Short Case Study on a Good Hiring Trend

A CareerNet Nation member recently interviewed for a job requiring writing skills.  Lots and lots of writing. The application required a writing sample in lieu of a cover letter. She submitted both and received an email to schedule an interview. She did this and did well enough to move to the next phase of the selection process. 

This is where things became interesting. The company requested that she write an article, 1,000 words or less on a subject she was familiar with but not expert in. They told her they would pay her $200.00 for the article if she wasn’t hired, but this gave them the right to publish her article in their magazine. 

(If you want to know what happened skip to the end) 

There are a number of things to discuss about this approach to hiring.

First, from the perspective of the candidate:  Is the hiring part of this job a ruse simply to identify high quality writers for content? If so, ethics aside, is this a fair price to pay for an article by an independent writer of high quality? If she isn’t hired, will she receive a by-line and an opportunity to add her bio to the article with her social media follows? Should she negotiate the price for her article if she feels that the amount offered does not reflect her market value? Should she say, “I’ll write the article, but you can’t use it unless I am hired so don’t pay me for the work.” 

On the positive side, we are all for offering projects work at fair market prices to people your company is interested in hiring. It’s among the best ways to test a potential hire without committing to a full-time position.

A Hiring Trend that has Lost its Way

We also believe that honesty is an absolute necessity.

Let’s consider Job Boards: Job boards are filled with fake opportunities and offers. People searching for jobs on these job boards are exposed in any number of ways, mainly time wasted, and resumes lost to ATS algorithms. But also, from actual scammers.  Maybe keep this in mind as you pay job board companies for your listings. You feel as if you do not have a choice but to post your listings. But It feels as if Job Board companies have sold out, regardless of their TV commercial narratives.

As an example, your legitmate job post is likely competiing for eyeballs with a fake or misleading post. Candidates are accutely aware of this but do not know which is real and which is not. So they generally opt to “Click-to-Apply” to everything. See it from their view point.   

Generally, We Like this Pay For Work Hiring Trend

Here are some suggestions if you want to try this valuable idea.

1. Be clear that your offer is for paid contract work first; that it could lead to a permanent position second.  
2. In the interview scheduling email, re-state that it is a contract / project position to start. What the requirements will be, what the compensation will be and what the process for hiring full-time will be.  
3. If you use the article (or results of the work) but haven’t decided to hire full-time, find a way to credit the applicant for their work so they can use the experience in their bio.  That’s a fair opportunity.  
4. Use Venmo or similar to pay people. Do not ask for their bank wiring instructions unless they engage as a 10-99. 

What Happened to Our Member?

What happened to our CareerNet Nation Writer? She took a chance, knowing it was a chance but also an opportunity, and wrote the article. A few days later she received an offer along with a cashier’s check for $200.00.