In today’s competitive job landscape, the practice of requesting unpaid work from interview candidates is increasingly common, especially in technology and knowledge-based sectors. Hiding behind the premise of assessing a candidate’s competency, this practice is essentially free consultancy work, exploiting hopeful applicants under the promise of potential employment. This trend not only raises ethical concerns, but also amplifies existing inequities within the job market.
Despite the innovation and growth in the tech sector, there’s been a 25% reduction in job postings compared to pre-pandemic levels, as reported by Indeed, with a 2.7% decline in the last quarter alone. This scarcity of opportunities has made the job market increasingly competitive, enabling many companies to require that candidates complete projects as part of the interview process. These assignments can range from a couple of hours to several days of work, often contributing directly to the company’s projects – all without compensation.
This extractive practice disproportionately affects women and people of color. Unemployment rates are currently 5.6% for Black employees and 5.0% for Hispanic employees, compared to 3.4% for white employees, and a 2023 Axios report revealed that 45% of laid-off tech employees were women, even though they only make up a third of the U.S. tech workforce. Extractive interview practices then further exacerbate gender and racial inequities in a sector already criticized for its lack of diversity.
There are also socioeconomic inequalities perpetuated by unpaid labor in job interviews. Candidates without the financial luxury to dedicate hours to unpaid work are sidelined, widening the gap between the economically privileged and those struggling to find paying work. Unpaid, project-based interview requirements inherently favor those who can afford to work for free, creating an elitist barrier to entry.
A LinkedIn poll revealed that 85% out of 150 respondents had encountered requests for unpaid work during job interviews. Of these, 21% reported up to two hours of unpaid work, 44% between three and five hours, and 19% over six hours.
Personal anecdotes tell a deeper story of exploitation masking as evaluation. Gail, a product executive, recounted being asked to develop a comprehensive product strategy and UX analysis, a task worth thousands of dollars, atop extensive interviews. Similarly, Natasha, a marketing leader, was asked to create a complete marketing strategy, only to witness the company implement her ideas without offering her the position. Anna, a business development professional, had to take vacation time to prepare and deliver a presentation for an interview process that culminated in rejection based on her level of experience – a decision that could have been made without the significant time investment.
This practice is not limited to interviews for full-time roles, but also has a huge impact on consultants. Emily Weltman, founder of Collective Flow Consulting, shared how much of her energy goes into Requests for Proposals (RFPs). “The worst unpaid labor I’ve done by far has been as a self-employed consultant,” she said. “Anytime I deliver a killer proposal, it’s like taking the first paid phase of project work and eating it. They usually thank me for the great job, then go do the work from my plan.”
These stories, among others, highlight a systemic problem where companies benefit from the intellectual labor of candidates without compensation.
The widespread acceptance of unpaid labor in job interviews suggests that this type of exploitation has been normalized, veiled as competitiveness and diligence. This not only devalues the labor of potential employees, but also sets a precedent that financial privilege equates to job suitability, excluding talented candidates who cannot afford to do extensive work for free.
In a competitive job market, the onus is on the companies that are hiring to do better. They need to either reduce the amount of work that a candidate must do to be assessed – such as asking for examples of past work instead of requiring new work – or implement compensated trials or project-based hiring that respects the candidate’s time and expertise.
Unpaid labor is not a testament to a candidate’s dedication or a necessary evil in the quest for the ‘perfect’ employee. Instead, it is a blatant disregard for fair labor practices, disproportionately affecting the same people that have already been harmed by existing inequities in the workforce.