I withdrew my candidacy recently from a company I REALLY liked. A company where I had interviewed with five different team members, including the CEO. All of them agreed I was, and I quote, “the strongest candidate”. The CEO said they were down to two people. But at the last minute they wanted me to complete another writing exercise. On top of the two I had already done, and they had already liked. (Not to mention there was only meant to be one when the hiring process was outlined.) It wasn’t thought out, it was ill-defined, and the parameters meant it wasn’t equitable if multiple candidates were tasked with it. It had me questioning whether they knew what they were looking for. Whether this was symptomatic of a bigger internal problem. Even their ethics. So I withdrew. Today I saw the job listing was reposted. So either I was the only candidate all along, or the other person withdrew too. Moral of the story? When you like a candidate, extend the offer. You’re not 100% sure? Extend the offer. Another round of interviews or another task will have diminishing returns at best, or at worst have you starting from scratch.
Been. through. THIS. Poured *dozens* of hours into additional creative work for the interview process. Writing assignment, editing assignment, creating a campaign for one of their products, a case study, additional long-form samples — on top of already having a public-facing portfolio. At every step of the interview process I almost walked away. But it was a job I wanted at a large, reputable firm. The week after my final and fifth interview, they froze hiring. They never told me. The same recruiter reached out a year later asking if I'd like to apply for their first open writing position in a long time. I asked what the outcome of our previous interview process was. They said "Oh, so sorry, we never told you! We loved you, but we didn't end up hiring anyone." My takeaway: Lesson learned; won't do that again. And I dodged a bad situation. At some point, if a hiring manager can't judge whether you're the right fit — that reveals a *them* problem, not a you problem.
Lauren B. did you consider that this “writing exercise” may have been that company just trying to get you to do free work for them? Happened to me once, was given a “problem to solve” as a “top two candidate” and told it was a current issue they just wanted to see how I would handle it. I won’t fall for that again. You are better off. Everything happens for a reason.
If a company asks you for any work, charge them your consultant rate. Don't know your rate? Take your yearly salary, divide it by 2080, and double that.
One thing that piques my interest in this post is your mention that the writing activity was confusing and ill-thought. My partner is trying to get a job in marketing/communications right now and whenever he gets a bite, the assignment they send him is so confusing to me, someone with 13 years of experience. We both have to muddle on it for days before sending in what we think they want. Every time it gets me wondering who thinks of these things (someone not in the department?) and what they are really supposed to prove. So far he hasn't had one single assignment that was completely clear. Is anyone else experiencing this?
They were probably never hiring, just giving you work they couldn't perform in house. They got two assignments out of you, who knows how many more from other "applicants". This kind of thing will continue as long as these places aren't called out by name.
Did you tell them why you withdrew?
Good for you. How many hoops do you have to jump through to land a job?
Yep. I was recently interviewing for a role with 5 rounds of interviews. The sample work exercise took me 8 hours to do and it was for a project that was clearly something the organization was on deadline with. When I submitted it for review I locked the PDF so it couldn’t be easily copied or pasted and used as free work. 8 hours of work would be something I typically bill for, so they still got “free work,” out of me, but were unable to use it. I called them out on this in the subsequent interview round. Further, the company was unheard of to me, yet this small business was acting like they were a leader in their industry as if they were a Fortune 500 company with all the perks and benefits that those places offer. All those actions seemed like major red flags for the original job posting that sounded like it would be a no-brainer, good fit if they were brave enough to hire someone without thoroughly testing a candidate (and their patience). Employers need to stop dragging their heels on hiring, even if an interview is done remotely. I don’t want to work anywhere where every day is going to be an uphill battle of proving worthiness when it’s actually the employer that is unsure of what they are looking for in a candidate or role.
Honestly, there is no reason to ask for a writing exercise, editing test, etc. for a director or senior-level position. A portfolio is enough. You don't reach this level if you're terrible at things like writing or editing. I think you're right that it was a sign of an internal problem. Most likely a general lack of trust about whether employees are capable without micromanagement that's embedded into their company culture. I think you dodged a bullet.
CMO @ Kraken, ex Spotify, Gannett | Forbes World's Top 50 CMO | Board Director & Investor
5moThx for sharing Lauren B. … i have always believed, hiring great leaders is as much art as it’s science… binary analysis during the process can get you this far but it’s the serendipity that’s just as critical… and wen you can’t make the decision despite those many rounds, you re lacking just that ….. Congrats on making the right choice!!!