Gen Z worker's refusal to complete a 90-minute assignment during hiring process sparks debate

Most people know that the job market today is quite competitive. Each opening attracts hundreds if not thousands of applicants. Such a scenario also calls for additional screening rounds to select the best possible candidate for the role. But this might make a candidate wonder how much time and effort needs to be invested in a job interview where you have a high chance of ending up among the rejected thousands. An employer on X found themselves in a similar fix with a Gen Z candidate.

The employer, @mu2myoc shared the incident, "Me: I really enjoyed the call. Please see attached the financial modeling test. Gen Z applicant: This looks like a lot of work. Without knowing where I stand in the process, I’m not comfortable spending 90 minutes in Excel.  Me: ... Well... I can tell you where you stand now." The comments section of the post was divided between people supporting the candidate for valuing their own time, while others backed the employer and said it was only fair that they get a chance to assess a candidate's full potential before they hire.

@PinkPoloShorts wrote, "The attempted dunks from people who think you run a public equity fund and are idea farming really are making my morning." The employer sarcastically replied, "Twitter is full of the dumbest f****** on the planet. 'You caught me. I'm asking this analyst to underwrite a deal I found because I'm hoping to steal their brilliance.'"

@Captain_CRE joked, "Marlo, this is so brilliant. With 100 applicants you could get 100 deals underwritten for free! And I'm sure the quality of the underwriting would be top-notch. You've really hit on something special here." @CECL_Allowance had mixed feelings about the entire ordeal, "I once had a place give me a four-hour data analysis and modeling test packet. Told me they loved the work, and then the next day laid off 30% of the staff. I get why people can be suspicious. 90 minutes (if true) seems reasonable." The person explained, "It’s - build a DCF - tell me if you like/dislike the investment. If an analyst can’t hammer that out in 90 minutes, they’re not the right person."

@friendmandave remarked, "Financial modeling is one of the easiest skills to game with LLMs..." The employer responded, "A response I would have actually enjoyed would have been. 'I’m good at this and don't work for free. Give me $1,000 and I’ll break this deal down in amazing detail.' Would have gladly paid and probably hired." @VayaConDonos shared, "Cool, I’ll pass on a job that has a 2-hour homework also. I did that one single time in my career before I knew better. Then I realized I’d just signed over my intellectual property that I could have used to make my own game if I wanted to and was like 'Welp, I just gave them six hours of free product design and market analysis.'" 

@EgweneAlwer pointed out, "Having made applicants do intense case studies when I was at a boutique I bank, I’ll tell you they’re 100% worth it. I don’t care if it’s a lot of your time. It’s unreal how hard it is to find good people. I’ve watched people that present themselves so well fall flat when asked to do real work and it’s a great weeding mechanism. Have also seen people on the fence just about kill it. When you hire these people, you want to invest in them and have them there for years. You want to trust their work. The extra couple of hours upfront is worth it to see what they can do and be sure they’re a fit so you’re all happy, and I’m sorry if anyone doesn’t like it."