I was unemployed for most of 2020 and after applying for dozens and dozens of jobs, I got 4 interviews, and 3 of the 4 required me to do some sort of unpaid project for them as part of the application process. One had me design a brochure, one had me design 2 social media posts, and one had me do a video editing thing that took me a whole week to make. (I know it might sound absurd to do all this, but I was absolutely desperate for a job, and I was going to do pretty much anything to get one.)
Is this actually a common thing or have I just been really unlucky?