PLEASE DON’T DO IT.

Stepping away from my typical customer experience improvement content, I want to share this story. A close friend texted me a screenshot of an Instagram post about something I had rarely heard of and thought was maybe a one-time incident. The conversation centered on interview practices in which interviewees are required to provide examples of how they would address specific workplace scenarios or to propose ideas for program development, or to answer a lengthy list of questions. The person who posted the content explained that they shared their experience on LinkedIn and received various comments from others with similar experiences.

I was stunned but not truly surprised, because I, too, had a similar, albeit indirect, experience to the commentators, for which I was neither compensated for the work I did nor given credit for any ideas I provided. Essentially, like the commentators, I had interviewed for a job and was asked to provide ideas or examples for projects in hypothetical scenarios, only to have those ideas stolen without an offer of the job. My experiences were not as blunt or obvious as some of the shared stories, but I felt the same disappointment and anger. Some of the shared experiences were truly horrendous. One commentator recalled a potential employer requesting that they complete a questionnaire that took two days. Another commentator cited having to complete scenarios that took 8 hours or more, and another cited a situation in which they were asked to develop an entire program.

Now I've heard it all. The audacity of some people to seek free work from those who are just trying to get a job. Seriously! It should be illegal, and part of me feels it is. I know some people will say, in defense, that it is part of the recruitment/interview process and that it provides a good example of what the candidate is capable of. HOGWASH! There is no justification for stealing someone else’s idea, and if you want to see a good example of what a candidate can do, hire them. Could you imagine being offered the job, working the job, and then realizing that the work you offered during the interview was being used by the company without your authorization or credit?

Of course, this is an example of horrible leadership. No leader should allow this practice. Entrepreneurs should not use this tactic to get free work from interested candidates. This is shady as fuck. Unfortunately, it has been happening for years. I remember hearing about interview practices when I was younger and thinking it didn’t seem right. No one could have conceived that their ideas or responses were being used without their permission or knowledge. How could they? They didn’t get the job. In current times, with advancements in technology and social media, it is easy to find out such things.

This is simply a situation where my leadership advice is to not do it; just don’t do it. Do not use this practice in your hiring methods. Do not steal ideas or use someone else's ideas without crediting, acknowledging, or paying them. If you find that a potential job candidate’s ideas or work are enough to take, then you should hire them instead of stealing from them. But if you insist that this practice is neither harmful nor wrong, maybe you should rethink your decision to be in a leadership role.

By Nick Higgins