Applicant got rejected after spending 9 hours on interview assignment. His response put them in their place

Applicants are getting weary of doing free work for employers during the hiring process. On March 23, Reddit user u/No-Street-6651 shared their response to a company's rejection email after they had already done some work. The user who had applied for the role of Marketing Brand Manager, completed a take-home project, and cleared three interviews, which took up a considerable amount of their time. In fact, they had spent 9 hours working on the six-page PDF 'assignment' and wanted to be compensated for their work. Out of sheer frustration, they emailed the employer to ask for their dues. The user also posted screenshots of the invoice and email they sent to the CEO on their post.

The company was given a span of two weeks to pay up. Two items were listed on the invoice: the Interview Take-Home Project — Research and Consulting Work (8 hours) and Project Documentation and Presentation (1 hour). In total, the company was charged $900 for 9 hours of work. Even though the email was straightforward, it was professional and respectful. In the email, the user mentioned the work they had done, including the research, design work, and analysis to compile the six-page "professional deliverable."

The applicant shared the company's response to their email in the comment section. The company claimed that the applicant's take-home project was not used in their "business operations," and was simply a part of the interviewing process to test the "candidate's approach, creativity, and strategic thinking." Since there was no agreement that the project should be a paid assignment, they will not be processing the applicant's request.

Before getting the rejection email, the applicant revealed that the company they interviewed for had requested to follow their private Instagram account. Even though they don't post "provocative" content, they were hesitant to accept the request from a potential employer. The main reason being that the applicant did not want the company's decision to be influenced by whatever they saw on their Instagram. But at the same time, they wondered if not accepting would negatively affect the company's verdict. After posting their question on Reddit, the majority of the comments said accepting the Instagram request would be a bad idea.

A survey sponsored by the Professional Background Screening Association (PBSA) revealed that 95% of organizations with U.S. locations conduct some sort of employment background screening, and 77% of the organizations with U.S. locations have a documented background screening policy. The main reason for conducting such checks is to make sure that employees and customers are protected. Additionally, it also helps to improve the quality of hires, as well as protect the company's reputation by hiring legitimate workers. In the case of the Reddit user, it could be possible that the company sent a follow request as a way of doing a background check on the applicant.

The post has 8.2k upvotes and 659 comments, with the majority of netizens wishing to know the outcome of the bold email. Some are hopeful for the OP, but others tried giving them a reality check in the comment section. u/SoaDMTGguy commented, "What grounds do you think you have for a lawsuit? It seems clear that any work performed as part of an interview is not paid work, and the purpose of the work is to potentially secure employment. I’m sympathetic to the bullsh*t they put you through, but I can’t imagine any judge siding with you." 

u/Odd_Welcome7940 shared a piece of advice in the comments, "To whomever it may concern, you can copyright almost any project done in the interest of an interview and retain all rights to it. Even making sure to put in a slide or note at the end that the material is copyrighted and may be used by any company except X, and only in the interest of evaluation for hire."

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