College student applies for graduate job, company demands he complete 40 hour assignment for application: 'I thought I was crushing it'

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Ally Perry • Writer and Editor
May 17, 2026 9:15 AM EDT

It is getting more and more difficult to get a foot on the ladder in the workplace.

The job market seems impossible enough right now for those who have experience, so what chance do soon-to-be graduates have? It has long been a running joke that even the most menial and badly paid jobs seem to demand 5+ years of experience, or have such a ridiculously long list of requirements that no applicant could ever qualify. It is enough to overwhelm even those who have spent a long time in the working world.

As a result, those trying to find their first 'adult' job after leaving education can be tempted into doing things that are not in their best interests while they are searching for a job. There are companies out there that do not want to risk spending money on graduates, but they are eager to benefit from their ideas and talent. For those who lack the know-how of how to navigate looking for work, it can be easy to fall into the trap of doing what they want without questioning the process. It isn't fair, but that doesn't stop it from happening in many different industries.

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  • A man sits behind a MacBook holding a mug that says “do what you love”
    via Chase Chappell

    A man sits behind a MacBook holding a mug that says "do what you love" 

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

  • A college student who was soon to graduate thought that he had made some progress in his job search when he secured an interview at a firm that wanted him to do a take-home assignment to test his skills. It ended up taking him forty hours over ten days to finish it.

    He thought that he had done well when he had a further interview to explain what he had done with the assignment. The company then ghosted him, and he realized that he was probably not the first candidate to experience this.

  • I think I just spent two weeks working for free for a company that never intended to hire me

    I am a senior finishing up my degree and I finally got what I thought was my first real break. It was a junior role at a mid-sized firm and the initial screening went great. Then they sent over a "take-home assignment" to test my skills. They said it was a standard part
    via Crimson_8N
  • of the process to see how I handle real- world problems. Being naive and desperate to land something before graduation I put my entire life on hold for it. I spent about forty hours over ten days building a full-stack module that solved a specific data sync issue they were having. I even documented the whole thing like my life depended on it.
    via Crimson_8N
  • When I submitted it the hiring manager told me it was impressive and asked for a "quick call" to go over the logic. During the call he actually asked me to explain the edge cases and how to deploy it into their existing infrastructure. I thought I was crushing
    via Crimson_8N
  • it. I felt like a pro. He thanked me for the hard work and said the team would get back to me with an offer by Friday. Friday came and went so I sent a polite follow up on Monday. Nothing.
    via Crimson_8N
  • A few days later I was browsing a local tech forum and saw someone else talking about the exact same company. Apparently they have been posting this "junior" opening every month for a year. They cycle through candidates and give each one a different "module"
    via Crimson_8N
  • to build as a test. It hit me like a ton of bricks that I didn't just fail an interview I actually completed a sprint for them for zero dollars. They literally used me for free labor to patch their technical debt and I was too stupid to see it because I wanted that job so bad.
    via Crimson_8N
  • I checked the repo I sent them and saw they had already cloned it and probably integrated the logic. Now I am sitting here with no job offer and a giant gap in my finals prep because I was playing house with a company that ghosted me the second the code was pushed. I feel like such an idiot for thinking a forty
    via Crimson_8N
  • hour assignment was "standard" for an entry level position. I guess I learned my lesson about being too eager to please people who only see you as a free resource.
    via Crimson_8N
  • A man sits and works on a MacBook while holding a mug
    via Chase Chappell

    A man sits and works on a MacBook while holding a mug

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

  • LanternMirth You should honestly invoice them for the 40 hours. Even if they dont pay, it sends a clear message that you know they just used you for free labor. That sounds like a complete nightmare for a senior about to graduate, hope you still ace your finals.
    via LanternMirth
  • Mythgrove7 That is absolutely brutal. Never do more than a few hours of free work for a junior test.
    via Mythgrove7
  • Kelvin62 If your school was involved in the interview process they should be told about this.
    via Kelvin62
  • SilkenDread8 Man, dont be too hard on yourself. When you are desperate for that first break, it is easy to ignore the red flags because you want to believe the opportunity is real. Take that module, put it in
    via SilkenDread8
  • your portfolio, and write a blog post about the technical solution you built. At least make that code work for your own career growth now.
    via SilkenDread8
  • flaminghazard99 This take home assignment needs to go, companies exploit the candidates 90% of the time.
    via flaminghazard99
  • Jemoederislkker420 Invoice them, tag employees LinkedIn, make it a bit more dramatic f em on
    via Jemoederislkker420
  • confused_samaritan_ that level of exploitation is actually criminal
    via confused_samaritan_
  • MissAurora Red This is so bad, I would honestly consider sending them an invoice for the 40 hours and contacting the dept of labor (or your country's equivalent) to file a formal complaint if they don't pay you.
    via MissAuroraRed

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