The Stress of the Job Hunt. Now with More Homework
What do back-to-school and job hunting have in common? Homework! Both take time, both take effort but the difference is someone always gets back to you about your school homework.
Since my earlier article on “ghosting” in the workplace I’ve gotten a number of emails from fellow job-seekers looking for some guidance and probably a kind shoulder too. I still strongly believe asking job-hunting advice from an unemployed person is like going to a dentist with bad teeth, but I’m always willing to help when I can.
I’ve been asked a lot about when and how often to follow up after an interview but coming in a close second is a question about having to do homework during the interview process. I’ve thought about my having to do these take-home tests often and let me say upfront that I see job application homework assignments as the cost of entry into the pearly gates of employment heaven. So, spoiler alert, this essay is going to end with my telling you to do the homework. Still, I understand there are issues with being asked to do these tests, so let’s talk about that.
I work in a mostly creative field and for many of the jobs to which I apply, I am asked my thoughts on programming, talent and what an audience might want. Having created shows for both on-air and online, I would think my resume and programming samples would help a potential employer understand well what I can do but like a good mutual fund disclaimer past performance is no indicator of future results. Put another way (and here’s tip #1 ) potential employers care less about what you have done and more about what you can do for them. An employer wants to know you understand who they are and what they need. So get used to doing their homework. I approach my assignments as if I already have the job (let’s call that tip # 1.5) and give it the total treatment — I research, then write and make the presentation a little nicer looking than just an email. Truth be told (here’s tip #2 btw) I hold back some ideas as there’s no reason for me to hand a company, I don’t yet work for, every thought in my head. My efforts, so far, have amounted to bupkis. My cynical side and a surprsing number of my friends say I have wasted too many hours doing these assignments because I haven’t landed my new dream job yet. My more positive side appreciates the opportunity to exercise my brain and potentially find someone who sees my thinking as a strategic asset for their company. Either way, here’s some reality to the whole process. Personal examples of how being asked to do homework has gone from a useful experience to a waste of time and efforts - especially mine.
One homework question, in three parts and four sub-parts
After a phone interview with a head recruiter I was told the next step before a potential in-person interview would be a take-home test. The assignment reflected some of what would be asked of me if I were to be hired. Bring it on! I received a FORTY page pdf and was asked to create a campaign and include budget and staffing details for my ideas. Yes, a big assignment but it gave me insight to how the company worked. My homework got me a 90-minute interview. In total, I probably spent close to 16 hours on the assignment and felt good about the experience despite not getting the job.
I feel like I’m doing your work for you
It’s one thing to be asked about my thoughts on current or future programming, (especially when that’s the job being hired), but when asked to provide specifics of how I would re-staff the department I should have stepped back. The request felt odd but came from the person for whom I would be working so I assumed the question was relevant to what I might first have to do if hired. While I had no idea what the show’s budget was nor did I know much about its current staff, I submitted what I believed the show would need in order to succeed moving forward. I delivered the assignment at my second interview and we discussed the specifics of it. I felt like I was making progress and before leaving was asked to provide a critique of the current programming for my next interview and to please include a solution to a specific challenge they were facing. It felt like too much but I did it and never heard back about any of it. I followed up numerous times and for weeks kept getting pushed back until I was finally told they hired elsewhere. In total, I probably spent 12 hours on all the homework and felt used by the experience.
How would you…?
Sometimes the homework is a loose assignment based on the interview itself. Such was the case after a rambling interview where I listened far more than I spoke. Eventually we talked about how the show in question needed to grow and how the person being hired could make that happen. I was hooked! My assignment was to answer a few broad programming questions and before leaving I specifically asked if the interviewer wanted me to come back and pitch my ideas in-person or submit them via email. He assured me he loved reading ideas and was “great on email.” I submitted a three-page proposal supporting five different ideas. I estimate I spent 15 hours total on it. That was March 2018 and I feel safe saying it was a total waste of time as I still haven’t heard back. So much for being “great on email.”
Here’s your homework. It’s due close of business Wednesday.
One homework assignment was given to me with a specific deadline. The deadline wasn’t based on when they want to hire but more on how much time they believed the assignment should take me to complete. Essentially, a real-world scenario exam. I finished with time to spare and felt good about what I submitted. It took some serious research before any writing was done and, in total, I probably spent 10 hours on it. Despite their deadline obsession there was no deadline given to me about when I would hear from them and it’s been two months since our last contact. I think I’ve been ghosted. See my first article here
In each experience, by doing the homework, I learned about the company and that is insanely important to me during the job-search process. And in one of these scenarios the homework clearly got me in the door. Another got me in the door until it didn’t. One still may get me in the door (who knows?) and one was a complete waste of time. But here’s the thing…three of the four jobs seemed great and had I not done the homework, my chances for getting the job would have decreased. Probably to zero. In the best case scenario, the work being asked of a potential employee shows the company you undertsand who they are, can follow instructions, present your ideas thoughtfully and clearly and … actually do the work. Finding a new job is tough enough so why make it more difficult by refusing the homework or complicating the request with some kind of non-disclosure agreement that likely won’t protect you or your ideas anyway. Yes, it sucks. It sucks to put in the time and effort and get nothing back but, let’s face it, homework has ALWAYS sucked. I can’t tell you how many maps of the world I wasted time coloring and studying for Mr Wallace’s 7th grade geography class and, frankly, the only reason I know today where the country of Palau is located is because of Survivor season 10. At least now the homework being requested of me is related to subjects I truly care about and doing it could lead to an actual payoff — with benefits!
So here’s the takeaway…there are those who will absolutely take advantage of your homework and ideas. And there are those who will completely waste your time asking for the homework and never look at it. But your homework maybe the only thing between you and the potential job you want so isn’t doing it a small price to pay for admission? If you disagree, write me a 300 word double spaced essay and hand it in before Thursday. I’ll be sure to get back to you. I’m great on email.
