Job applicant has the best response to a company asking him for free work during interview process

It has become a common practice for employers to make unreasonable demands from potential employees during the hiring process. It happens quite a lot with people looking for jobs in creative fields such as writing and designing, where candidates are asked to submit a sample of their work to the employer. While doing so is okay, employers should be willing to compensate candidates for the time and effort they put in, which they don't do. Jonathan Hurwitz–who goes by @jonathanhurwitz on TikTok–shared a video about how it is high time for people to take a stand against such practices.

Hurwitz starts the video by revealing how he had been attending interviews to get a job for almost a year. He says, "It seems to be pretty common to be asked to complete some sort of assignment." Because the employer insisted on this, the man ended up doing a lot of free work over the year. One employer even had the audacity to use his work without giving him any compensation or hiring him.

He points out how the entire experience disappointed him and he got sick of doing free work during the hiring process. So, he decided to take a stand against one employer who tried to get him to do free work. He stated how an employer congratulated him on his progress during the hiring process. The communication email came with an attachment that had a lengthy writing assignment. "I think just after a year of doing this, I finally had the confidence, I guess thanks to the encouragement of a friend; thank you, Suzanne, for sending this in response."

In his reply, he starts by thanking them for the opportunity. He writes, "I know it's common to be asked to do writing assignments during an interview process, but I'm not comfortable completing the assignment without compensation." The man adds how he felt confident that his previous work experience, application, resume and writing sample were a testament to his ability as a writer. He went on to thank them again for the opportunity but stated that he was going to decline if compensation wasn't an option.

He concluded by sharing how it "felt weird or wrong" to send his reply. The man highlighted how going through many job applications had trained him to do free work. He says, "If we don't start sort of pushing back and sending emails like his, the free work is going to continue. Very much not a hooray or high-five." People commended the man for taking a stand and shared their insights about the hiring process in the comment section.

@gicknilbert said, "As someone who works in talent acquisition, hiring managers are out of control." Another individual, @katejames0n, highlighted, "Proud of you!! Requesting homework always demonstrates to me that the hiring manager/team isn't capable of identifying the skills needed on their own." @okaylisag shared, "I'm a writer/researcher too. I also don't do free work. Another thing you can add is 'I'd be happy to share some examples of similar past projects!'"

You can follow Jonathan Hurwitz (@jonathanhurwitz) on TikTok for more lifestyle content.

Editor's note: This article was originally published on January 12, 2024. It has since been updated.