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For in-house shops, yes. Three times. I Rejected all three. Interviewing is iffy enough...I’m not investing a day in prepping ideas and a pitch for these clowns so they can string me along for months.
Never have. I'd like to say never will. You need ideas on something and want to see what I can do with that particular project, bring me in freelance. Otherwise, look at my portfolio.
Yeah, buy only did it because a friend said "they're cool and won't steal your shit." It's pretty silly. I've been fighting like mad to get them to stop. Unfortunately, some VPs don't know how to judge a portfolio or trust their hiring manager.
Yes, once. Never again
Pretty par for the course these days.
Yup. I got asked to work on a pitch for an agency which I thought was ridiculous.
Anybody who has ever interned.
My very first job. Didn’t go to ad school. Had no book. Barely had any writing samples. And I got to pick the brands so it wasn’t like they were going to run the work. Seemed fair because they really didn’t have anything to assess me by.
I have occasionally asked junior-ish peeps to come up with a few ideas if I like them but their book isn’t totally cutting it. Again, they can pick the brand. Done in the spirit of giving them a chance to get the job, it has felt very fair.
Yes, once. It was horrible. Bunch of people in the room just staring at me nodding their heads, writing notes and not saying a word. Felt like I was a science experiment or a chimpanzee throwing poop (concepts) at the audience.
You mean it felt like a pitch presentation.
Especially at senior level and non creative role jobs, I'm seeing more and more assignments at the final stages. Strategists pitching, PMs creating work plans.
I have twice. First time I was paid a lower freelance rate to do the work. Turned out the work sold, got the job and produced it as soon as I started.
Second time I wasn’t paid. Didn’t get the job. But two months later they lost the account and shortly after that the agency closed their doors. So, that worked out too in a weird way.
Yeah a couple times
In my experience these kinds of places just want you string you along and keep you busy while they figure out their own shit show. Even when you do well they may not hire you, and then blame your work. It’s just tacky and bad.
I did when I was hired as an art director...but it was done as a paid freelance assignment after the interview. Went well..got paid...concept chosen to move forward...got the job...the rest is history. Was fair all the way around
if we like someone and it works logistically we’ll always try to get them to work with us freelance on something, if they’re interested in us. of course we pay them their regular rate. and of course we want to be able to use their work. but it’s also the best way to get to know each other on both sides—& learn if f/t will be a good experience for them & us....
sometimes they’re freelancing already so it’s easy to fit us in when they have some time. if they have a job already, sometimes they’ll be able to spare some time over a weekend, and of course we’re very respectful of that time. it’s not about expecting someone to do a weeks work in a day. just seeing how they react to a brief and whether they’re psyched & are interesting to work with & have ideas. of course it works best with more senior people who are used to thinking quickly in short windows of time. and the goal is to get to know each other. we’d never expect anyone to quit their job to freelance with us - and we’d never hand out an assignment that required so much time it wouldn’t be practicable for someone who was already working....
I have for brand side. I got the job and couldn’t be happier.
If you’re going tech side, it seems kind of common since they do the same thing for programmers and engineers
I’m not in the creative industry, but have done 3 too many “projects” and “exercises”, 2 times of which I did not get the job. In the future I will be giving my hourly rate to complete them if I decide to do so at all. One was with recent dates and everything and was definitely to get free work.