Agency tries to steal assignment from rejected job candidate, candidate revokes their access before they can get away with it: 'If they wanted to use it, they would need to hire me'

Going above and beyond during the job interview process can lead to mixed results.

Sure, you want to do everything you can to present yourself in the best way possible and to show your potential future employer exactly what you're capable of. However, when they start asking you to complete assignment after assignment, you might want to think twice before pursuing this opportunity any further. 

After all, if you feel that after a few rounds of interviews, you have demonstrated all your skills, you shouldn't have to do anything further. You should feel that you have represented yourself as capable and qualified. Any hesitation they still might have is on them, or as was the case here, there might be something more nefarious at play.

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  • This agency already rejected their job candidate after asking them to complete an in-depth assignment. That in and of itself can be demoralizing. As a candidate, you've already made the decision to devote more time than you would with the average job opportunity in order to prove your worthiness. Then, to learn that this work is likely what led to your ultimate rejection is almost a harder pill to swallow than just getting declined straight out of the gate.

    However, it only gets more demoralizing from here. Not long after the rejection, the hiring manager reached back out to the candidate to ask for those files containing his assignment. Apparently, there were useful ideas in those files that the hiring manager wanted to incorporate… but without actually hiring the candidate. The audacity of this man!

    Thankfully, the candidate refused to comply and revoked any remaining access the hiring manager had immediately. He then followed this up by sending a message that stated what his freelance rate would be if the hiring manager still wanted to see his work. Seems like this candidate was a worthy one after all. They just didn't want to go through the actual process of taking him on in a full-time capacity. 

  • "An agency wanted me to do an interview project for free, and got mad when I didn't let them steal it."

    So, about 8 months ago, I was interviewing with a digital advertising agency. In the final round, they wanted me to create a full marketing plan for a new content marketing package they were planning to launch. Their
    via No-Bill7950
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  • main business was PPC, so this was a new area for them. I honestly put in a lot of effort and delivered a detailed 6-page plan, and they were very impressed.
    via No-Bill7950
  • The surprise, however, was that they got back to me with the line, 'We had to freeze hiring due to budget cuts.' I said okay, no problem. I went into the shared
    via No-Bill7950
  • document, revoked their access, thanked them for the opportunity, and considered the matter closed.
    via No-Bill7950
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  • About a week later, I received an email from the hiring manager, and he was very upset. He was annoyed that he couldn't access the file anymore. It turned out
    via No-Bill7950
  • that, apparently, they had already scheduled meetings to start using the plan I created for the next quarter.
    via No-Bill7950
  • I replied politely and explained that since the project was created for a position I was not hired for, the document is my intellectual property. If they
    via No-Bill7950
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  • wanted to use it, they would need to hire me as a freelancer at my standard rate of $125 per hour. I haven't heard from them since.
    via No-Bill7950
  • A man sits opposite a businesswoman at a table for a job interview.
    via Mina Rad

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • Beemerba So, their "long term plan" included interviewing (with free project) at least one person a week!
    via No-Bill7950
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  • DragonWS It's fortunate they didn't copy the doc from your space before you revoked access.
    via No-Bill7950
  • Guinnessman 1964 I would leave a review on Glassdoor, Indeed and LinkedIn advising any future interviewees of the company they are just fishing for free work.
    via No-Bill7950
  • SuperSteve99 Yep Ive had several interviews where they wanted me to solve their problems as part of an interview. Gotta avoid getting too detailed in the responses and eventually say you dont work for free. That's usually a sure sign that the office butt kisser / back stabber chased out the talent and now cant do the job. Good times :)
    via No-Bill7950
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  • CorvineLace Agency wanted free work... classic exploitation
    via No-Bill7950

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