“Unpaid Working Interviews?”

One applies to the dream job, spends time on their cover letter and resume, and then a few days after submitting their resume, they receive an email with a request for hours’ worth of “hypothetical work” to prove they can “do the job.”  

Nothing in this hypothetical email says anything about how much they will be paid for their time, or how their work product will be used by the company making the request.  Should one spend time on the request they have in front of them, or should they just apply for another job?  This is a real question without a hard and fast answer as the true answer depends on several factors like how bad one needs a job, how good of a fit the job would be if offered, or whether the company is simply trying to glean new ideas or free work without planning to actually hire anyone.  The legality of these “unpaid working interviews” is beyond the scope of this writing and thus no opinion of legality is offered herein, further this author is not encouraging anyone to break any laws or engage in the practice of “unpaid working interviews,” as this writing is intended to be an educational discussion of the practice’s existence and realities.  

Needs

Realistically, most people looking for a job need a job, and no matter how distasteful it might be to work for free to prove one can “do the job,” it may be a gamble one chooses to take dependent upon their circumstances.  However, it does stand to reason that unscrupulous employers know this truth also, and it may be that they leverage financial need to drain every ounce of productivity they can drain from hopeful applicants who, in many cases, may likely have no chance of getting the position they applied for if the position were even real. Some readers may be thinking that employers would not do such a thing, and many would probably not believe the stories of people being asked to put ten, twelve, or even fifteen hours plus into some hypothetical case study before even being offered an interview, but it happens.  If one does not need a job, then they must judge whether they are being fleeced into doing free work or if they are being sincerely considered for a real position. However, most people are not just applying to jobs for fun, and they must make a judgment call about their needs no matter how distasteful the ultimate decision proves to be in terms of actually completing the “unpaid working interview” or not.  Once consideration has been given to how badly one needs the job applied for, then it is time to evaluate the actual fit if the job were to be offered.

The Fit

In response to a job application, one has been asked to complete a great deal of unpaid work before even interviewing, and after considering the pros and cons of just abandoning the job at a company requesting an “unpaid working interview,” one may want to consider the fit if they were to continue trying to move forward with the particular job.  Some considerations are the location of the job, the title and how it may fit within a career path, the job duties, the compensation, the benefits, and the stability of the company.  In short, if one completed the “unpaid working interview” and was selected for the position in the event the job were to be a real open position, would they accept the job?  One should strongly consider whether the job would be a good fit from all the previously mentioned aspects as it would be a true shame to go through an “unpaid working interview” only to reject the job if offered.  Once the overall situation that prompted the application and the fit have been considered, the real question is whether the company requesting the “unpaid working interview” is just trying to glean free work or ideas from hopeful applicants for a position that may not exist.

Legitimacy

The size of the company requesting the “unpaid working interview” should likely be considered when determining if one is about to be fleeced out of free work.  Usually, larger companies have robust human resources policies, procedures, and professionals who know what can and cannot be done without being dragged before the Labor Board and the Courts.  The smaller companies with inexperienced management are more likely to request an “unpaid working interview” with more honest intentions since they likely have not yet learned how to interview someone effectively, have not been sued enough to be diligent in their hiring practices, and have not learned to hire slow and fire quick.  However, there is likely a third class of employers who request “unpaid working interviews,” and this class may be the most ill-intentioned.  The third class of employers are likely the ones that could be expected to solicit a complete marketing plan in an “unpaid working interview” and then after submitting the work and not even getting a reply to the submission email, the hopeful applicant may be shocked to see their ideas on a billboard by the highway.  Does this happen?  Most likely more than anyone would like to admit, but there is no way to know for sure how prevalent such unscrupulous practices are in the market, notwithstanding, the third class of employers would be the ones to avoid with the most caution.  However, any employer requesting an “unpaid working interview” should likely raise red flags for a hopeful applicant, but again, some requestors may be doing so from ignorance as opposed to other less savory motives, but even in the presence of honest intentions, red flags should most likely be waiving actively.  

Conclusion

If one finds themselves on the receiving end of an “unpaid working interview” request and they consider their situation, the job fit, and the legitimacy of the request; the judgment call of whether to go ahead with the “unpaid working interview” is entirely up to them, but if they have a bad feeling, that can be as useful as a stop sign in a busy intersection.  Again, this writing is not speaking to the legality of or condoning the practice of “unpaid working interviews,” nor is this writing encouraging requesting or completing an “unpaid working interview,” as the purpose of this writing is to simply highlight the fact that the practice exists in the marketplace and to provide some realistic considerations one might want to make if faced with such a situation.  It may be possible to have a candid conversation with the company, but again that decision would be a judgment call one would have to make when faced with a particular situation.  For more information on how not to hire an unmotivated and demoralized team, visit HB Consulting, LLC to learn more about our services and to book a Free Consultation.  

Disclaimer: The information contained hereinabove is offered for educational purposes only as it is general in nature, is a matter of opinion based upon information and belief, not predicated upon any person or organization’s specific facts or circumstances, should not be relied upon, nor should the writing hereinabove be taken by any reader as Legal, Financial, or Tax advice under any circumstance.  

‍