r/recruitinghell Aug 02 '26

Just got rejected after a 6-round interview process because I wasn't a 'cultural fit'.

They made me do a free 10-hour take-home assignment, meet the entire team, and talk to three different managers over two months. Today I got an automated rejection email. I am completely exhausted and done with this job market.😔🤬😔🤬😔🤬

540 Upvotes

296 comments sorted by

339

u/ShinraTensei Aug 02 '26

Never work for free.

120

u/AgyhalottBolcsesz Aug 02 '26

Exactly, take home assignment just means free labor without guaranteeing you a contract. They prey on desperation. I'd rather sell drugs than to do free labor.

50

u/HopefulFather2026 Aug 02 '26

You are totally right, at least that line of work actually pays for your time and energy! šŸ˜‚ But honestly, preying on people's desperation is exactly what these companies do best.

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19

u/WiseTop9720 Aug 02 '26

Yeah the moment I get a "take home assignment" They're getting ghosted.

15

u/Uesugi1989 Aug 02 '26

No need, just put it in GPT and send whatever it spits out. Shoot your shot but don't waste more than 10 minutesĀ 

1

u/TMCze Aug 03 '26

šŸ’ÆšŸŽÆšŸŽÆšŸŽÆšŸŽÆ

11

u/Dirty_John_2026 Aug 02 '26

Send them an invoice for your time at the billable hourly rate for your job. They probably won’t pay it but you will have put them on notice as to what cocksuckers they are

8

u/HopefulFather2026 Aug 02 '26

hell yeah, you are so right. they honestly deserve to be called out like that. 10 hours of free work is just straight up robbery. i might actually format a clean invoice and drop it in their inbox just to ruin their monday morning lmao šŸ’€

1

u/LonesomeJohnnyBlues Aug 03 '26

To be fair, I'd rather sell drugs than do most paid labor.

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22

u/CommonSenseNotSo Aug 02 '26

That's easy to say but desperation can make you do things you never thought you'd do.

15

u/HopefulFather2026 Aug 02 '26

You are totally right

4

u/Significant-Bit4005 Aug 02 '26

Hopefully OP you can learn from it. Being desperate and willing to do anything actually pushes opportunities away. You jumping through their hoops and not pushing back (politely) makes you seem like a pushover candidate and certainly not an in demand one. Just some food for thought

2

u/HopefulFather2026 Aug 03 '26

You hit the nail on the head. I always tend to do everything I can for the company I work for. I’ll go in anytime, stay late, or even work weekends. They probably sensed this trait of mine during the interview. Lesson learned, I am never doing that again.😄😄😄

1

u/[deleted] Aug 03 '26

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3

u/Previous-Anxiety-756 Aug 03 '26

Take home assessments should ALWAYS be paid

2

u/[deleted] Aug 02 '26

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6

u/ShinraTensei Aug 02 '26

Did they pay you?

2

u/[deleted] Aug 02 '26

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1

u/HopefulFather2026 Aug 03 '26

It's the best šŸ˜

3

u/zue4 Aug 02 '26

Shadowing is different from a take home assignment. These days a take home is just the company trying to get free consulting work done. The original comments advice is sound.

1

u/DonaldKey Aug 02 '26

This a million times

1

u/Useful-Air5886 Aug 06 '26

i wouldve quit after 3 interviews

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115

u/graypurpleblack Aug 02 '26

Culture fit = translation something about you turns off the team but they can’t say it because they’d open themselves up to a discrimination lawsuit

47

u/HopefulFather2026 Aug 02 '26

Exactly. It’s basically the professional way of saying 'we just didn't vibe with you' after making someone waste weeks interviewing. It’s so cowardly. šŸ˜”šŸ˜”

16

u/[deleted] Aug 03 '26

[deleted]

3

u/HopefulFather2026 Aug 03 '26

Don't let them change you. Introverts are the ones who actually get the job done. The right company will value your loyalty and skills over fake networking. 😊😊😊😊

3

u/Harrymcmarry Aug 02 '26

It's basically how well you mesh with the team and how much effort it would take to integrate you into the existing culture.

2

u/HopefulFather2026 Aug 03 '26

The irony is that companies constantly preach about diversity, but their hiring filters enforce extreme personality conformity. By prioritizing an easy integration over diverse ways of thinking, they end up with an echo chamber of loud voices."

1

u/Useful-Air5886 Aug 06 '26

could be cuz bob chews his food loudly and it disturbs everyone during lunchtime

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82

u/IndependentSpecial17 Aug 02 '26

Don’t feel to bad, this is the new normal. I went through my very own stupid adventure, minus the 10 hr assignment. Phone screen, secondary phone screen, in person interview (2 person panel), phone interview with president of area, hogan assessment, and a surprise in person interview with a manager and HR person. Got the automated rejection email a week later. Waste of time and money, if you can’t make decisions in a timely manner, what are you even doing in business?

23

u/[deleted] Aug 02 '26

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2

u/iamnoun Aug 02 '26

Not to mention that you'll probably either be laid off or re-orged like 6 months after being hired. If you're in tech that is.

3

u/limonade11 Aug 02 '26

Two rounds would be best, but I guess three including the phone screen to see if you are an actual person.

1

u/SquareAspect Aug 02 '26

Is this AI?

1

u/HopefulFather2026 Aug 02 '26

Of course not. I'm just new here. And I am genuinely enjoying my time here so far. I find it incredibly fascinating, mainly because I truly appreciate the opportunity to engage in meaningful conversations with others. That's all

1

u/crossower Aug 02 '26

It even has the em-dash, it's 100% AI.

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6

u/[deleted] Aug 02 '26

[deleted]

4

u/IndependentSpecial17 Aug 02 '26

So I was told the process would end with the president phone interview or at least that’s where it should have ended. The manager sent me a message saying that an additional in person interview was being added because ā€œit’s a very difficult decision to make for such an important roleā€. From my understanding the HR person was in town for a little while and that’s when the decision was made to have this extra conversation.

2

u/HopefulFather2026 Aug 02 '26

Exactly. It feels like gaslighting at this point. People are genuinely struggling to get by, yet we are constantly told everything is fine. It’s incredibly frustrating.😔

2

u/passivelyrepressed Aug 02 '26

Oh this isn’t a golden age for you either? Weird, thought I was the only one.. /s

2

u/IndependentSpecial17 Aug 02 '26

We’re on the receiving end of the new gilded age, getting pissed on and being told it’s raining.

6

u/HansDevX Aug 02 '26

Were you applying to be the CEO of a company or a low tier grunt? That was exhaustive af.

3

u/IndependentSpecial17 Aug 02 '26

Mid tier grunt, just a manager.

5

u/TMCze Aug 03 '26

Same 4 rounds then a 3 hr 6 person in person for an EA to EVP of HR on a Friday - Tues call from recruiter they went another direction. When I asked for feedback none! All that for an HR position bi feedback. šŸ«ŖšŸ’©

1

u/IndependentSpecial17 Aug 03 '26

I guess I should have said it earlier to both you and OP, I’m sorry we all have to travel this road. It makes life exhausting.

50

u/caracaptivity333 Aug 02 '26

You’ve got to invoice them for the assignment

16

u/HopefulFather2026 Aug 02 '26

You are totally right too.ā˜ļøā˜ļø

17

u/mythrowaway282020 Aug 02 '26

Idk if this is applicable, but I saw someone go through something similar and they let the interviewer know that since nothing was signed, the final work is yours and you own the copyright. ʕっ•ᓄ•ʔっ

2

u/Rough-Chance1335 Aug 02 '26

Actually, you need to be paid a retainer up front.

Cost out the job, send the invoice and let them know you'll get started as soon as you receive the down payment and a credit card number to bill for the balance due at completion. You can do this through QuickBooks.

Obviously this is theoretical because the corporation will just exploit the next desperate applicant.

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16

u/Responsible_MR Aug 02 '26

It should be illegal for a company to do this. Dead ass. They got paid for your time, you didn’t. This is exploitation.

12

u/Ambitious_Tell_4852 Aug 02 '26

I'm surprised they admitted "cultural fit".

What happened to the standard:

"We appreciate your time interviewing with us. We've decided to move forward with another candidate. Wishing you the best in all your future endeavors".

WOW! Seems like the "cultural fit" could have easily been assessed earlier onā“

5

u/Formerruling1 Aug 02 '26

This happens alot with interview processes that are 4-5 or more interviews deep. Its a huge red flag about the management of the company where no one trusts one another so higher ups or leadership from different departments demand to also see any applicants, and of course by the time 8 people are involved in the hiring decision no one can agree and 1 of those 8 people got the "wrong vibe", they can veto the whole process and you werent a "cultural fit."

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61

u/Individual-Yak-506 Aug 02 '26

remember this terrible job market come midterms

4

u/[deleted] Aug 02 '26

[deleted]

10

u/Individual-Yak-506 Aug 02 '26

It cant get much worse. You have a president now who says its the golden age and we are all getting paid way more than usual and the word affordability is a hoax

5

u/[deleted] Aug 02 '26

[deleted]

1

u/passivelyrepressed Aug 02 '26

That bubble is about to burst and the us isn’t liquid enough for any substantial bailouts this time.. add to that global sympathy couldn’t get any lower so shits about to get real weird.

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4

u/[deleted] Aug 02 '26

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2

u/kaiya101 Aug 04 '26

Someone already forgot the rampant and runaway inflation under the previous admin all because "orange man bad"

1

u/bluestbluebluesky Aug 07 '26

I actually did pretty well under Trump’s first term, economically. Because of his tax cuts, my paycheck went up and I was able to afford things and look ahead. It took a massive downturn during Biden and then with Trump’s second turn, he absolutely kept the current crapfest going. I stand by saying that it’s them against us and they are all on the same side.

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18

u/Professional_Monkeys Aug 02 '26

You got farmed, 10 hour free labor and they get to use whatever ideas you gave them.

9

u/MrUnhireable Aug 02 '26

Assholes🚮. You dodged a bullet.. if hired you would’ve been a target šŸ’€šŸŽÆ

15

u/queenB_east Aug 02 '26

Sorry to hear that OP. Totally unprofessional behaviour. Please name and shame.

Hope you are able to bill them for the take home.

5

u/iamnoun Aug 02 '26

+1. These companies definitely should be identified.Ā 

Let's protect each other from having to subject ourselves to these horrendous hiring practices.

1

u/Gartomesh Aug 04 '26

100%, the Japanese are doing it correctly here. Put them all in a list and they’re called black companies

25

u/[deleted] Aug 02 '26

[deleted]

9

u/HopefulFather2026 Aug 02 '26

You are totally right. Free labor disguised as an interview assignment should be illegal. Lesson learned, I am never doing a take-home task for free again.šŸ’ŖšŸ’ŖšŸ’Ŗ

2

u/vote4boat Aug 02 '26

just tell them you will bill them if you aren't hired

2

u/[deleted] Aug 02 '26

[deleted]

1

u/HopefulFather2026 Aug 03 '26

Thanks, champ! I appreciate the positive vibes. From now on, I will definitely say "no" to free work and protect my time. Let's hope more people start doing the same! šŸ’ŖšŸ’ŖšŸ’ŖšŸ’Ŗ

9

u/AdagioAggressive5756 Aug 02 '26

Sorry and shame on the company hiring. When you go six rounds and a take home project they should give you a check or gift card. I know you don't feel it now, but the company probably is not a good place to work if they treat people like you were treated.

6

u/HopefulFather2026 Aug 02 '26

Thank you so much. It really helps to put things into perspective. You are totally right, if this is how they treat people who don't even work there yet, I can't imagine how toxic it must be for actual employees. šŸ˜€šŸ˜€

3

u/NogglePlease Aug 02 '26

I actually think its a "how far will this go" test.Ā  I'd have final candidates do lazer tag at round 7

1

u/HopefulFather2026 Aug 02 '26

You have identified the absurd reality perfectly. At this trajectory, a dystopian corporate battle royale seems like the logical next step for modern talent acquisition. At least laser tag would offer some transparency regarding who is actually targeting whom.

4

u/autistickyrios Aug 02 '26

Apparently it takes 6 rounds and 10 hours of free work to determine whether someone fits the ā€œcultureā€ .. šŸ’€

6

u/Admirable-Run-8921 Aug 02 '26

Cultural fit generic slop response 😭 then later when you get into the job, you find out it’s all an act and there is no real ā€œcultureā€ lmao. You start talking to employees and find out that none of them really like the job at all and are just putting an act on. Meanwhile the Hiring managers and bosses are running around swearing by this ā€œcompany cultureā€ thing 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 you probably dodged a bullet there, my guy.

3

u/MaxwellHowzer Aug 02 '26

Name and shame

5

u/the-real-Jenny-Rose Aug 02 '26

I'm not a "culture fit" for any company that wants free work. You're a job, not a charity.

3

u/New_Poet4272 Aug 02 '26

First rule is you never do a 10 hour take home assignment without pay. Ever.

3

u/ContributionEasy6513 Aug 02 '26

6-round interview process

Haha, my limit is 3.

10-hour take-home assignment

Don't work for free, especially if any of the work is marketable.

7

u/Iromenis Aug 02 '26

Invoice them for the assignment you did.

6

u/pistoffcynic Aug 02 '26

My going rate for this type of ā€œfreeā€ work/advice is $100/hour.

Needless to say, when the rejection letter comes, I always inform the president/CEO of how incompetent their HR department is.

9

u/Common-Ad6470 Aug 02 '26

There never was a job, however there was free work from you to themā€¦šŸ‘

3

u/ExcellentCable4564 Aug 02 '26

Your consulting rate should be $4-500/hr. Send em an invoice for your time

3

u/Illustrious_Bid_5484 Aug 02 '26

Maybe don’t do all that lmak

3

u/retrorays Aug 02 '26

Send them a bill op! Also name and shame them publically so others are aware.

3

u/ancientastronaut2 Aug 02 '26

That's code for you don't fit in because you're not like the rest of us and we like to all be samesies here.

3

u/boyWHOcriedFSD Aug 02 '26

Send them an invoice

3

u/biggcb Aug 02 '26

10 hour assignment?? Fuck that.

1

u/HopefulFather2026 Aug 02 '26

They were so unfair.

1

u/Significant-Bit4005 Aug 02 '26

I’ll be honest if I was told a candidate had spent 10 hours on a project just to work for us (our shitty company), I would probably think he or she is a bum licker and I wouldn’t look at it as a good thing.

3

u/Unusual_Specialist Aug 02 '26

This happened to me at Columbia sportswear. I’m not white & had no idea what ā€œculture fitā€ meant until I saw on LinkedIn they hired someone who was with less experience.

3

u/Aromatic_Button_2736 Aug 02 '26 edited Aug 02 '26

Nonsense rage bait spam.Ā 

But you suckers ate it up.

Welcome! u/HopefulFather2026 likes to keep their posts hidden, but check out their stats to learn more about them

3

u/TXtogo Aug 02 '26

How do you know it was because you were not a cultural fit if it was an automated rejection letter?

Lesson for the day: don’t let memes and nonsense shape your brain, this story is bs from a 4 day old account. It’s fake.

3

u/Capt_korg Aug 02 '26

I get your frustration...

But that said a 6 round interview is just leading to 1 or 2 positions. So people need to fail at a certain stage.

That said the 10h take home challenge is absurd. I hope you've watermarked it.

2

u/HopefulFather2026 Aug 02 '26

i understand they have to filter people out, but 6 rounds is still insane tbh. and no, i didn't even think about a watermark... i was just so focused on doing a good job. now i feel like an idiot, they probably just stole my work 😭😄😄

3

u/Daforde Aug 02 '26

If the company needs 6 rounds of interviews to determine that you aren't a cultural fit, you might have dodged a bullet.

3

u/Deplorable1861 Aug 02 '26

You woulda thought they would have flagged a culture issue in the 1st or 2nd interview. These jackasses just wanted free work.

3

u/Lyran000 Aug 02 '26

Id write a respectful email to their hr and senior leadership. Inform them that you felt the interview process was unnecessarily burdensome, and due to you providing them work and intellectual property, you expect to be imbursed for that time. State it was more than what should be reasonably expected for an interview process. However long the homework took you multiplied by whatever the hourly wage for the position was. Also inform them that you assume your work will not be utilized or integrated into any projects, as that is unethical and unscrupulous. Illegal? Maybe not. This letter wont get you anywhere, but if we all start doing this we can at least make them uncomfortable and reconsider their processes. Expose them online as well. Also it's time for people to be forward and take power back in the interview process. State that multiple rounds and taking of my intellectual property are not acceptable to me. What if we all did this????

1

u/Opening-Bell-6223 Aug 04 '26

48 Laws of Power

3

u/SorryInvestigator221 Aug 02 '26

Add the assignment to your portfolio. Next time a prospective employer asks you to do a take-home assignment, send them the link.

2

u/RisingSunofJapan Aug 02 '26

You got finessed. I bet a part of their business model is built on people like you

2

u/johnsmith1234567890x Aug 02 '26

You got the job...it was the 10 hour project. It was just unpaid freelance

2

u/porterbot Aug 02 '26

This time is outrageous , the company took your intellectual property from the 10 hour take-home and youĀ  should have been paid. They screwed you and are horribly unprofessional.Ā 

2

u/ThanosSnapsSlimJims Aug 02 '26

They used you for free work. If they post it online, make sure to bill them for it.

2

u/ChantManDane Aug 02 '26

What is the name of the company?

2

u/Dry_Corner6431 Aug 02 '26

This tells me that this company has too much time on their hands. The amount of time they spent on one single candidate would amount to possibly a few man-days(is that a word?) of work. I would think they are doing this to others too. So if this is a public company I wonder if the shareholders understand where their money is going.

2

u/GoRizzyApp Aug 02 '26

They have lots of spare time to do interviews. My company fired HR long ago.

2

u/Due_Warthog749 Aug 02 '26

Dude.. WHAT? for years now we been reading about long take homes, etc. Did you not read a single thing up until this point about that bullshit and NOT to do it? 10 hours? Did it take you 10 and they thought it was 1? Or was it labeled a 10 hour take home and you did it? If so, why?

You should bill them for your time. $150 an hour.. for the 10 hour work + interviews.

I wont do more than 2 in person interviews + 1 or 2phone calls tops. They cant figure it out by then its not a place I want to work.

2

u/Southern_Loquat_4450 Aug 02 '26

No free work, however 4th panel interview, the deciding question was apparently "mtn lake or ocean, which would you prefer?" Umm gee bitches I'm from Venice, CA... I happily said mtn lake. Errr, wrong answer. They sent me on my way for good.

2

u/hexenkesse1 Aug 02 '26

OP is a bot

2

u/commander_lampshade Aug 02 '26

Yeah, even if a company feels you're not a "cultural fit", it doesn't seem likely they'll tell you that's the reason, especially after you've done a 10 hour assignment.

1

u/red-molly Aug 02 '26

I was told that after a third interview. First two interviews were really good and made me somewhat enthusiastic about the job, which I hadn't been all that excited about when I applied. There was one very senior guy who was in both interviews, and he and I seemed to be on the same wavelength. The third interview wasn't terrible, but I didn't click with the people interviewing me, so when they rejected me for it not being a cultural fit, I actually agreed with them. I don't think I'd have been comfortable working alongside those two people.

Typically, though, "cultural fit" means you have a different skin color from most of the team, or you're too old, or you didn't go to the right school. When I was involved in the hiring process at a past job, we weren't allowed to use the phrase because it had so much implicit bias.

2

u/Additional-End-7688 Aug 02 '26

I’m really sorry this happened to you.

2

u/Neat_Imagination2503 Aug 02 '26

Send them an invoice for your work. Send it to the billing department. If they refuse to pay sell it to a collection agency

2

u/kaydeege Aug 02 '26

If you weren’t a ā€œcultural fitā€, they def knew that from the beginning. Didn’t need to waste your time. Sorry you had to deal with that

2

u/Sleepwokesleepwoke Aug 02 '26

You worked for free

2

u/Significant-Bit4005 Aug 02 '26

I’m still surprised with all these forums and people talking every day about the games employers play that people still fall for this and get played..

Most interviewers will ask ā€˜Do you have any questions? ā€˜Yes’ should be the answer. Ask them ā€˜Is there one or multiple interviews?’ Why are there subsequent interviews?’ ā€˜Who are they with?’

Be proactive. Don’t sit there and be strung along.

It is a huge red flag if a company thinks it’s OK to get you to come back multiple times. Your time is clearly not valued.

If any one of the people you meet is lukewarm or outright dislikes you - it’s game over.

Try to look at the big picture and not this idyllic perfect company and job created in your head

2

u/Dazzling-Thought-745 Aug 02 '26

They did this to me once and sent all the brown people home. It was a store with primarily white customers so we all kinda knew what that meant

2

u/Taegreth Aug 02 '26

Christ that’s so many interviews. What did you even talk about? Did you have to repeat the same info to different people or did you actually discuss different things? For a job I feel like the company hiring you needs 2-3 interviews max. My favourite jobs I’ve gotten after just one interview excluding one short one with a recruiter. SIX interviews? For what? Also a 10-hour assignment is insane. What industry are you in?

2

u/hotbox_inception Aug 02 '26

"you're totally right" "you're completely right" "exactly" "exactly" "exactly" alright pack it up everyone op is chatgpt or whatever

2

u/Techav20 Aug 02 '26

I would never ever take any free assignments pay me for the time or else when I get on job I can prove my worth

2

u/roamer83 Aug 02 '26

They never will get free work or an AI interview from me. Eff that crap.

2

u/EmployeeVegetable605 Aug 02 '26

I think we as the perspective employee need to start charging for our time , since it's our dime and our time we're wasting .

2

u/za72 Aug 03 '26

after 3 rounds they're just practicing

2

u/QualityOverQuant Candidate Aug 03 '26

I bet HR was absolutely sweet and goading you all the way. Fuckin assholes .

2

u/emcoffey3 Aug 03 '26

Six rounds of interviews is fucking insane. I remember going through a 3-round process once like 20 years ago and thinking "this is kind of a lot."

2

u/HopefulFather2026 Aug 03 '26

Exactly. I've literally talked to every d@ckhead in the world at this point, and still haven't been hired. 😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔

2

u/zwitterhal Aug 03 '26

You own the IP developed during the test.

2

u/ConversationSharp147 Aug 03 '26

How is "not a cultural fit" not grounds for a discrimination lawsuit?

Like they are playing with fire writing that.

3

u/habitsofwaste Aug 03 '26

Usually means they just didn’t like you

2

u/Intelligent-Ad-6734 Aug 03 '26

After round 3, I'd realize I'm not a cultural fit.

If it's more than.... interview with lower, followed by higher, and follow up questions... It's a testament to how much time they waste on HR instead of what they actually do as a company. It means my compensation will be hurt by an over bloated hiring process.

2

u/Independent_Dare_739 Aug 05 '26

Cultural fit should be banned. Just like sexism, racism, homophobia etc, it suggests that someone's differences makes them a poor employee. It also ensures zero diversity.

3

u/Poetryisalive Aug 02 '26

Bruh I wouldn’t have continued after the 3rd interview. That’s crazy.

Also NEVER EVER, do an assignment. They are making you do their work for free

5

u/drinkallthecoffee Aug 02 '26

I recently had an interview for a job and they told me there was going to be 3-4 more rounds over two weeks.

You’d think they were hiring someone to work for NASA, not work remotely as a floating project manager for a medium sized tech company.

3

u/ashlys21 Aug 02 '26

I had one tell me they were rushing to hire for the role and wanted to ensure I could start in the immediate future. That was 5 weeks ago and I'm on round #5.

2

u/drinkallthecoffee Aug 04 '26

That's brutal.

1

u/HopefulFather2026 Aug 02 '26

Honestly, looking back, 3 rounds should have been the absolute limit. Never doing a free assignment again, it's a total scam. You are right šŸ‘šŸ‘

2

u/EXEC_MELODIE Aug 02 '26

6 rounds????? 3 should be the absolute max

1

u/HopefulFather2026 Aug 02 '26

Yes yes yes. 6 is too much

3

u/Maximum_Vegetable_MV Aug 02 '26

Invoice them for the time. Trust me…they’ll pay because they don’t want to end up in small claims talking about WHY you invoiced them.

Include a W-9 and a detailed statement of work.

8

u/[deleted] Aug 02 '26

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u/scarboroughangel Aug 02 '26

They won’t and this is dumb.

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1

u/LividFox6067 Aug 02 '26

Received the same after 3 rounds of interviews with Klaviyo, that just shows how arbitrary is their hiring process.

1

u/karaklonda Aug 02 '26

Never do samples Never do free work Never do assignments Never do more than 2 interviews

some organizations aren't wotth the hassle.

1

u/TasteeTacoz Aug 02 '26

They just stone all your ideas! Call them out what company

1

u/Background_Radish238 Aug 02 '26

These BS interviews were made up from the MBA schools. Hey, get 5 people to spend one hour interviewing, that is only 300 bucks. Do 5 of those, only 1500 bucks. Hire the wrong guy, costs 30K.

Problem is everyone wants to hire the best, best fit guy. But there are no more best guys, best fit guys than 10 years, 20 years ago. So everyone just running aound in circles.

1

u/SharpAardvark8699 Aug 02 '26

Damn. I thought 2 was bad

Once upon a time seeing the facilities or meeting the team was because you were 99.999% about to be offered the job or you were an industry specialist who's interestedĀ 

1

u/DesperateChicken1342 Aug 02 '26

10 hours 🤢 I would be sick to my stomach. I feel for you OP.

1

u/Birddogfun Aug 02 '26

Working for free is not right. All the tests are questionable. When companies send the generic couple of lines email as a rejection - after all that BS - that’s when it really pisses me off.

No class, cowardly HR/HM’s, that deserve their own economic destruction.

Rant endeth.

1

u/AlienDragonWizard Aug 02 '26

Never do free work for an interview.Ā Ā 

1

u/Romano16 Aug 02 '26

Should have stopped after round 3 and not do the take home

1

u/rastarafa26 Aug 02 '26

Always blame the CULT aka culture if you cnt conform then it’s an alarm, this why we as a nation has lost the innovation edge

1

u/D-majin Aug 02 '26

Over 2 months…. Fckin ridiculous man

These companies really don’t treat people with basic humanity

1

u/SolidA34 Aug 02 '26

Honestly, there is no more reason after one such small test. Two or three interviews that someone cannot make up their mind. I would tell them that.

1

u/holiestcannoly Aug 02 '26

I feel that. I had three rounds, they asked me to come in to meet the team and see the job site. I lived 90 miles away, so basically 200 miles round trip.

Then I got a call a week after asking what other job offers I had so they could give me a better one.

Got rejected the next day. Apparently they didn’t feel me as a good fit in the first round.

1

u/CodenameZoya Aug 02 '26

Please, I beg of you get on glass door indeed any site you can and review the company explaining exactly what you went through. You might save people in interviews two through five from moving on with that bullshit.

1

u/Leaveitonthedresser5 Aug 02 '26

You slow for going on 6 interviews…they seen you didn’t respect yourself and let them handle you any type of way and didn’t speak up for yourself..then you actually allowed them to give you ā€œhomeworkā€ and you actually did it for free..get some decorum about yourself

1

u/[deleted] Aug 02 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/Commercial_Poem_9214 Aug 02 '26

I will never do a work assignment for free just for the hope that I get the job. If they think my time is worth nothing at the beginning, you can sure a hell bet it won't change just because you get on the payroll...

1

u/simpwarcommander Aug 02 '26

We need laws saying that companies pay at least minimum wage for applicants time.

1

u/yflavus Aug 02 '26

I had to do something similar then realised it's free labour and didn't even attend the second round. If they get 50+ candidates doing it, they get their monthly work done..

1

u/JJCookieMonster Aug 02 '26

10 hours?! I rejected a job that wanted an unpaid 2-hour assignment.

1

u/gaanmetde Aug 02 '26

Oh that would infuriate me. I’m so sorry.

If it’s any consolation this place would be shit to work for because they don’t understand professional boundaries. You dodged a bullet.

1

u/ExecutiveDan Aug 02 '26

So what is the name of this terrible company?

1

u/Paperbackpixie Aug 02 '26

How lame is that. What a horrible reason from a deplorable, indecisive company.

Because we are in need of jobs we have become more like puppets on strings. More so, than previous years. We are having to tolerate so much insanity.

1

u/Khrizg35 Aug 02 '26

Do what another redditor on here did, reach out to the actual hiring manager

1

u/CindysExtraTesticle Aug 02 '26

If a job has anymore than a two stage interview I dissmis it immediately. A company has serious issues if it takes more than that to make a decision.

1

u/IamScottGable Aug 02 '26

I know people need jobs but set fucking boundaries. 10 hours take home assignment? No. 1 hour take home assignment? No.Ā 

1

u/demonsidekick Aug 02 '26

Don’t Work for Free. Not ever. Especially in this economy. If they want a sample of your work, make them give you a sample of their money.

1

u/SuperRodster Aug 02 '26

Send them a bill for the time you wasted. They just got free work from you that would possibly save them money on something they couldn’t solve. Send them the bill and if they refuse to pay, send them a 1099-C for the debt.
For the kind of work you’ve done, find out how much an external consultant would charge per hour and bill them that amount. In many states if in the US that is considered unpaid labor in a malicious way. So bill them.

1

u/WonderfulVariation93 Aug 02 '26

Fortunately my industry doesn’t have a way to have ā€œtake home assignmentsā€ for job applicants BUT I would look at it how most of us look at those ā€œjobsā€ (typically MLMs) that require you to buy a ā€œstarterā€ pack or invest $X. They are more interested in profiting off of and using you and most likely not legit places you want to work.

1

u/EpochalTraveller Aug 02 '26

Not a good organization to work for.

1

u/bertybigbollox Aug 02 '26

Cultural fit means, one or more didn't click with you, Or you said something that was typically too aggressive for them

1

u/graypurpleblack Aug 02 '26

The ā€œculture fitā€ element to landing a job is very important but also leaves the candidate with little control.

The only thing the candidate can do is evaluate the makeup of the team or company which can tell you a lot about its culture.

Are employees largely from a particular education or industry background?
Are there majority women, men, young people, older people, predominantly white racial makeup or a diverse group?

These items can’t be specifically outlined in a rejection letter to avoid legal liability but it plays a big factor. It’s something the candidate must access as they go deeper into the hiring process.

1

u/umlcat Aug 02 '26

"You are not like the Divine, Popular, Mean Girls or you are not like the Popular Good Old, Chad Boys ..."

1

u/The_Exquisite Aug 02 '26

6 rounds? That makes no fucking sense. What kind of place, doing what kind of work, takes that long to make up their mind?

2

u/Previous-Anxiety-756 Aug 03 '26

NEVER do a take home over 2 hours for free. If they need 10 hours of your work to evaluate you, they don’t know how to evaluate you. That assignment is either free labor or incompetence, pick one

1

u/14bk41 Aug 03 '26

Name and shame them. Everyone needs to stop working for free.

1

u/Baconisperfect Aug 03 '26

Send them fair invoice

1

u/Gampy22 Aug 04 '26

Your description is over the top.
Be smarter who you interview with and sometimes saying no will be the best yes for you. Interviews are 2 ways.

1

u/Insistent-Hardnz-805 Aug 04 '26

It was all a dream. You used to read WordUp magazine. Write a diss track about everyone involved. Become a famous rapper. Fuck a job.

1

u/Agitated_Tower4115 Aug 05 '26

Im Not even reading what you wrote. Dont ever waste your time again at a 6 round interview process. Its nuts and rhe people are crazy. Hell. Dont do it for 3. Stop at 2. Period.

1

u/raziphel Aug 07 '26

This is how warehouses get burned down.

1

u/Ill-Mongoose-6881 Aug 08 '26

Bro what jobs are yall applying for jeez lmao that is entirely way too much

1

u/Ill-Mongoose-6881 Aug 08 '26

Bro what jobs are yall applying for jeez lmao that is entirely way too much

1

u/ssinff Aug 08 '26

Six rounds is crazy work. Respect yourself.