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30 Times Business Owners Tried To Outsmart People By Posting Job Openings To Get Them To Work For Free
Interview With Author
From retail chains to online marketplaces, some businesses allow customers to try out their products before they decide to buy them. And it’s kind of convenient. But today, more and more companies looking for employees implement the "try before you buy" concept and expect their applicants to work for free as part of the recruitment process.
Think of trial assignments ranging from presentations to entire projects all made for free. And what if a job opening doesn't even exist? No wonder it's so controversial. Liz Ryan, the CEO of Human Workplace, has recently shared an illuminating thread about one such instance which stirred a solid debate on Twitter.
Liz tweeted: “I met a woman who applied for an events planning job. She interviewed for the job and they said, We want you to plan and execute an event for us as a test, so we can see how well you do.” Turns out, “there was no job opening” in the first place and “they placed an ad for a full-time events planner just to try to rope someone into planning and executing a job fair for them—for free.”
As enraging as it sounds, this is all too common among job seekers. So now people with similar experiences took it to Liz’s thread to share how employers, hiring managers, and business owners have tried to outsmart them.
Image credits: humanworkplace
Image credits: humanworkplace
Image credits: humanworkplace
Image credits: humanworkplace
Image credits: humanworkplace
Image credits: humanworkplace
Image credits: humanworkplace
Image credits: humanworkplace
Image credits: humanworkplace
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Bored Panda reached out to Liz Ryan, the author of this viral Twitter thread. Liz is a keynote speaker, multiple book author and the founder and CEO of Human Workplace. Human Workplace helps working people, job seekers and leaders navigate the human side of work. Liz also shares super useful daily advice on Twitter, so make sure to follow her!
“Whether it’s a conscious effort to get free work out of job candidates or not, it’s very common for the hiring process to include an involuntary ‘donation’ of unpaid labor,” Liz told us. “Sometimes it’s an interview that feels more like an unpaid consulting session, where the candidate explains how they would solve a business problem while the interviewer furiously scribbles down notes that will be used by the company later to solve the problem—without hiring the applicant.”
Since they rejected it plus did not pay him I'm pretty sure it's still his copyright.
Liz continued: “Sometimes it’s a take-home project that the candidate is required to complete if they want to stay in the recruiting pipeline. I’ve heard from candidates who have been asked to take on 30- to 40-hour projects, unpaid, just to remain in the process.”
She urges jobseekers to be on the lookout because sometimes, there isn’t even a job opening. “The company may not intend to hire anyone. I saw a startup CEO tell a room full of business people from a conference stage that he regularly posts fake job ads and interviews candidates just to get their ideas—for free,” Liz said.
Lol it sounds super suspicious when they ask you to make something. Pretty sure that’s what a portfolio is for..
“My advice to jobseekers is to trust your instinct. After all, your trusty gut evolved over millennia to keep you safe. Listen to it!” And if you feel that your time and talents are being taken for granted in a recruiting process, walk away, Liz argues. “There’s another employer out there that deserves you on their team more than this one does.”
However, “if you submit any written work to an employer as part of the hiring process, add ‘original work by [your name], not to be used without express permission’ and the date.”
Having said that, Liz added that this isn’t foolproof. “An organization unscrupulous enough to try to steal your ideas won’t necessarily respect this boundary either—but it may stop them from using your work in, let’s say, a product brochure or on their website.”
She is not the first, it happened to me, and she won't be the last. Know who YOU are interviewing.
I would be very careful if doing this. If you are not an employee and there is any complication ( allergic reaction, chipped tooth, etc.) You could be held liable as you are not yet under their insurance. Never underestimate people who will throw you under a bus.
Moreover, Liz shared advice on things you could say in an interview if you’re asked to solve a problem in excruciating detail. “You can say, ‘I can walk you through exactly how I would put together your marketing plan [for instance]—that is, the steps I would follow to get there. I can’t tell you what that plan will look like, as I sit here right now, because I don’t know your situation well enough yet.’”
Another way to respond is to say “‘I don’t know enough about your goals, your competition, your product mix or any of the other relevant factors to design your marketing plan here and now’; ‘Here’s how I would gather the information I need to put that plan together…’”
Was it in the terms of the contest? Because that's usually what those types of contests are for.
Meanwhile, in terms of take-home assignments, some people are comfortable donating one hour of work. “If you’re asked to do more than one hour of work for free at home, you can let the hiring manager or recruiter know that you’d be happy to complete the assignment on a consulting basis—and let them know your hourly fee,” Liz said.
When asked what the recruitment consultant thinks of unpaid internships, Liz said that they are also unethical: "they should be abolished.”
At least this Xerxes guy can unleash the might of the Persian Empire against these scammers. Wait until the "Immortals" show up at their corporate HQ.
I think a lot of places charge "rent" to their salon employees (who aren't actually employees, but rather "independent contractors") for having a space/chair to cut hair or whatever, and the salon employee then sets their own prices and the salon owner gets a cut off their profits.
Why would coming up with a marketing plan be part of buying it tho? Sounds suspicious from the bat.
Not sure why Wilvanders comment was downvoted os much. It might not apply to all, but it certainly applies to many' charities'
Thats his bad for showing up for a month without some type of contract signed. But this is something he can take to small claims court if he can prove he was there and did the labor. A month is a long time to screw someone. I had a job that said weekly pay was 400-800$ and when I went to the interview it seemed sketch and I said I had another interview the next day and would let them know. They seemed offended. But anytime there is a pay thats a range it means it’s a scam, cause the pay is suppose to be set. Also they seemed too eager which was suspicious in and of itself.
This happened to my mom years ago! Plagiarized her literally word for word on a big PR article. She's still bitter Years later... I don't blame her!
Ok little angry man.. yup you have the ability to fire someone from all of London... when they never worked for you... lmao
When you have your own business, you work for free until you make a deal or a sale. Can make the most but is also the most risky.
Note: this post originally had 49 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
In the Netherlands it is illegal to have people work for free as a mandatory part of a job application. Every work you do has to be paid and the employer also has to register you as an employee so you're covered when you get injured during your work. If he fails to do so and you're injured he'll get a huge fine and a thorough investigation to see if he broke the law in the past. The Tax bureau will also investigate him. Having to show receipts and other financial evidence from 5 years ago is not funny.
I can't even fathom doing the things in the article. I require samples of legal writing when I hire attorneys for our firm, but even then there are strict codes of conduct (redaction of all identifying and other personal information re the parties involved in the litigation, etc.). Maybe it's because I'm in law that it would never occur to me to have someone do work as part of an interview process--esp. without compensation. Besides, if a employee candidate hasn't already demonstrated their value through their CV and their prior work samples, the performance bar is too high. Having them "test perform" where Intellectual Property is concerned is sketchy AF and an incredibly slippery legal and ethical slope.
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When I used to work as an art director at a web design company, we would hire people based on their portfolio. Then after about 2008 or so, we started getting people who had great portfolios, but after we hired them and they started working on stuff, I discovered they weren't as good as their portfolio. Even in the way they would set up their files (layers, pixel resolution, etc). So I had to start giving a "design test" if a person got to the point of a second interview. I gave everyone the same test. Design a website homepage for a fake company that I made up. We would not pay them for this. If they didn't want to do it, that was fine, but I couldn't go on hiring people that I then had to let go 3 months later. It was making more work for me. The company never used any of the designs that the potential employee made, though, and I would always send them a letter or even give them a call if they didn't get the position and kept their info on file for the future and even possible freelance help when we get really busy. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people that lie nowadays, even about their portfolios, and they will use other people's work to get a job.
That sounds about right. A few years ago, demo assignments became more and more typical for job interviews. There were articles about the trend and whether it was getting to be excessive. I can understand the value, but it def makes it easier for sketchballs to run this scam!
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In the Netherlands it is illegal to have people work for free as a mandatory part of a job application. Every work you do has to be paid and the employer also has to register you as an employee so you're covered when you get injured during your work. If he fails to do so and you're injured he'll get a huge fine and a thorough investigation to see if he broke the law in the past. The Tax bureau will also investigate him. Having to show receipts and other financial evidence from 5 years ago is not funny.
I can't even fathom doing the things in the article. I require samples of legal writing when I hire attorneys for our firm, but even then there are strict codes of conduct (redaction of all identifying and other personal information re the parties involved in the litigation, etc.). Maybe it's because I'm in law that it would never occur to me to have someone do work as part of an interview process--esp. without compensation. Besides, if a employee candidate hasn't already demonstrated their value through their CV and their prior work samples, the performance bar is too high. Having them "test perform" where Intellectual Property is concerned is sketchy AF and an incredibly slippery legal and ethical slope.
Load More Replies... When I used to work as an art director at a web design company, we would hire people based on their portfolio. Then after about 2008 or so, we started getting people who had great portfolios, but after we hired them and they started working on stuff, I discovered they weren't as good as their portfolio. Even in the way they would set up their files (layers, pixel resolution, etc). So I had to start giving a "design test" if a person got to the point of a second interview. I gave everyone the same test. Design a website homepage for a fake company that I made up. We would not pay them for this. If they didn't want to do it, that was fine, but I couldn't go on hiring people that I then had to let go 3 months later. It was making more work for me. The company never used any of the designs that the potential employee made, though, and I would always send them a letter or even give them a call if they didn't get the position and kept their info on file for the future and even possible freelance help when we get really busy. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people that lie nowadays, even about their portfolios, and they will use other people's work to get a job.
That sounds about right. A few years ago, demo assignments became more and more typical for job interviews. There were articles about the trend and whether it was getting to be excessive. I can understand the value, but it def makes it easier for sketchballs to run this scam!
Load More Replies...
