How much free work have you been asked to do prior to being offered a job?

[ch035]

So I went on an interview with a small division of a very large multi national multi gazzillion dollar company. They have so much brand awareness they haven't ever really had the need to market. After meeting with them- they aren't even close to having a marketing dept. it's basically step 0. The only upside is I won't have to fix a broken system, just put one in that works.

They asked me to put together a plan to present to the board- for free.
1. A consultant would charge $200'hr plus per-diem to do this.
2. Its going to take 2-3 days to put together.
3. We haven't even discussed pay.


I spent 4-5 hours today on the plan and I will be presenting it in person- they will not receive a hard copy.

This is a company full of very smart people, they want to fix this issue and they have more money than Donald Trump.

What would you do? I'm torn.




Part of me says that they want a yes man who is going to bust their tail and do things the cheapest way... and then there is the correct way. Which will require a several hundred thousand dollar investment and a couple of years.

The other part says they are all smart, they know they need help that's why they paid a head hunter to find me. If I lie to them, they will know and instantly write me off as an idiot.

I'm about to just hit them square in the teeth with the cold truth... it's fixable but it's not going to be cheap or nearly as easy as you thought. Anyone who tells you different doesn't know what they are doing.

Or- play the game- tell them its not a problem- make myself a decent living and address all these issues one at a time as they come up.

Thoughts?

 

[Mister Heavyhand]

Funny you should ask. I am a structural engineer. I was asked to look at a church ........
So GOD is very good to me. I am blessed.

 

[Horsehat]

Don't give away what you sell.

 

[10thmountain]

F THAT. They have money. Scuse my French. I do NOTHING FOR FREE anymore. I will bet dollars to donuts your recruiter doesn't know half the story. I would do some back gound work on the principals. Think about this-the recruiter got paid to find you so you can present info for free? GTFO. Stinks to high Heaven

 

[10thmountain]

 

[JimJohn]

It's your life, say no you can kiss a chance goodbye, say yes and you've got a 50/50 shot at a good job

 

[Just1more]

Makes you wonder...are they really hiring someone or just interviewing a bunch of very smart people to give free ideas to fix some problem.

 

[Fish Fry]

Our organization, and many others are beginning to ask for 90 day business plans, particularly for business development reps - they're not going to plagiarize your ideas - they just want to assess your ability to create and present a plan - be ready for a critical audience to determine how emotionally developed you are in receiving challenging feedback - it's a new hiring world - good luck - give it everything you have - get the offer - you can always turn it down, but get the offer, otherwise you loose


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ch035]

Makes you wonder...are they really hiring someone or just interviewing a bunch of very smart people to give free ideas to fix some problem.

This is exactly what I am concerned about. They've gotten around 8 hrs of free consulting out of me. They haven't taken notes or set a tape recorder on the table etc. They have asked legit questions one would expect, and respected my opinion when I told them they were wrong. I have purposely omitted key piece of information and continue to have meetings with more of their staff. The more people I meet, the more I see how much of a clue what they do not have.

 

[Mister Heavyhand]

Went for an interview at Wacher last year. Weirdest ever. Gave me hypothetical emails, daily schedules, and line personnel antics: laid out, no calls, etc... Just wanted to see my organizational skills, even though applying for an engineering job. Funny, told them engineering is easy, it's dealing with people that sucks.
Asked me how I felt about travel. Told them it sounded like fun. Austere German pricks told me it was not fun it was work. Well NO **** adolf. Hey, guess what, didn't get the job. Unless you are the man, you are just a tool ..................