'Want me to work for my "interview"? Will do': Job candidate discovers their free writing sample was used in court case, sues the company that interviewed them

Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor

Sep 5, 2023 3:00 PM EDT

This job candidate was surprised when an interviewer asked for a free writing sample on an oddly specific topic. This person told their story to r/MaliciousCompliance, sharing the exact way they got back at this company who tried to avoid paying their fair share.

You'd think a huge group of lawyers at a law firm would know better than to have shady hiring practices. When OP interviewed for a job there doing research and writing, they applied, but red flags began popping up almost immediately. Still, the OP tried to push through and get the job.

The OP was ultimately asked for a free writing sample. So many jobs require you to do a bit of unpaid labor in order to prove to them that you can quickly learn the job at hand. They need to know how well you can write in order to hire you. You want to do your best writing in order to stand out from the other applicants. However, there are so many jobs that you can just tell are using your writing for their own needs. I always used to get a knot in my stomach while applying to jobs like that, the worst of which asked me for numerous marketing ideas, and never got back to me. It's a sneaky way to get free ideas, or even free copy if the company is bold enough to try and use it. It seems like this common practice is here to stay, so that's why it's so satisfying that this person managed to get back at the law firm.

Up next, these people were so done with their jobs — so they quit on the spot and never looked back.

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