On my recent job hunt I have found a trend that I did not see around 4-5 years ago from my last job hunt quest. There's just too many companies asking for 'study cases' from mid-level, senior, and management positions. I do not mean “check this study case and we will discuss it in the next interview”, they even request a presentation, analysis, research, etc., and then present it to a panel of “experts” in the company. At this point I have realized it is just a cheap trick, at least for a large number of companies, to get free consultancy services, even if the issue is not entirely solved at least they got the general idea of how to do it.
This should be legally regulated, as they always ask for the study case resolution with no consideration for the job seeker, deliver in 1-2 days, lose a lot of time and ultimately not even get the “thanks”. At least a freaking gift card would be appreciated, damn.
Have you noted this trend too? Do you prefer throwing away these demanding and senseless applications? For further context, I am involved in non-IT project management.