Company Demands Job Applicant Create Communications Plan, Protest When He Requests $100/Hour Consulting Fee

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Ally Perry • Writer and Editor
Aug 4, 2026 7:45 PM EDT

What's the deal with companies expecting work from job applicants who don't even work for them yet?

Surely, places that are hiring realize that traversing the job market is difficult without expecting job seekers to bring them a polished, specialized product on top of tweaking their resume and going through however many rounds of interviews. Sure, there are a lot of types of work that require an applicant to prove their competency through something tangible, but is that not what a portfolio is for? There are plenty of ways to show aptitude that don't involve doing a job before they even have it.

Unfortunately, what many seeking employment have come to realize is that a lot of employers like to use their hiring practices as a way to get people to work for free. They mine their ideas and skills for what they can use, and then the position they were advertising magically goes away (or gets offered to somebody else). It is yet another frustrating aspect of the modern working world that it takes real skill and attitude to fight against. Realistically, companies should not be using somebody's brainpower like that unless they are genuinely interested in offering them a job at the end of it.

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  • A professional man smiles as he sits on a black leather couch, writing in a notebook
    via ZBRA Marketing

    A professional man smiles as he sits on a black leather couch, writing in a notebook

  • A marketer was interviewed by a company that asked him to put together a plan for a new social media management service they were developing. He was pleased when he put the work in, and they seemed to really enjoy what he had come up with.

    However, they then informed him that the role he interviewed for was not in their budget. He took away access to the document he had shown them, and when they demanded to see it again, he informed them that they could only have it back if they were willing to pay his freelance rate. 

  • Company made me do free labor, mad when I didn’t let them keep it.

    Last year, I applied to work for a marketing firm. As a part of their interview process, they asked me to write a communications plan for a new social media management service they were going to offer (they focused on SEO). I wrote a 5 page launch plan, and they loved it!
    via my_peen_is_clean
  • Unfortunately they decided that they no longer had budget for the role. So I removed their access to the google doc, thanked them for their time, and went on my merry way.
    via my_peen_is_clean
  • About 3 days later they emailed me LIVID that they no longer had access to the file, as they had planned to roll out my plan the next month and had scheduled a meeting to go over it with the team. I advised them that since the plan was a skills assessment for a role I did not receive, they would not be able to use anything in the plan without compensating me at my freelance rate of $100/hr.
    via my_peen_is_clean
  • Needless to say, they were not happy.
    via my_peen_is_clean
  • A notebook and pen, phone, laptop, and cup of black coffee on a wooden table
    via Andrew Neel

    A notebook and pen, phone, laptop, and cup of black coffee on a wooden table

  • Ambitious-Low-5317 This was a scam. At least you were smart enough to keep control of the output, many people just email over the documents.
    via Ambitious-Low-5317
  • InformalCollege4383 The fact that they admitted they planned on using your work is wild.
    via InformalCollege4383
  • Downtown Interest667 Good for you. Consider it a bullet dodged.
    via Downtown_Interest667
  • Andrew-Cohen Tell them to read the labor law sheet that should be in their break room..
    via Andrew-Cohen
  • Bookies_Bookclub I'm so glad you took away access to your hard work. I hate that this is so common these days.
    via Bookies_Bookclub
  • Enough-Reindeer1033 Good for you! They don't deserve any freebies
    via Enough-Reindeer1033
  • tecarc129 I'd sue them for unlawful use of your product??? if there's such a thing
    via tecarc129
  • LunaDusk Good for you the company was stupid enough to not copy the plan straight after the interview.
    via LunaDusk
  • Wendel7171 Reverse UNO on that one. They got caught using a fake job search for free work.
    via Wendel7171

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