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“i would be more than happy to work out a short-term freelance arrangement, but as a rule, i don’t do work for free, even if it’s not directly related to client work”
i went through this same thing 2 months ago. an agency i had never heard of in the middle of the country filled with supposedly “nice folks.”
i answered very matter of factly and politely. the recruiter replied very passive aggressively and dismissive. like okay, good luck getting better candidates!
2 months later i’m freelancing for an A list agency making good money on a dream tech client.
also the ask was insulting. it felt like a student assignment. i’m so glad i didn’t take them up on it
Do you want the job?
Ask them to sign a doc stating that any ideas that you create are your own intellectual property.
Do it on an unrelated product if they refuse
Chief
Personally, I’d do it.
I’m against these kinds of tests in the agency world. But my guess is that client side jobs don’t translate 1:1 with what’s in our portfolios, so it’s a good opportunity to show if / how our skills transfer.
Yikes.
I did something similar,against my better judgement, for a gig that I really needed. They said to see if I could work with their way of doing strategy. Was actually a fun project that I did in a day, and got the gig. Then the gig sucked. Should have not done it in the first place, as this was an early indication of how they viewed creative.
I would hop on a video call to discuss it.
What’s the real reason for the assignment?
Is it some business protocol imposed on the marketing department? Or is it because they are unsure about you and want you to prove yourself?
If the test assignment could be used as actual work, then I would insist on charging money. Basic day rate. If they refuse, consider it the world’s biggest red flag, and you dodged a bullet.
Its not uncommon for client side roles to ask for this, although the better/more established ones shouldn't. I suspect its often because they haven't totally figured out how you'll integrate into the team and their process. Dont do it for free. Tell them you'll do it for a project fee (charge fairly and based on what you'd hope to earn there) and then make sure they see the value you'd bring beyond just creative work - again they're likely looking for culture fit and integration with the broader team.
Exactly, at my last client-side role it was non-negotiable corporate procedure (and an extensive personality/IQ-ish test!) They required every creative from JD to SVP level to do a creative/design test. I tried declining but no dice, as well as requesting payment for my time and it started to escalate that I was being difficult. Eventually I just got over my annoyance and did it so I got the job.
If they are viewing the request as a way of determining if you’ll “fit” into the way that they think, it’s a sure sign that they won’t value your thinking. Run.
Three words and a punctuation mark: Pay to play.
Say you’d be more than happy to get involved in a freelance capacity, this is a respectful stance but working without payment is kind of abusive and devaluing. Good agencies freelance people with a view to a permanent hire all the time.
The last place I worked started requiring these when a VP of Product was hired and my design team started reporting to them. Their justification for this request was to see if the applicant can actually do the caliber of work they said did in their portfolio. I worked with that VP for 6 months and then left.
My point is just be careful with the culture of the company you are looking at.