Extra hoops to get the job

[BrowneIssue]

For a South London housing association I had to produce a project plan and other stuff then do a presentation on how to set up a new housing system.

They admitted at the end of the interview that there was no job, they just wanted free consultancy.

Five of us had fallen for it.

I'm older, wiser and more cynical now.

[Durbs]

They admitted at the end of the interview that there was no job, they just wanted free consultancy.

How long did you serve for the assault charges?

[Ivor Bigun]

What interesting hoops have others been asked to jump through, have you been asked to do homework - did you accept or decline?

Never had to do anything - If asked, I would have said
"Certainly, my rate will be"......
There is nothing wrong with expecting to be paid and my CV shows success anyway.

IMO, the fact that you've been asked to prove yourself says more about you than you realise.

[MPwannadecentincome]

For a South London housing association I had to produce a project plan and other stuff then do a presentation on how to set up a new housing system.

They admitted at the end of the interview that there was no job, they just wanted free consultancy.

Five of us had fallen for it.

I'm older, wiser and more cynical now.

So the agency kept sending candidates, even though they knew what was going on?

[BrowneIssue]

So the agency kept sending candidates, even though they knew what was going on?

This was for a permie role; they had advertised in the newspapers. Five of us did presentations over one or two days.

I had had to buy OHP sheets and all sorts. One was to provide a number of copies of the slides and handouts, all at one's own expense.

As I said, I'm older, wiser and more cynical now.

Not so cynical as those bastards though.

[Amiga500]

I had to do one the other day - for a car manufacturer. Spec was to produce a website and marketing strategy for one of their models.

This was to be even considered for an interview i.e may or may not be interviewed based on i what i produce. Totally grim, took me a good half a day to produce the site.

Wierd thing is that the role isnt for either marketing or web design!

Did you get feedback?

[Amiga500]

Never had to do anything - If asked, I would have said
"Certainly, my rate will be"......
There is nothing wrong with expecting to be paid and my CV shows success anyway.

IMO, the fact that you've been asked to prove yourself says more about you than you realise.

It says that the market is heavily saturated and there are a lot of contractors with good experience (6-10+ years) applying for roles.

My CV also shows success having worked for some of the biggest companies in the world on some of the highest profile websites - unfortunately this is irrelevant in a saturated market.

[Ivor Bigun]

It says that the market is heavily saturated and there are a lot of contractors with good experience (6-10+ years) applying for roles.

Agreed

My CV also shows success having worked for some of the biggest companies in the world on some of the highest profile websites - unfortunately this is irrelevant in a saturated market.

In the end, congrats on getting the gig.

All I'm trying to remind you is that doing the unpaid work didn't get you the gig on its own. There are other factors:
- Can you do the job?
- Your availabilty
- Your rate
- Your quality of work
- And after taking all the above in consideration, they liked you enough, or thought your face fit.

Doing unpaid work worked this time, but it won't work if someone else is better than you in the other areas.

Just MO

[Board Game Geek]

For those that have been taken advantage of in this way, and are able to, can you name the companies involved ? (eg, you've left)

I don't want to give any business to such companies for a number of reasons.

[Sockpuppet]

but of course the savvy amongst us know that we can't afford (literally) to be so nonchalant anymore.

What interesting hoops have others been asked to jump through, have you been asked to do homework - did you accept or decline?

Not seeing that many more hoops. I was asked if i'd do a few days free for a client. I said no.