Yahoo Finance Jobseeker's revenge after company breaks unwritten rule during interview process: 'Appalling'
All she wanted was to be recognised for her work, but she ended up in a better position.
A woman has been shocked to discover the work she did for a company during an interview process was used without her permission. Not only that but she was told she wasn't a fit for the position because her style "wasn't the right look and feel" for the business.
Performing a task relevant to the role you're applying for has become a standard part of scoring a job. Recruitment expert Graham Wynn told Yahoo Finance it's a bit of grey area about what that company decides to do with that task.
"Realistically, an employer could use it," he said. "But nine times out of 10, employers do the right thing and don't."
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Unfortunately for a jobseeker called Harriet, she was in the 10 per cent category.
She recently applied for a designer role and was asked to come up with a creative for the company to show off her skills. She was eventually rejected from the role.
However, much to her surprise, several weeks after her rejection, she noticed the "exact same" creative she came up with appeared on the company's social media.
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She contacted the business to see if it would tag her in the Instagram post as she hoped that might give her a better chance while she looked for jobs. But she was rejected and told the company was allowed to use whatever material was made during an interview "as we see fit".
Entrepreneur Ben Askins put the company on blast and said Harriet wasn't even asking for much.
"All she's saying is, 'Well hang on, look, I'm a bit confused why you said my work wasn't good enough then you just posted it'," Askins said in a video.
"So straight away there's a disconnect there ... but she's just sort of saying, 'Look, I'm still looking for a job ... just give me a bit of credit so I can kind of use that as my profile."
But here's the kicker.
Askins caught up with Harriet to see if she was eventually able to either get paid for the creative or at least acknowledged in the post.
"She didn't get credit in the end, which is so poor, but actually she did escalate it and actually managed to get paid for the work that she did," he said. "What I love most is she now works for one of their biggest competitors, which is brilliant because this company sounds appalling."
Should you be paid for the work you do in an interview?
There's no official rule on whether you should get paid for the task you do as part of a job interview process.
Some assessments might only take a few minutes, but others can take several hours, so it's understandable that applicants might want to be remunerated for their time.
Superior People Recruitment founder Graham Wynn told Yahoo Finance "if you want the job, you do what you have to do".
He warned against pushing too hard when, at the end of the day, you're trying to win them over and get them to hire you.
"Employers will still want a certain type of person only and will pay a certain wage for it. I just think that pushing the envelope a little bit too far can backfire," he said.
Do you own the work you do in an interview process?
This is where it gets even murkier. Indeed explained you need to be proactive and establish what you think is appropriate.
"It can be challenging to distinguish what rights you have to your own work. If this is unclear, you can ask your interviewer," the job site said.
"Ensure that you will retain the rights to your work or that you will be properly compensated regardless of whether you get the position.
"The company should not use your work without compensating you or hiring you. This includes any direct work you do—such as a written piece—or intellectual property like campaign ideas."
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