Working assignments in hiring process: Fair play or Free labor
In today’s working market, during the hiring process, interviewers ask you questions about yourself and your previous work experience, but sometimes they may ask you to complete a work assignment as well.
What is a working assignment?
Working assignment is a task or a project related to the role you have applied for. During the last decade, many hiring managers ask for a job interview assignment in order to learn more about the candidates’ skills and evaluate their abilities.
What should you do as candidate if you were asked for a job interview assignment?
If you really want to get the job, take the opportunity and show them your skills and your abilities. Use your excitement about this position as a motivation to deliver the best possible work.
Here are some do’s and don’ts for your next job interview assignments.
Do’s:
1. Follow the directions. Do what the assignment asks you to do. Follow the guideline and you will deliver great work.
2. Go beyond the assignment’s main requirements. Doing more than the basics shows that you are serious about the job.
3. Show that you understand the company. Complete the assignment and be sure that your work reflects the company’s style.
Don’ts:
1. Spend too much time on the project. It’s unfair from the employer to ask you to spend too much time on the assignment. Just spend the time you need to complete it correctly.
2. Be unsure if you really want this job. Before you start completing the assignment, be sure that you are really excited about this role, so you spend your time on a project that you are interested in.
Working assignments in recruitment process: fair play or free labour?
Many candidates wonder if it is worth to spend time on an assignment even when they don’t get the job. On Cosmoleadership’s LinkedIn page, we created a poll and asked users to tell us their thoughts. 77% of the voters claimed that working assignments in recruitment process are free labour. If they are unpaid and interviewers ask for too much work, this is unfair, but if you are interested in this role, take the assignment as an opportunity to show hiring managers how capable you are. Keep in mind though that Dr. Evi Prokopi says “if it’s going to take more than one hour and there is no compensation, this is a red flag for the company’s practices.”
