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If anyone thinks that having someone volunteer 4 hours before an interview, is getting FREE LABOR as so many on this thread think, and they will make a profit from this Free Labor, has never been in a position of management in a company. That 4 hours will actually end up costing the company money, not saving it. It disrupts the actual work that would be done if that volunteer had not been there for that 4 hours. It costs the company money.
What that 4 hours would do, would be letting the prospective employer know what their duties would be, and an idea of the work involved. It would allow the prospective employee to see if they would be happy working there at that job, and in effect is allowing the company to get to know the prospective employee and find if they would fit into the company culture.
At the end of the 4 hours, both the job seeker and the HM will be able to talk about the work and able to understand each other. For many jobs, it is the ideal way for an employee to evaluate the job, and know if they actually want to work for the company doing that particular job. That 4 hours is even more valuable to the job seeker, than it is to the company.
Anyone seeking that job that would not do this 4 hour stint, really is not someone that a lot of people would want to hire. The company takes 4 hours out of their schedule, and the prospective employee takes 4 hours out of their schedule to find if that person fits the job. People that would be turned down as the are border line prospects get a chance to convince the employer they are a good fit, and have a strong chance to get the job.
OP, this happened to my cousin down in Texas. Their ad said they needed to evaluate the candidate in a real working environment before they can consider the candidate for an interview. My cousin was desperate enough to go in. Started working right away. Hours turned to days. Days turned to weeks. Weeks turned to months. All that time, every time she brought up the possibility of getting paid for the work, they kept telling her they'll pass it on to management. After 4 months of free labor, she finally had the guts to insist to speak with management. The middle manager just told her the position was no longer available. And that was the end of that.
Before this happened to my cousin, I didn't even know it was legal for them to do this.
If anyone thinks that having someone volunteer 4 hours before an interview, is getting FREE LABOR as so many on this thread think, and they will make a profit from this Free Labor, has never been in a position of management in a company. That 4 hours will actually end up costing the company money, not saving it. It disrupts the actual work that would be done if that volunteer had not been there for that 4 hours. It costs the company money.
What that 4 hours would do, would be letting the prospective employer know what their duties would be, and an idea of the work involved. It would allow the prospective employee to see if they would be happy working there at that job, and in effect is allowing the company to get to know the prospective employee and find if they would fit into the company culture.
At the end of the 4 hours, both the job seeker and the HM will be able to talk about the work and able to understand each other. For many jobs, it is the ideal way for an employee to evaluate the job, and know if they actually want to work for the company doing that particular job. That 4 hours is even more valuable to the job seeker, than it is to the company.
Anyone seeking that job that would not do this 4 hour stint, really is not someone that a lot of people would want to hire. The company takes 4 hours out of their schedule, and the prospective employee takes 4 hours out of their schedule to find if that person fits the job. People that would be turned down as the are border line prospects get a chance to convince the employer they are a good fit, and have a strong chance to get the job.
I call this BS. My boss passed this onto me. Never ever work for free even if it's for 4 hours of prospecting. If a company has to make you waste 4 hours with absolutely no guarantee whatsoever of hire, then it is probably just barely staying afloat. In which case, seek elsewhere for employment.
Never ever work for free even if it's for 4 hours of prospecting. If a company has to make you waste 4 hours with absolutely no guarantee whatsoever of hire, then it is probably just barely staying afloat. In which case, seek elsewhere for employment.
Wrong. Companies give prospective extensive tests all the time, prior to consider hiring them. This is a sort of hands on test. It is really more common than a lot of people realize. A brand new person that does not know the job, going in to learn if they can and will want to do the job, will not give the employee any value that makes them any money in 4 hours. It is a form of test, and much more valuable to both the company and the employee to give them a written test. When they interview you, you will actually be able to discuss the job you are being considered for. For certain types of job, it a much better judge for both the prospective employee and the employer, than any written test can possibly be. They say that companies should give internships (without pay) for a couple of months so they can use this experience to get a job. Then turn around and refuse to go in and learn what the job is about for 4 hours, to show if they can handle the job or not.
I can tell you from personal experience that companies have been giving tests of one form or another from long before I took my first one about 60 years ago. One test was for a furniture salesman. Before he really talked much to me, he took me out on the floor to show me what they had in merchandise, and ask me some questions. The first sofa we approached he asked me to describe it. I told him who made it, what model number it was, the fabric name, and his wholesale cost. He said that shows you know furniture. He took me over to a desk, with a new order book on it. A customer was coming in the door, and he told me he wanted to see how well I worked with customers. I took the customer, and in an hours period sold them a large order. I took them to the office counter, where the credit manager set up financing for them. I went back to him, and he said, "That is your first commission (about equal to what a median income worker would earn in a week and a half), lets go over and get your schedule set." I went to work right then.
He wanted to see how well I handled customers. I would have gotten the job even if I had not sold them anything, as he wanted to see how I worked with customers. Doing it well, and selling a large order, was the final nail to get the job.
It is amazing as I go through these threads, how so many young people think the companies are out to get them and take advantage of them. They won't answer questions they don't like. They won't take written tests, or one to demonstrate your ability to handle the job. They won't go in for a personal interview, until they first have a phone interview. They won't do this, or do that. They complain that companies are looking for the perfect candidate for the job. They complain they won't be hired for a job they do not have credentials to do the job, and complain that the company won't hire them and give them training. They complain that a company won't interview them on their schedule, instead of finding a way to adapt to the companies available time slot to give them an interview. The don't want to drive 30 to 50 miles for an interview, unless the company will pay for their gas.
Then they wonder why they have gone months, and often years without getting a good job. And complain they have been to many interviews, and cannot get a job. The truth is, back in my corporate days I would not have hired you. These people are the reason they cannot get a job.
I've had personal experience with something similar, but the approaches used on me were much more subtle. In the situations I experienced:
1. I had an interview with a well-known communications company. Following it I was asked to do a day's worth of actual work there that would then be evaluated and if I "passed the audition" I would be moved forward to additional interviews. I was not a beginner. I had a portfolio of work samples and references that absolutely proved I was highly qualified to fill their position. (I said no thanks.)
2. I was ostensibly hired for a position I was, from my previous experience, quite over-qualified for. Prior to my start date, I got a call from the president of the small company, asking me to come in and do "a special assignment" for them that was entirely different from the job I was hired to do, but something I was still qualified for. But the work would be compensated only at the rate of the easier job. Not only did I decline to "help them out" with their "special assignment," I also withdrew from the other opportunity.
3. I was in the final stages of multiple interviews with a high-profile not-for-profit organization. We finalists were asked to make a presentation to the board of directors in which we were instructed to address what we saw as the organization's problems and explain what we would do to improve those issues. I put my all into a presentation, which judging from the reactions of the board members seemed very successful. Immediately after the presentation, I was told by the president, in front of the board, that my work was great but she was hiring another candidate because the company wouldn't have to move him as he lived nearby. She then asked me to leave my presentation with her because my ideas were so good they would no doubt want to implement some of them. I said I absolutely would NOT be leaving my presentation and I felt I had been invited under false pretenses if she was unwilling to make available the moving benefits she had told me were available. (Several of the board members later contacted me to apologize and I eventually learned the president was let go.)
Three different cases of companies expecting free (or highly discounted) work from a candidate for hire.
I would have done this at a TV station in 1998 to get my foot in the door
Yes, to get your foot in the door. Not much different than an internship at the introductory level. But those of us with professional reputations and years, or even decades, of experience shouldn't be asked to use our well-honed skills for someone else's benefit without compensation. The way I look at it, those companies will get less than they might have, had they only taken the time to verify references and exercised a bit of trust.
Yes, to get your foot in the door. Not much different than an internship at the introductory level. But those of us with professional reputations and years, or even decades, of experience shouldn't be asked to use our well-honed skills for someone else's benefit without compensation. The way I look at it, those companies will get less than they might have, had they only taken the time to verify references and exercised a bit of trust.
Yes I agree, this should only be done right out of college while still living at home with parents
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