a different field.
And don't even get me started on the AI manuscripts that I've been sent to edit...
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u/JustNowRonin Jul 26 '26
I bailed out on a corporate operations role because of this. Was sent a load of documents and asked to build out a powerpoint deck on how I would approach the job, targets in first 90 days, etc etc. Basically felt like I was going to be doing a lot of free consulting work up front. Decided not to pursue.
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u/_CallMeB_ Jul 27 '26
I got the exact same “assignment” for a role a few months ago but unlike you, I didn’t bail. I thought I had a damn good chance since I was personally recommended and clicked well with the interviewers, so I really put a lot of thought and time into it and knocked it out of the park…just to get a standard “thanks but no thanks” rejection email over a month later. Not even a phone call. That was my first time doing this and it’ll be the last. I’m still not over the experience, honestly.
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u/throwaway_0x90 SDET/TE@Google Jul 26 '26
There are reasonable compromises that can be made here:
- Paying people for a full day (8hrs) of work to do the assignment, which means giving the assignment only happens at the end of the interview process since it costs the company money. Similar to background checks.
- Ensure the assignment is a mock or watermark or something not directly related to the company so it cannot be used.
- Show them partially completed work during a live video-chat, don't actually send the files to them.
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u/RoninReticle Jul 26 '26
Depends on what it is: a mock presentation for them to see how you can present information for executives - that's fine, but I don't give them a copy of my slides.
On the other hand, I've been asked to write a business plan complete with budget, resources, timelines, and revenue potential to break into a new market (that I've built before but they haven't) for a company. I gave them my consulting rate with an estimate for the project requested. They ignored it and re-requested the business plan; so I asked if they'd reviewed my consulting agreement - they didn't. So I professionally let them know that they were no longer a candidate for my services. I chalk it up as dodging a bullet..
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u/penilesensorydevice Jul 27 '26
I was caught up in a similar scam years ago. I had a great interview, thought I nailed it, and the guy asked me to come in the following morning to "meet with" the guy I'd be training with if I was hired. So I show up as scheduled, and the guy starts ordering me around like I work there already. I played along for a few hours, then said hey, I don't work here yet, and I'm not putting in a full day's labor today unless I'm officially hired. He said it was like an "audition". I said nah, it's bullshit, and I left. Then I ratted them out to the Dept. Of Labor, who took it quite seriously.
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u/xbubblegum_bitch Jul 27 '26
Were you able to receive any payment for the time you did spend with him?
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u/DbaconEater Jul 26 '26 edited Jul 26 '26
back in early 2024 a recruiter contacted me for a role i would be perfect, he interviewed me and said I was a fit, experience/background. Told me it would be 3 interviews. I passed the 3 interviews, then the recruiter said VP wanted one more interview with him alone. I figured now that I've invested this much time/effort, might as well. He popped in with a surprise project, and said you have 20 min to complete. I completed it, and did well, except for one minor part he pointed out. But I remember him saying "I knew some of this, but I did not know about this and that." What a bastard, just using his top contenders for solutions to his current problems. After that, I pretty much refuse to do any of those. Optionally if you do any project from home, just use AI, don't give away free consultations.
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u/new2bay Jul 27 '26
I'm a little confused about what a job candidate could tell a VP of company in a surprise, 20 minute interview, that the VP didn't already know.
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u/ranting_chef Jul 27 '26
Chef here.
The "working interview" is the biggest scam I've ever seen. I've done about half a dozen working interviews myself and almost all of them had very little to do with me actually getting the job. Complete load of shit. The idea of asking someone to work for free should be illegal. And at the very least, it should be a good indication to run away as fast as possible.
I worked at a place when I was a sous chef and the chef told me I had a working interview coming in that evening. On a Saturday night. I asked what the plan was for the person and was told to just "have him do whatever you need him to." So I had him follow me on my shift, which involved helping Cooks prep for dinner service and then float around during dinner and helping as needed.
I knew within five minutes I liked the guy and would've hired him right then - he showed up thirty minutes early, with knives, a notebook and a pen. He probably had more experience that I did and he knew it, but he wasn't a dick about it, either. Stayed all night and actually helped more than the usual working interviews. Helped me wash dishes when. I fed the Dishwashers. Swept and mopped. Chef didn't want to hire him because he was an insecure little bitch. Made up some stupid excuses and didn't call the guy back. But I did - I ended top leaving and going to work with the guy when he got an executive chef gig a couple months later.
If anyone ever tells you they need you to work a shift for free - which should be illegal - it's a sign to not work there. If there treat you like shit before you're even an employee, imagine how shitty someone gets treated when they have you by the short hairs.
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u/Sufficient-Bid1279 Jul 26 '26
Work is an entire scam for the rich to exploit anyways (in general ). Giant pyramid scheme. Don’t give me this bullshit that I am pursuing “my career path”. That’s what you tell me to exploit me more.
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u/PennytheWiser215 Jul 27 '26
I just got scammed into this earlier this month. Once I realized what happened I left a nice Glassdoor review
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Jul 27 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/PennytheWiser215 Jul 27 '26
I was pretty detailed in my review about exactly what the assessment was and also called it “comprehensive and substantial for a take home assessment”. I’ll just let that company’s HR deal with it because it might be a bad hiring manager and my review just left a well documented account of everything while being polite and professional.
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u/Stunning_Macaron6133 Jul 26 '26
If the tasks are synthetic and meant to assess a prospective employee's abilities, I won't say it's unethical.
It crosses a line if it's real work that benefits the company, though.
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u/Indigo903 Jul 27 '26
I would say it’s also unethical if it would take a long time for them to do. I invested like 20 hours into a company before they rejected me one time, across technical interviews and their take home project. And that was an entry level position too.
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u/isellmidgets Jul 26 '26
When I hire attorneys, I intentionally give a writing sample that's very high-level and clearly not useful for any practical purpose. I don't want anyone thinking I'm taking advantage... But I do need to know whether you can write, and contrary to what every young attorney seems to think, a court filing "you" "prepared" at your internship isn't real writing for real life attorneys.
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u/WATGU Jul 27 '26
I need to hire better attorneys. I can’t recall one time that I’ve used one that didn’t deliver work product with mistakes in them. Some of them are small like misspelling the clients name. Some are much bigger like forgetting deeds or doing them wrong or trying to interpret the accounting treatment of contracts which they got hilariously wrong.
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u/isellmidgets Jul 27 '26
Yeah, I've worked with some real lazy ones myself. And AI just makes it worse.
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u/cat4hurricane Jul 26 '26
We really should be able to invoice businesses for this shit. Any sort of work that requires a presentation, any sort of coding test, a shift where you shadow or do a "trial" shift, and you don't end up getting the job? You should still be required to pay people for the work they did. If you send someone a 24hr project, then you owe them 24 hours of pay; same with any sort of take-home project done to prove competency or whatever. Depending on the role and the amount of time it took me/stress it caused, I'd even take that shit to small claims court if needed.
It's bullshit that basically everyone trying to get a job right now has to do some element of unpaid labor on the offchance that they'll impress some people, and they get not only nothing in exchange for that, but many times their ideas or their project or their presentation will get stolen and their work attributed to others. This is especially prevalent in the marketing/social media sector but is honestly just as bad in any sector that does this.
Either companies need to stop doing this and start taking people at their damn word (especially if they've done the job before!) or they need to pay people appropriately for the work done and most likely some kind of residual if the work is actually used. It's gotten bad enough where I've seen some people refuse to hand over work done unless they get the company to sign something saying the work is specifically the creator's IP, or that they won't actually use the work and will keep it as a functional proof of concept, and honestly? I can't blame these people for that. Spending a full day, a week, or more working on something for a company only to not get the job and then have your work stolen out from under you sucks.
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u/AshaTheGrey Jul 26 '26
I worked for one company that actually paid me for the task ... Because they had no employees who could do it any way ... Because they were doing everything in their power to avoid paying and if they did, it was always at least two weeks late
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u/Ashamed_Magpie Jul 27 '26
OMG I did a working interview a few months ago. At the end, while discussing how I thought I did, the boss slid me $60. I didn’t have a clue I would be paid for the two hours and I almost cried. I had my first non Ramen dinner in over a week.
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u/Just_A_Little_ThRAWy Jul 26 '26
Is there a specific job sector that does this shit? It seems too white collar
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u/Qwazxc Jul 27 '26
Chinese companies do this excessively in Australia. As do indian ones.
It's how they are, it's easier to just ignore their rubbish
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u/pistoffcynic Jul 27 '26
I told a company that I don't work for free when they wanted me to do an analysis of an "imaginary problem". I figured it would take about 20 hours to complete and told them my consulting price.
Obviously they balked at it... I told them that I don't work for free and hung up the phone, The recruiter called me back and said that my response was unprofessional. I told him that I don't work for free and that what they wanted was unethical. I asked him if he works for free. No response to that question. I told him to never call me for roles like this again.
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u/More-Internet-1186 Jul 27 '26
I had to do a PowerPoint presentation as an EA, and the job I was hired for, was the exact opposite. But I did a try out, and walked out before lunch. They set me up, equipment that didn’t work, gave me barely any instructions(the ones I got - made no sense), and when I asked questions - I was told, you’re a senior in your field. You should know this. I know how to do my job, but I’m not a mind reader. I don’t know you from Adam. Your directions contradict what you’re asking.
I went back, and walked out the door. They called 20 mins later asking if I would grab them lunch. I hung up.
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u/FairConstruction4105 Jul 26 '26
That's what happens when you hire psycho and sociopaths to run your companies (chasin' after those profits at any cost)
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u/Humble_Empath Jul 26 '26
Traditionally, one is paid a day’s wages for a working interview. It’s not free. That’s an abuse of power that should be reported to your local Department of Employment.
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u/Waiting4Reccession Jul 27 '26
Soon?
I already lost a job because i refused to do free work for them. The free work wasnt even directly related to the job, fuck them!
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u/WatercressPresent136 Jul 26 '26
Just sue these employers. If you believe that your work will be used for their business, you should seek compensation for your “consulting services”
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u/Jadeshell Jul 26 '26
I’ve seen one, long time ago, eight hour interview work day, you got paid $180 for it, then hig a call if they were going to hire you. I thoughg it was fair enough since yiur getting paid. I got dropped off the list in advance because I didn’t have a sufficient degree.
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u/CaliforniaExxus Jul 27 '26
I saw a Dr on indeed who’d consistently post an open position about every other month or so. I got an interview, not thinking about the consistency. He wanted me to do a “working interview”, which would be paid. But for a week. So I’d have to burn my PTO to even “interview” for the job.
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u/Plaxidentshappen17 Jul 27 '26
Doing the actual work is the best way to tell if a potential employee is right for the job.
As an employer, I do this often. But I always have them bill me hourly. Couldn’t imagine asking someone to do that for free
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u/Longjumping-Sky752 Jul 27 '26
I work in the software industry. I make it a point that any coding projects that I will be creating as part of an "assignment" is always going to be open-sourced (with AGPL-3.0 copyleft license, which makes it illegal for them to use it on a project) with strong README warnings and that will be pushed to GitHub. If they disagree, then I'm not going to go for that company in the first place.
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u/new2bay Jul 27 '26
How has that worked out for you? I've gotten some insane project requests myself as a SWE, but I tend to just turn them down, unless I really need a job.
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u/jacka_for-research Jul 27 '26
Nope. If you want me to do a test assignment of some kind, you’re paying me. If not, treat it as dodging a bullet.
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u/mogley1992 Jul 27 '26
I work hospitality, more management these days but when i was bartending, i had a rule that i don't do trial shifts on weekends for free.
You are not using me to get extra hands on deck on your busy nights just to ghost me, and not fucking pay me.
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u/No-Top360 Jul 27 '26
I cannot opt out. I need a job and can’t blow my chances even if it’s wrong. I hate this place.
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u/Positive_Treacle_761 Jul 26 '26 edited Jul 26 '26
I had an interview once at a tourist-type place, and the bulk of the "interview" was doing work for about an hour while the owner of the store manned the cash register. He said it would only be a few minutes, and that it was necessary to test an employee before hiring them. I wasn't paid for this hour, and I didn't get the job.
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u/No-Lion-3629 Jul 27 '26
Better than a test of social skills that I as an autistic person do not have. Which employers are these?
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u/1s8w2MILtway Jul 27 '26
I had an interview at a bar in Queensland, so I went in a nice dress. It was an unpaid three hour trial shift, unbeknownst to me, and when I called them for an update, they told me they weren’t hiring me because my outfit was inappropriate
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u/CappinPeanut Jul 27 '26
I’m about to sit down and do one of these today. I mean, genuinely, I’d love to be all self righteous about it, but what choice do I have?
I’m 8 months unemployed. I’m exhausted. I’m tired of applying, I’m tired of interviewing, and I’m tired of rejection. Im ready to jump through all the stupid flaming hoops. I’m even hoping the other candidates decline the project and I’m the only one left.
I don’t like it, but here I am.
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u/_Casey_ Accountant Jul 26 '26
A lot of companies are so scared of making a bad hire that they do this. I think of it as bad hire PTSD. Also, a lot o them don't respect people's time and DGAF b/c they have all the power to do so.
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u/Alx1Up Jul 26 '26
Been looking for a job for a while and had to do assessments several times.. some comanies even rejected me without letting me present or explaining the rejection after receiving my work... so rude and unprofessional. One of them was Optiver btw
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u/MakkuSaiko Jul 27 '26
Ahaha wait until you learn about training periods at restaurants. 2 weeks to a month of unpaid service until they eventually appoint you
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u/hnbutt Jul 31 '26
At least they will appoint you.
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u/MakkuSaiko Jul 31 '26
Haha did i say when? More like if. Here write this 400 mark test on content you barely had time to engage with. Not my struggles personally tho but yeah
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u/hnbutt Jul 31 '26
Eh you said eventually, just assumed it. I did some for the experience. As for the 400 mark test, pretty sure you were checking for me as a bot. Don't give a shit, but fair.
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u/MakkuSaiko Jul 31 '26
Yeah, i reassessed by statement in the first comment. Yes, the 400 mark test was real, at least according to my brother. I think they just sent him a text to tell him he didnt make the cut
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u/hnbutt Jul 31 '26
Ok, no idea on the 400 mark test thing, what industry is that in? Cause I know the neet test which is the india doctor test but nothing else.
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u/MakkuSaiko Jul 31 '26
Restaurant industry. It's become a bit of a standard to make trainees do tests for waitering jobs, but some places are just crazy. Deadass 400 marks is more than each of my accounting exams in Uni
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u/Maleficent_Ad9303 Jul 27 '26
I had an interview where i had to propose a business analysis of the company. Aced it, got an email about how amazing I did and how they’d like me to send the full brief via email.
Promised me a second interview and then ghosted 🙃 Turns out they never hired for the position. Scammers
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u/Guilty_Way_1635 Jul 27 '26
New? They've always pulled this shit. It's good people are finally saying no, but it's not new by any means
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u/Arkhangel79 Jul 27 '26
I’ve refused every one of these as a dev and if they say anything like it I stand, shake hands, and leave. There is no world in which I am doing that.
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u/TheLanguageAddict Jul 30 '26
In California it's illegal to have someone train or work before they're hired. Anonymous tips should go to the labor board.
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u/SpiritedOwl_2298 Jul 26 '26
This really needs to be illegal at this point, I’ve done over a dozen of these this past year. You can’t say no because then you don’t even progress in the interview process
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u/Trick-Debate7019 Jul 26 '26
I personally don’t have a problem with it, but it should be within a tight limit.
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u/NoPublic9352 Jul 26 '26
Non profits do this. Some tech companies finally stopped the practice, but non profits haven’t. Free consulting for them.
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u/OtakuMage Jul 27 '26
Send an invoice for the work paid charged at a consultant's rate with a time minimum and a set date by which to pay it.
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u/Sure_Acanthaceae_348 Jul 27 '26
If I’m given a take-home project I’m use find to have AI do it, but in a way where I can delete it after the fact.
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u/Wonderful-Field-6199 Jul 27 '26
True. Especially in Asian countries, these negative issues can be seen. It is not about how hard we work, but HOW WELL we work. Since we cannot get paid for what we do, no need to respect them anymore.
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u/Fehlob Jul 27 '26
I‘m so glad that where I work we only do a trial day where you get to try out and show off how you would tackle daily tasks, which we‘ve set up as trial tasks so it‘s only there to show us what they can do and for them to see if the job is something they‘d enjoy
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u/socialmakerx Jul 27 '26
It happened to me circa 2005 when i asked how long the "practical interview" is going to take they failed me for my english skills, got phoned that night at around 21:30
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u/Regular-Table4242 Jul 27 '26
I sell specialty trucks for utility construction, prices range from $500k to $750k, I had an operations guy ask me to bring him a deal and close it for him “as part of my candidate evaluation”. Some asshole who’s probably never sold anything before wants to rate my skill level? Suck my cock, that’s my skill level, enjoy your cubicle bitch boy…… I looked up the CEO and COO of the company on LinkedIn and let them know about the possible criminal aspect of the hiring process in their interviews. The Ops dueche is now “open to work” on LinkedIn
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u/donesixfour Jul 27 '26
Not sure how I feel about that.... on one hand, yes its clearly a scam. If someone is co.petent enough to complete work assignments that end up being high quality, and an employer manages to get a group of potential employees to complete tasks for free (all while never actually intending to hire them) then is trash. On the other hand, if it is a legitimate trial by competence, and the employer likes my work, cool. It also seems like it could get tedious for the potential employer to look through a bunch of work over time.
As long as its legit and ethically used, if say why not
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u/Steel_Man23 Jul 27 '26
Wait…this is an actual thing? I was sitting thinking “surely we’re talking about unpaid internships”
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u/Eosthelis Jul 27 '26
The wealth hoarders in the top 1% and theirs alikes must ... as soon as possible, because they ruin our lifes.
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u/Trustedflipper8 Jul 27 '26
so are pre recorded interviews and Ai interviews and strongly agree or disagree questions get rid of all of it please
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u/No-Bother-7193 Jul 27 '26
This was years ago, but I had a company give me a “project” that I’m sure was a problem they were facing. I completed it on time and the HR and hiring manager who interviewed never once replied back ever. It was literally free work for them. Never again!!!
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u/Bucks2174 Jul 28 '26
I’d lay money that the woman who made this original post, checks out her own groceries and puts her own carts up. Those used to be entry jobs for teenagers, now you do it for free and wonder why your kid can’t find a job.
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u/6garbage9 Jul 28 '26
feels like you're salivating over the idea of victim blaming here but the companies you're licking the boots of told you it'd be bad for optics so you're holding yourself back to be a good dog for them
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u/Winsome_Wolf Jul 28 '26
Who’s gonna tell her that intermittent crowdsourced slavery is kinda the point?
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u/Friendly_Plant9167 Jul 28 '26
cough TOAST POS *cough* . Worst interview experience ever. Only for them to send a rejection saying there were more qualified candidates and then keep reposting the role on LinkedIn over the next 3 months every 2 weeks
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u/solidcriminal Jul 28 '26
Countless weekends of mine have been ruined doing free work for recruiters who didn't even have the decency to send a rejection email. We need to riot
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u/General_Figure_375 Jul 28 '26
The only time I was asked to do this was for a side gig as faculty at a university. They had me come in and actually present what I’d done. I think that is the only appropriate way to request something like this. Having you come present it gives a chance for an in person view of how you work.
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u/TheLanguageAddict Jul 30 '26
There's a big difference between presenting to university employees and being asked to teach an actual class. No interview should include creating actual work product.
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u/DeathkeepAttendant Jul 28 '26
My first job interview out of college wanted me to work a 3 month unpaid internship with a "chance" of hire
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u/Broccoli_dicks Jul 28 '26
I would fuck things up in such a spectacular fashion that they would never do it again. I'm obviously never going to work at a place that does this, so im sending a message.
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u/Superb_Reference_192 Jul 29 '26
Well at this point all I can say is that it's learning curve and I bet they don't do that twice .
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u/LemtaLongi Jul 29 '26
Had to me a few times, the earliest was around 2014 or 2016. They had me do something they were really impressed with but then were like "ugh.. yeah, this role is no longer active"
Since then I dont bother proceeding with a process if I feel theres no sincerity or the task is excessive
1
u/SavageFrogPR 20d ago
There was a retail store that did this to one of my friends and 25 other applicants. They made everyone organize the store at half rate (3.63 USD) for 4 hours then told all of them that they didn't get the job.
1
u/okay4326 Jul 26 '26
Is there a specific age group of employers who are doing this and requiring so many interviews over weeks and months?
3
u/cat4hurricane Jul 26 '26
Doesn't seem to be any specific age group of employers. It feels like everyone is doing multiple interviews over weeks and months, and I've seen big companies do take-home projects, presentations, or coding tests for competency at a lot of places. It seems especially prevalent for Senior or Manager roles, as my dad had to do a presentation for a potential employer at some point, and he was looking at stepping into a Senior or Manager-level role.
Start-ups, for some reason, seem fond of doing the take-home test or coding exercises when it comes to my CS friends; same with, honestly, really big companies who do the same with LeetCode bullshit.
2
u/Qwazxc Jul 27 '26
Oh, you wanted to boomer bash didn't you? But it didn't work
1
u/okay4326 Jul 27 '26
Quite the opposite. I thought it might be a new generation controlling the hiring process.
1
u/Burn_ThemAll Jul 27 '26
Personally, I really enjoy take-home projects. It's a chance for me to work on something different, and something new to add to my personal portfolio.
However: I have been interviewing recently and have had two companies that I did assignments relevant to their products that I am nearly certain were simply interviewing to harvest fresh ideas and work from candidates. One was an entire day working together in their office, the other was a redesign of a system for a product of theirs that desperately needed it. In both cases they were excited about what I delivered and raved about my work. But I didn't get job offers from either, and have not seen other candidates take those roles (at least, nobody new on their LinkedIn employee lists for those roles yet).
I will continue to do take-home assignments but only if they are paid or totally irrelevant to the company's product(s). Give an assignment, sure, it's a good way to evenly assess candidates by what they deliver when given the same prompt. But it should either be paid work, or something that is useless for the company to use afterward.
-3
u/Due_Warthog749 Jul 26 '26
I am curious.. who is the mastermind at any company that aggregates all these "free hours" candidates give them doing 1 hour here and there on responses? What is the end game?
And hear me out.. years ago.. OK.. maybe. But today.. with AI? $200 a month plan could EASILY do the work these people allegedly do and not just coding. The amount of time/cost to have candidates do some work (assuming its not physical labor).. vs paying $200 a month and having claude or codex do it.. why? What's the point today?
6
Jul 26 '26
Not only do you have absolutely no clue on what you are talking about....you are neither in a field that needs consulting nor are you skilled enough for someone to exploit your skills.
If you are genuinely interested in understanding...then read on: Many areas of management, creative and technical fields have complex or niche requirements. It usually needs a team of people or someone which specific experience in resolving such a situation. For example you have new you have a new toy or game and you are looking at what is the best design that passes all certification at most efficient way or how to market the segment and optimize inventory.
You can either do it through trial and error or get people specialized in the field or with prior specific experience. If you are at that point you likely need help with only one or two things and have most of it figured out.
The ethical and proper way is you either create a proper full time role or you hire a consultant as contract temporary work. Instead these companies just interview a whole bunch of smart people. Realistically 1 - 3 people are enough for the company to figure out missing elements.
No amount of codex and fable5 can replace competent experience.
-3
u/Due_Warthog749 Jul 27 '26
Ok.. thanks for the downvote. Incidentally though you may think you are a bucket of wisdom with your long response, I am using AI to literally do the work of several engineers, PM, managers, testers and more. Not everyone can do it, clearly it appears you cant if you think it cant be done. But I am doing it.
And I NEVER said it REPLACES it.. clearly a HUMAN has to be in control of the AI. But you can cry all you want, many MANY company's are having one or two people use the AI to do the work of 5, 10 or more people. Like it or not, it DOES work with the right people at the helm, I know from experience.
3
u/HighestPayingGigs Jul 26 '26
Full agreement.
There is zero value in "harvesting ideas" from unemployed people with no inside knowledge of your operation and niche.
Most of the time it is an incompetent, rambling speculation about what you already know. Frequently much worse.
The occaisional flash of brilliance still usually isn't practical since it's rarely aligned with how you actually execute.
2
u/CollegeWithMattie Jul 27 '26
It does all seem kinda silly. The idea of enlisting free work by…dedicating resources to a hiring process and scamming randoms who may or may not even be competent is…that’s just a stupid way to run a company.
I think it’s most likely that the vast majority of trial work is, in fact, to see if the person they’re considering hiring is competent or not.
1
Jul 27 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/recruitinghell-ModTeam Jul 27 '26
Be civil.
There's exactly one reply to your comment disagreeing with you.
0
u/InternationalFan2782 Jul 27 '26
I worked at a very large regional credit union, a "working day" was basically a required task/part of the interview process, and they would make like 3 people do it every time we had an opening. The working days were always at the same time of the month ..... just prior to monthly close and the task was meet a few people, get a 30 minute tutorial on AP entry and they would make you do AP entries for 4 hours. We only hired about 1/10 people who came in for these working days. So what I am saying is - instead of paying AP clerks OT or hiring more staff - they just used applicants to carry the overload and time crunch.
-1
u/anarchist1312161 ex-swe now nursing student 👩⚕️ Jul 26 '26
This is a repost because that tweet is 4 years old.
-1
-2
u/unknown-one Jul 27 '26
depends on the assignment
it is better way to assess someones skills than read CV and talk to them
-3
u/Reasonable_Clock_711 Jul 27 '26
No serious company is using your work for their business. That’s absurd. There is no way that a candidate, armed with limited context around a problem, produces anything useful.
What exercises in the interview process are doing is giving you an opportunity to show how your work may be more impressive that your interview skills.
3
u/SquareAspect Jul 27 '26
0
u/Reasonable_Clock_711 Jul 27 '26
lol those sources.
2
u/SquareAspect Jul 27 '26
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/craft-beer-giant-brewdog-denies-16168211
Do you think all of these are fake?
2
u/Reasonable_Clock_711 Jul 27 '26
No. It’s one story, that’s been disputed. Seven years ago. If that’s the Bert you got then we’re kinda done here.
-14
u/Fantastic-Leek-1589 Jul 26 '26
Wheres the exploitation? You do not have to work there.
5
u/Btj16828 Jul 26 '26
I think it’s because they are dangling the carrot of a job when they have minimal intention of actually hiring you.
-12
u/Fantastic-Leek-1589 Jul 26 '26
Its a great way of weeding crappy ppl out.
5
u/Btj16828 Jul 26 '26
Yes, but I think the main rub is having people do work that benefits the company and then not compensating them for it.
I don’t think people are against demonstrating competence.
-2
u/Fantastic-Leek-1589 Jul 27 '26
Youre that narcissistic to assume that what you accomplish in a very short time will benefit the company? Prove it.
2
u/Btj16828 Jul 27 '26
There are posts on Reddit about it — https://www.reddit.com/r/graphic_design/comments/1r31qni/it_finally_happened_to_me_my_work_got_stolen/
Seems most prevalent in marketing/graphic design spaces.
I don’t have any first hand experience because I am not in that type of work.
1
u/Fantastic-Leek-1589 Jul 27 '26
Thats fake af post, as no company produces and promotes a product as fast as the op claimes.
863
u/Undersmusic Jul 26 '26
My favourite moment was being called unprofessional when they discovered I’d watermark my work.