Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

Take care in a job interview as you may find yourself giving work to someone who will not hire you.

A few months back I tried to get a job with a publisher as an editor. First, I had to take an “editing test.” They sent me a ten-page piece of writing and I had to edit it. The writing was terrible. I spent fifteen minutes editing the first page and emailed them that one page was enough to ascertain if I could edit for them. I never heard back.

A few months later, I tried to get a job with another publisher as an editor. This time, the publisher was well-known (I won’t give the name to protect the guilty, but everyone would recognize it.). I spent twelve hours on the editing test. I really wanted the job, so I completed the task.

I didn’t hear back from them. Six weeks passed with no word. I  finally found someone on the phone to discuss the matter. Within fifteen minutes I received an email saying my editing skills were insufficient. Imagine that! Six weeks and no one looked at my test, and in fifteen minutes they knew I was not up to their standards. Smells funny to you?

Then I learned about editing test scams. Basically, your “test” is real work. The publisher is being paid by someone to edit their writing. You edited it for free, they charged the writer for you work, and so it goes.

I just read about a programmer test that runs the same scam. The programmer being “tested” is actually doing work for the company. The company replies that the programmer is not skilled enough for them, but uses the programmer’s work in their product.

I have also found the same scam in job interviews. They ask, “what would you do in this situation?” They are facing that situation now, and will use your answer on the job. They will not hire you and they will not pay you for your solution to their problem. It is a scam.

Here is a legitimate job interview question:

Have you ever dealt with employees who are late to work?

Here is a scam question:

How would you deal with employees who are late to work?

That is a question you ask a consultant, and you pay them for their answer.

See how quickly a job interview becomes a consulting session? See how quickly it becomes a scam?