How to politely drop out of an interview process? They’re requesting a take home case of which they’re looking for 3-5 page write up, excel model, and a go to market strategy. They’re not paying me for it either lmao

likefunnysmart
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You don't need to be polite. You can very clearly state that the requirements are more than you think are market norms for this role.

I have said this to many companies. The good ones drop it and the big red flags get angry.

Never work for a big red flag

likesmarthelpful

agreed.

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“Sorry you are currently utilizing the free version of Candidate X. This free tier is limited to 3-4 one hour behavioral and case interviews. To utilize excel modeling and detailed reporting functionality, please upgrade to the Employed package currently offered at $#K annually.”

likefunnysmartuplifting

Lmao I want to use this

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i wouldn’t be polite with an ask like that. i have a full time job, i don’t have time to play around with their BS “take home” assignments. tell them to go pound sand.

likefunnyupliftingsmarthelpful

I personally prefer telling people to kick rocks, but to each their own.

likefunny

“Thank you for the information on next steps. I’m interviewing with several companies right now. And unfortunately I don’t have the time required to give this next step the effort it needs. So I would like to withdraw myself from consideration. Thank you for your time”

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Not sure which industry or firm this is for, as it may be the norm in some cases? Otherwise if you are not interested say you will unfortunately not move forward with their interview, and you are considering other opportunities at the moment.

Other option is to check with the company if they are interested in a one week, paid part time shadow role, to show case your on-hands expertise.

I get 10% vibes that they just trying to get free work done.

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I let the recruiter know I appreciated their interest but would like to be removed from consideration. When she asked why I said it wasn’t a good culture fit (which was true for my situation).

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This sounds incredibly similar to an interview process I also dropped out of. Couldn't believe the hoops they were asking me to jump through for a below-market-comp IC position.

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Depends on the company and opportunity. Is it strategic? Is failure not an option?

I spent probably 40 hours preparing for an interview….got a 100k raise and a cushy interesting job.

So depends

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I had Alvarez & Marsal ask for a roadmap and strategy around an “example” client scenario. Told them I was going to drop out, and the md called to say they were really interested in bringing me in, they just do this as a formality. So I agreed, and then was ghosted. Pretty sure they do this for free work. Never again.

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Standard same case? Can you tell me what that case is then? It was very specific to my niche skill set so I’d be shocked.

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Is it CAPCO 😂

likefunny

Why politely drop out of interview process when you could tell them to F off?

likefunny

Thank them for their time and just say you found another opportunity that you’re moving forward with.

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This doesn’t give them the feedback that they shouldn’t be doing this though. If they don’t hear anything they’ll keep promoting the culture

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Just say you no longer wish to proceed or ghost that works too.

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Why wouldn’t you ask if you can do a lighter weight exercise before just dropping out? Might as well ask. Say you are really interested in the role but will need a lighter weight exercise due to a big upcoming work project and suggest what you could cover. A lot of time recruiters are just sending over some boilerplate thing and if you asked the hiring manager they would be open to going lighter.

funny

I was asked to a do a whole PowerPoint presentation for an interview lol

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No need to be overly polite. Last time I ran into this I just told the recruiter I was opting out and ending the process.

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I’ve dropped out before. Tell them that as you’ve progressed through the interview and learning process you don’t believe the role fits your long-term goals. Tell them you want to respect their time in the hiring process and remove yourself.

For me: I don’t believe a role expecting me to do work/projects without pay is a culture or direction I want to start off in, and I told them that.

smart

I did one of these for Spotify. Poured hours and a lot of energy into model and solution. They didn’t even call me to talk through it. It didn’t suck I’m telling you lol

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Ask them to be compensated for your time doing the take home case. They will almost certainly say 'No' or try to guilt you ("You must not really want this job") but you have to stand up for your rights.

When companies or recruiters hit me with "you must not care about this job" I just tell them, "ok, sounds good. Thanks for reaching out, I don't think this is a good fit for me at the moment"

Seriously, what the fuck are they going to do? You want to drop this process OP, just drop it, whats the worst that can happen?

Surprises by all the hate for take home cases. We give one and it makes a huge difference in evaluating candidates. Some that crush the first interview turn out to have abysmal excel/presentation skills. I’m never annoyed or bothered when candidates decide not to proceed with it. If they don’t want to do it they probably aren’t very interested in the role to begin with.

We do a take home - build a recommendation/presentation based on data. All dummy data and fake scenarios though. This is for roles that require good modeling skills though.

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