Company told job applicant to work a free 'trial day' — he spent 8 hours fixing their bugs, then reverted it all with a single click and walked out

It is easy to dismiss a job-seeking candidate if they are found lying or playing tricks on the recruiter. But what if it’s the recruiter who’s constantly lying and playing tricks? Since the candidate is usually desperate for the job, it becomes difficult for them to assess whether to surrender to all the demands or interrupt and investigate. Thanks to a small note, one job seeker (u/Mandalore_X1) spotted a cunning recruiter early on and left almost immediately. In a June 11 Reddit post, the candidate detailed how they were left furious after realizing the company was using them to clear the backlog without intentions of hiring them. The post has received over 2,000 upvotes online. 

The 'free trial' 

It was a mid-sized agency, and the candidate had landed in the fifth and final round of the process. At this point, the recruiter asked them for a “working trial day,” explaining that they needed to assess whether the candidate was a good fit in the team. The pay was decent, and the applicant wanted to see their real codebase, so they agreed. For eight long hours, they worked fixing bugs and optimizing a query that had been causing the company’s dashboard to lag for the past few months.

Misleading 'interview' process

The development team loved their work, but little did the candidate know that the department, in fact, had nothing to do with their skills, but was rather interested in their services. At about 4 pm, the candidate realized that they had unknowingly been hired as a free contractor for the day. A bombshell dropped when they noticed a whiteboard in the breakroom, with the message, “hiring freezes” until the year’s end. The candidate immediately realized why the manager didn’t ask them about their process or cultural fit, but instead threw real clients' tickets at them.

Settling the score 

“I could tell they had no intention of actually hiring anyone right now and just needed to clear their backlog before the sprint ended,” the candidate recalled, adding that the note confirmed their suspicions. That’s when they called in the impulse of revenge and settled the score. Before signing off for the day, the candidate went back to the development area and reverted every fix they had worked on. They also left an enlightening note in the scratch file, stating that the trial period was over.

When the manager arrived, they rejected the job, saying they couldn't relate to the company culture. Five minutes later, the manager tried to call them, but by now, the candidate had blocked their number. They compared this to “predatory behavior” that many companies engage in by treating job interviews like “gig economy tasks” because they know that job seekers are desperate.

Flawed job market

There is no denying how many companies engage in tricks like these, but given the statistics of the job market, it projects a harrowing reality. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are 7.3 million unemployed people in the US. And a survey by Job Score reported that 13% of job-seeking candidates have such a negative job-seeking experience that they are less likely to apply again to the company. In fact, lying to candidates has become too common, as 36% of hiring managers admitted that they’ve lied to candidates about the role or company during the hiring process, and 75% lied during the interview, Resume Builder reported. 

'I'd ask for a trial payday first'

Meanwhile, reacting to the Reddit post, u/According-Alps5644 said, “You need to put them on blast on every hiring site that you can. If they don't want to pay people for their work, then they don't deserve to have anyone working for them.” u/kindlyneedful asserted, “I'd ask for a trial payday first, just to see if the way they send me money is a good fit.”

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