'Come in and volunteer in the meantime': Company cancels interview as it's starting, asks candidate to volunteer for them instead

People work jobs to get paid—it's as plain and simple as that. It's not something we're doing out of goodwill because we care so much about our boss that we want to fatten his wallet up for him. While our bosses might wish that this was the case, the arrangement of employment is based on a simple transaction: The worker's time and skills are provided in exchange for a consistent paycheck.

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Posted by Brad Dickson

Still, there are those who seek to muddy those waters, particularly when it comes to the interview process… Attempting to trick candidates out of free work under the vague promise that it might lead to a job—or pulling a bait and switch, revealing that the job they came to interview for isn't actually what they were told it would be. Usually, the interview team will try and offer lower compensation than originally offered, but sometimes, the role itself may not be as it was originally advertised.
This candidate put in “serious work” to prepare for a remote interview over Zoom. The interview kicked off without a hitch, but not five minutes later, the HR rep who was interviewing them suddenly changed their tune, stating that a company-wide hiring freeze had just gone into effect that very moment. Sure, hiring freezes do really happen within organizations, but while an interview is taking place? That seems a little convenient. It would be more likely that the candidate would be notified before or after the interview took place, not exactly as the interview was happening.
The veiled intentions were soon revealed when, as consolation, the HR rep offered for the candidate to come in and volunteer at the company's nonprofit. The candidate doesn't say explicitly whether or not they declined, but it would be safe to say that they weren't about to entertain the proposal. They, instead, turned to this popular online workplace community to share their experience, sparking discussion in their popular thread.
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