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Asked to "Do the Job" as Part of Interview Process
I have been interviewing with a company and have already had multiple interviews with various stakeholders. As part of the final interview process, they informed me that I would need to give a presentation. I thought to myself, "No problem! I am quite comfortable doing that." However, when the instructions arrived, I was surprised about the presentation's topic, as it seems to me that they are looking for me to do a critical part of the job (strategy), before being paid. The presentation prompt was "Given what you know about the role, what is your strategy to execute on supporting the company’s growth as we significantly increase the headcount year over year for the next 3 years? Please include resources such as headcount, tools and budget, you will need in order to execute, as well as assumptions you’ll use as you go through the presentation."
I honestly thought the presentation I'd be doing would be topic related to the role-- such as on motivation, leadership, emotional intelligence, etc. When I saw the topic prompt was this, my immediate (and since, lingering) thought has been that they want me to outline my 3 year strategy for the role, and get it for free. They could still hire someone else and then tell that person, "execute on this 3 year plan we had someone else create."
As a consultant, this is work I would get paid for if it were one of my clients asking for it. I think this is a big red flag (there were other red flags also throughout the process), but what do you think?
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Anonymous
11/29/20 at 9:30PM UTC
I think it is reasonable to request a presentation / project as part of the interview process to demonstrate your skills. I won't hire someone without one, though I usually pick subsets of past projects that we have already completed. What I'm looking for is a thought process and approach. This will be predictive enough. That said, asking someone for a free strategy is another thing entirely. I agree with what some of the others folks who commented have said. You should be able to give enough to demonstrate your capabilities without providing a complementary work-for-hire. I'd be questioning their integrity and wondering if this was the kind of company where I'd thrive. Best of luck!
Katie
13
11/29/20 at 6:21PM UTC
As an HR professional, while sitting thru interviews for myself, I too have been asked 'hypothetical' questions that were a bit too detailed that I felt that I was providing free HR consulting advice to their current, real-life, internal issues that were going on in their workplace. And then not getting the job. It's like 'gee...I am glad that I could help them out'. It's frustrating as it's not a true testament of interviewing me and asking me about my own business experiences.
Jessica Pham-RuhlandBusiness Development
50
11/29/20 at 7:02AM UTC
+1 to so many of the comments above. I'm really glad that I came across this thread. I had an interview this season that asked me to solve the exact business problem the team would face in a couple of months, which was when the role would be onboarded and what the role would actually tackle. The hiring manager expected the full, complete project proposal -- aka the actual product the role should work on and be paid for. I was not going to spend days on this just in hopes of moving onto the next round of interviews. I set a limit of one hour and turned in what I had, even if it meant not being sufficient enough to move forward. I didn't move forward, but no regrets. I did not want to turn in free work.
Steph RouthCoalition builder for social change
12
11/28/20 at 12:50AM UTC
Assignments as part of job processes definitely seem to becoming a trend. Once I was asked to mock up an enewsletter as a candidate for a comms position. I wasn't hired, but they used all my HTML (including a coded signature, which is how I knew it was my work). So when I was recently asked to do an assignment for a position, I contacted the hiring manager to share three pieces of information: my enthusiasm for the position; my past unfortunate experience with candidate assignments; and my trust in them that they would not use the output of this assignment as unpaid labor benefiting the organization. What followed was a wonderful conversation with the hiring manager about why they chose an assignment as part of the process, how they were safeguarding against any use of the assignment, and how they structured the exercise to not take more than a specific (short) period of time. I was anxious to bring it up to the hiring manager and so, so glad I did. I think it made us both appreciate one another more.
LisaConcierge Coach in Connecticut
39
11/27/20 at 3:12PM UTC
I had a comparable situation happen to me. Although I wasn't asked for a presentation, the interview proved more of a consult instead of an interview. I was very enthusiastic during the interview to demonstrate my knowledge of the area. The interviewers were taking notes on everything I said. After the interview, I reflected on the experience and realized that I should have charged for the consult. The company ghosted me when I tried to follow up on the interview. The positive is that this was an opportunity to learn how to recognize an interview and a consult disguised as an interview.
Lana MarkovicCommunications | Branding | Personal Development
93
11/27/20 at 2:02PM UTC
Wow, that sounds like a lot of really valuable work they've asked you to do. I've spent most of this year interviewing and sadly found myself in a few situations when companies asked for a marketing or communications plan as part of the interview process, so I'm not surprised to read that. Sometimes, if it's a new role on the team, the hiring managers who don't have a clear strategy want to know how someone would approach that role and therefore ask for a plan before hiring. It reflects poorly on them. There are also hiring managers/teams who simply want to test someone's thinking and creativity, which can be done through that sort of assignment, however in that case it needs to be emphasized that the result should be a high-level plan that won't take more than an hour or two to prepare. Eventually, I landed a great role after working on a plan and presenting it, however thinking back, I wish I had skipped on some of the other assignments that didn't result in an offer anyway. The gut feeling is very important to take into account!
Lora M. Del Page
38
11/26/20 at 8:37PM UTC
I make it a personal policy to never move forward with companies that request projects as part of the interview process. It has always just had the wrong smell about it for me.
Randi PMP Certified Project Manager
21
11/26/20 at 8:33PM UTC
I had to do something similarly for a job that I had interviewed for, and it was only the 2nd step in the process, after having an initial interview with the recruiter. It took me hours to put together the presentation, and then I never heard back from the company. This really ticked me off because I wasted hours to do something, and the company couldn't even give me the courtesy of responding back to me. After that experience, I actually wrote a negative review of that company on glassdoor so others would be warned of this. And I would never work for that company even if they did come back to me.
Anonymous
11/26/20 at 8:16PM UTC
I didn't have to do a strategy pitch, but a pitch as to why I would be good for the company, it hired me but about 12 months later had financial problems. I left for what I thought was a better job , well that was a mistake. However the owner of the first company and I still get on really well and frequently have a coffee to share news and what's happening in the government arena. But would I go back and work for him, nope.
Anonymous
11/26/20 at 4:27PM UTC
I would recommend coming up with an engagement agreement, outlining expectations, hourly consulting rate, and payment terms BEFORE the interview. Provided they accept your terms, bring your invoice to the interview.
You are not required to give away your expertise for free. Not even for a job you may really want. Know your value. Know your worth. Don't settle for less.
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