Major work 'red flag' as young Aussie 'ghosted' after six interviews: 'Suspicious'

An Aussie jobseeker has revealed the one question that she believes got her ghosted from a potential new role. Florence Fahmy moved to London a few months ago and has been on the job hunt ever since.

The social creative and art director went through six rounds of interviews with an unnamed fashion brand and was asked to complete a task she was told would be her first priority if she was hired. Recruitment expert Graham Wynn told Yahoo Finance that assessments during the interview process are very common, but there are limits to what candidates should have to do.

Fahmy said not only was the task "suspicious" but also claimed it was asked with a sense of "urgency". So she made a simple request.

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The Aussie jobseeker said the fashion brand asked her for an entire social strategy, which included a launch plan and a four-week content rollout for an active campaign.

She received the request late on Thursday and was told she had to submit it by Monday.

Fahmy wanted to "stand up" for herself, so she replied to the company and asked if they would sign a mutual non-disclosure agreement (NDA) so that they couldn't use her ideas without paying her.

She also asked if she was the last candidate for the role and how the assessment would be judged.

Do you have a wild recruitment story? Email stew.perrie@yahooinc.com

But the social creative never heard back.

"If I'm going to put time into something I want to make sure I understand what exactly it is that I'm wasting my time doing," she said on TikTok.

"The fact they didn't reply to any of these questions kind of shows that they probably weren't going to hire me.

"There are times that companies will ask you to do assessments. I've done one before. I think there are also a lot of ways that people can share their thinking without doing direct work for a company."

Doing work for a potential company is common

Fahmy was met stories from other jobseekers who have gone through a similar process.

"I did three interviews, did the campaign and calendar. And they decided the role was no longer needed, used everything I did. Pretty sure I just gave everyone on their team a lesson on how to do it," wrote one person.

"Nine times out of 10 I get ghosted for pushing back on unpaid assignments during the hiring process. It's honestly such a red flag. A portfolio and references should be enough," said another.

"Similar for my current role (but this was after 1 interview). I put a copyright statement on each page, stating it's my intellectual property and couldn't be used without my written permission," added a third.

Don't push the envelope too far?

Wynn explained that getting a candidate to complete a real-world task can make or break their application.

It helps managers and recruiters see what a person would be like under the pump if they were working at the company.

"If you want the job, you do what you have to do," he told Yahoo Finance.

"We've all been through it and it still happens today. It's not a generational thing, it's still happening today. And you just have to do it."

But if you're applying for multiple roles, all of which have lengthy interview processes and tasks, then you have to know your worth.

Wynn urged employers to be careful about how much work they assign to potential candidates.

"Don't push them too far," he told Yahoo Finance. "They are only worth what someone pays.

"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."

Can companies use work you submit during interview process?

Technically, yes. But it's a grey area in the world of recruitment.

"Realistically, an employer could use it," Wyn explained. "But nine times out of 10, employers do the right thing and don't."

There's no official rule about whether you can be paid for your time and resources during the interview process. Some companies might provide payment and run it as a 'trial shift', but that would be up to their discretion.

Sadly for Fahmy, trying to get to the bottom of this question resulted in her being ghosted.

But job search site Indeed encouraged people to make it crystal clear who owns the work you do before you're hired.

"It can be challenging to distinguish what rights you have to your own work. If this is unclear, you can ask your interviewer," Indeed 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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