I'm stunned by how commonplace this has become for people who work in the marketing, advertising and social media world.
I have a degree in this field from a reputable university, I've owned my own successful business in this field and have 10 years experience working with some of the biggest, most famous brands in the world (think Disney level).
I had the first interview today. It went well. They invited me back for a secondary interview featuring all of the staff members. For this interview, they wanted me to produce the following:
• A full 20 slide powerpoint presentation detailing a PR approach for one of their actual clients
• 4 pages of SEO copy
• To source organic influencers as part of their upcoming media campaign
• To write multiple press releases for one of their actual clients
I straight up, in short, told them to go f*** themselves for asking me to do 3-4 hours of unpaid work with no guarantee of a job at the end of it. The absolute audacity to ask a job hunter this is beyond me. Would they ask a mechanic or plumber to do 4 hours of unpaid work to prove they could do the job? Doubt it.
I mean holy shit.