I applied for the Multimedia Designer role at Farillio and was shortlisted for the first round. While the communication was friendly and the brief was presented well, the creative task they set was excessive — storyboard an entire technical guide and produce a 10–15 second motion animation sample. The task realistically requires 16 to 24 hours of work, unpaid.
Tasks like this should never be expected before an interview has even taken place. It’s an unethical practice to ask candidates to perform significant work without compensation. This is essentially unpaid freelance work disguised as part of the hiring process.
You wouldn’t expect a tiler to tile your bathroom wall for free just to prove they deserve the job. The same respect should be shown to creative professionals.
Candidates in the creative industry should be mindful of how their time and skills are being valued, and ensure expectations around compensation and work requirements are clear before agreeing to such tasks.
