First interview with this startup in NYC went well, spoke to Head of Ops, had a good experience. She told me the founder would connect with me soon and he might give me a design test – I said okay, that's fine.
I have 2-3 years of experience in design, so I didn't think of it too much because my current employer also made me do a design test before he hired me; this test was barely a 15-20 min deal and he told me it was optional, so I assumed that the company I was interviewing with would do something similar.
The interview with the founder goes a bit weird; I'm very nervous because he isn't asking me questions about my design process or ANYTHING, I'm trying to explain a few work projects to him but he seems disinterested. He keeps repeating that the designers they want to hire are usually held to a higher standard, and that my design execution is not good. I'm obviously disheartened, but I want to improve, so I nod and I ask him questions about the company and what I can expect.
He tells me Indian designers don't know how to design for American audiences, and that it'd be an uphill battle for me (?), which is WEIRD, because I've seen the work his company does (not sure if I'm allowed to link here) and it's the most cookie-cutter minimalist bs I've ever seen. I'm honestly quite a bit put off at this point.
Now, he sends me an email with a SIX HOUR design task – I have to design 4-5 screens and create a flow for an app. He says that the project has been pushed out so my work won't be used, but even without that, I'm actually really angry that he thinks asking me to do six hours of work for a CHANCE at getting a job is valid.
Am I reaching?