How many people here have had to do a project as part of an interview process and not gotten the position?

Nicole Miller

October 1,2021 at 1:33PM UTC

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How many people here have had to do a project as part of an interview process and not gotten the position? In my job search, I had to do several, and didn't get any of the positions. The last one, I was told I would be able to do the project and present my edits and whatnot to a panel. I wasn't even given the opportunity to do that, after a week after turning it in, I get the "thanks but no thanks" email.

Has anyone ever provided this feedback to recruiters before? It's such a MASSIVE time suck and demoralizing for applicants. I very muchso understand the purpose of the projects, however, it still ticks me off quite a bit when I spend hours on a weekend for basically nothing.

Anyone else?

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AnonymousOctober 1,2021 at 1:48PM UTC
I have heard about this. They are using you for free work. The best recommendation I have heard is to say something like "I am happy to present my project to the hiring committee at no cost, but to conduct that project will take about 10 h of my time (or how many ever) and I charge 60$/h (or whatever) for my freelance work". Should we proceed?
Nicole MillerOctober 1,2021 at 2:08PM UTC
This is excellent, thank you! With I had thought of this for one place in particular.
After spending the past almost seven solid months job searching, applying, interviewing, etc. I decided to take a break. Turned off all of my search notifications, etc. At some point, it becomes emotionally demoralizing. Hopefully in the new year, it will be a bit better.
AnonymousOctober 1,2021 at 3:03PM UTC
I don't think this is a bad idea, but I also suspect employers will think it is, so if it's a job you really want, maybe use the watermarking technique someone else spoke about or.... would it work if you added all of these to an online portfolio so that you can show it was there first before the company ended up using it? I don't know if this would work--will other places steal the data if it's online? I can't answer that. but something to think about. Lots of people put their decks online at slideshare.
AnonymousOctober 1,2021 at 2:11PM UTC
Wow... that's terrible. The project, do you get to choose the topic or is it given to you via the company? Is this something that you can add to your portfolio? At least if you can add it, it's not a total loss... or if you get to choose the topic, that'd be cool. Otherwise, I'm sorry this is happening to you, I can only imagine what you're feeling. Maybe try to put a positive spin on it.... you're certainly gaining some experience. Good Luck!
AnonymousOctober 1,2021 at 2:40PM UTC
This happened to my friend and they used her work as their own. She started putting water marks on all her work. She even had a co-worker once steal an entire project so she's just made it a habit to leave the water mark until something goes into production (she works in graphic design). It's terrible to even think that companies or people would do this and I truly hope that is not the case for your work but I also like the other persons recommendation of mentioning a price for freelance work.
TerryOctober 1,2021 at 2:44PM UTC
Yes I worked on a project for a week and presented it to a group of decision managers for 1hour. It was a great experience however I didn’t get the job. Companies can pretty much do whatever they want to new applicants-it’s unfair and horrible
Unfortunately, Corporate America can do with us what they desire until there is a movement to change it!
AnonymousOctober 1,2021 at 2:48PM UTC
As a recruiter, I can tell you that these types of projects are requested by the hiring managers as they evaluate candidates joining their team. Hang in there and don't let it demoralize you. In the future, if you are asked for a project as part of the interview process, ask how many candidates are ahead of you in the final stages and explain that you want to invest your time wisely. A recruiter should be able to tell you if someone is ahead of your or not and you can gauge from there. Best of luck!
AnonymousOctober 1,2021 at 3:00PM UTC
In the past, I've had to do speeches and talks on a certain topic (sent to me some time before the interview). It was always a lot of work, but that was the name of the game. My choices were: decline and not move forward int he process or say yes and do it to keep moving forward. The choice is alwaysyours even if you don't feel like it is. Maybe you can re-use some of a project for another project at a different place or even put that project to use at the job you eventually do get. I think there's something a bit unfair of how much work this all takes, esp when you don't get the jo, but I don't think it's to be avoided if it's a gig you do want.
Joanne RosenOctober 1,2021 at 3:47PM UTC
It's the biggest rip off every. They want your ideas and have no intention of hiring you. RUN AWAY!
When I'm looking for resume writers for my company, I have a TEST client that every writer has to do. It's all fake information. I provide them with my writer training manual for FREE. That in itself is worth a lot of money to me.
I have had a few that wouldn't do it so we parted ways. That was fine. I harbour no ill will.
Cheers
Joanne
AnonymousOctober 1,2021 at 3:51PM UTC
This is perfectly fine if they pay you for your time!!! If they don't take it as a warning sign for how else the company might try to take advantage of you/not value you. That said, free work is more normal in some industries than others...creative professions are often guilty of expecting spec work though I think this is slowly changing....at the very least you have a project for your portfolio and experience you can talk about with another organization!
Sue Gordon- retired Career CoachOctober 1,2021 at 4:12PM UTC
It really depends on then nature of the project if this is OK or not. If they can use the project for their own benefit, then it isn't OK. If it is a project designed to demonstrate your skills and doesn't really benefit them, it's just fine. For example, asking you to present on a topic related to the job will demonstrate your knowledge and presentation skills. Recently, I sent a spreadsheet exercise to candidates to discern between those who said they had Excel skills from those who could demonstrate them- I created fake data, so there was no way I would benefit.
I like the suggestion here to ask how many people are in competition if it's going to take you a long time.
For me, if I was declined multiple times after submitting a project, before being able to present it, I might explore my skill set and try to get an unbiased opinion on the quality of my work. For example, I once had an applicant submit a brief writing project- what she submitted was abysmal, so that was the end of her candidacy (she left a sentence incomplete....not even a period at the end!).
Terry Horton-Hayes (she/her)October 1,2021 at 11:54PM UTC
I have never been asked to do one, but for 3 different VP roles I have chosen to create one on my own because I felt it would set me apart. I didn’t get any of those jobs, but I was okay with it. These are my presentations I put watermarks on that are now in my portfolio. I got a different VP role, and they did appreciate I went above and beyond with my presentation. I think it just depends on the company.
I would never ask a candidate to create one, as it is a ton of work, research, patience. I would not ask since there is not compensation, I wouldn’t ask someone to do that much work. I would be impressed by anyone that took it upon themselves, however. The good news with adding these to my portfolio for anyone I interview with in the future now I have multiple presentations already created where I can just do a few quick tweaks to for the specific role/company, but not a ton of work.
I would highly suggest putting a watermark or something so it shows it is your work, and yours alone. If the company tells you that’s not okay then it’s not a company you want to be a part of anyway I would think as they’re going to just take your hard work to use as their own.
Georgene HuangOctober 2,2021 at 1:06AM UTC
The watermark is such a smart idea (and I totally understand why you did projects for roles you wanted). Thanks for sharing this perspective and idea!
Emmy BemmyOctober 2,2021 at 1:22AM UTC
I haven't had to (I work in finance) but I have a friend in marketing and she has to do them often. I honestly feel like the companies are just look for free solutions to their problems, as she never seems to get the jobs where there are projects...
NataliaOctober 2,2021 at 1:37AM UTC
Yup, I've had this discussion with colleagues as well & we feel they're just trying to get free consultations. Even at times during the interview they're like how would you fix this, like hmm. I would say have some projects ready to go that you could tweak & only give as much energy & time as you suit best. No point in giving all our energy & time away as it isn't something we can get back.
AnonymousOctober 2,2021 at 10:59PM UTC
Ladies quit doing this. Stop spending valuable time and hours on projects that amount to nothing. You know that employer is just getting free labor off of you. If it's a job you really want, give them your hourly fee and tell them half is payable up front before any work is started.
AnonymousOctober 3,2021 at 3:10PM UTC
With all due respect, 'if it's a job you really want' having that attitude is going to ensure you don't get it. I'd say the opposite. If it's a job you really want, suck it up (as absolutely crappy as it is) and do it. The other candidates will be. don't believe the 'so many jobs out there!' hype. That may be true at Wendy's but not other places. Some posters have suggested ways of making the info hard to steal.