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What should you do? Stop whining. If they didn't tell you upfront that you'd be compensated for your time -- you have no reasonable expectation of getting com

by stray 11y ago

What should you do? Stop whining. If they didn't tell you upfront that you'd be compensated for your time -- you have no reasonable expectation of getting compensated for your time. More than likely that "business feature" is the same task they give every applicant -- they just want to see how you do with something that looks like a real-world task. We do that here: We have a fake project that we pull a fake task out of, and have applicants pair with one of us on its solution. During the "work", the boss will throw us a couple curve balls too -- it's interesting to see how applicants react. We do however, pay them a modest amount for their time.

meesterdude 11y ago
i would not take issue if this was a fake project meant to test my skillset. it's replacing app functionality with a more robust solution; it is a feature request for a change to be made to production which i implemented the core of. It is very clear that this will go on to be user facing. What is not is if i will receive any kind of reimbursement for doing the work; or if this is just a tactic they employ: get people to work for free in an interview, don't hire them, repeat. I truly hope that is not the case.
- chrisbennet 11y ago
  Invoice them and then take them to small claims court if they don't pay.
- stray 11y ago
  Each of our applicants believes the fake task we give them is meant for production too. In reality, it's a very old, inactive project. We simply adjust timestamps to make it look current. It is presented as if it were the bread and butter of our biggest client. And we do our best to make everything seem realistic. I doubt any applicant, before being hired, has ever figured out that the "feature" they had worked on was something that had been built dozens of times already. It's always the same. The "product" they're working on is the remnants of a side-project that went nowhere. But like I said, we do pay people for their time unless we hire them. We do it onsite. And we do one 7-hour workday. And we pay $250. And we do that mainly so nobody is suspicious that they had been duped into working for free. It's possible but imo, unlikely that your work is actually making its way into a shipping product.
  - meesterdude 11y ago
    It sounds like you guys do it a respectable way. But I don't understand why you can't accept the facts as I present them, as I have given no reason for you to doubt my claims or abilities to properly assess the situation. Maybe you think it's just too crazy to be true? Because that's what I'm thinking for sure... But them be the facts despite my preference of otherwise.
    - deleted 11y ago
      [deleted]

by stray 11y ago

meesterdude 11y ago

i would not take issue if this was a fake project meant to test my skillset. it's replacing app functionality with a more robust solution; it is a feature request for a change to be made to production which i implemented the core of. It is very clear that this will go on to be user facing. What is not is if i will receive any kind of reimbursement for doing the work; or if this is just a tactic they employ: get people to work for free in an interview, don't hire them, repeat. I truly hope that is not the case.

chrisbennet 11y ago
Invoice them and then take them to small claims court if they don't pay.
stray 11y ago
Each of our applicants believes the fake task we give them is meant for production too. In reality, it's a very old, inactive project. We simply adjust timestamps to make it look current. It is presented as if it were the bread and butter of our biggest client. And we do our best to make everything seem realistic. I doubt any applicant, before being hired, has ever figured out that the "feature" they had worked on was something that had been built dozens of times already. It's always the same. The "product" they're working on is the remnants of a side-project that went nowhere. But like I said, we do pay people for their time unless we hire them. We do it onsite. And we do one 7-hour workday. And we pay $250. And we do that mainly so nobody is suspicious that they had been duped into working for free. It's possible but imo, unlikely that your work is actually making its way into a shipping product.
- meesterdude 11y ago
  It sounds like you guys do it a respectable way. But I don't understand why you can't accept the facts as I present them, as I have given no reason for you to doubt my claims or abilities to properly assess the situation. Maybe you think it's just too crazy to be true? Because that's what I'm thinking for sure... But them be the facts despite my preference of otherwise.
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]