A Good Idea or Just Free Advice? Finding a job has never been more difficult. Simply applying seems equally challenging.

I’ve been on both sides of the hiring desk – sometimes the applicant and sometimes the employer. And, yes, for some jobs, I gave a test. When I was hiring a research analyst, I would narrow my field of candidates down to the top five or so and then give the finalists a set of data to see what they would do with it. In an hour, could they separate the wheat from the chafe? Could they make sense of the numbers, draw conclusions and express them in well-crafted and thoughtful language?

While I gave this test to only the best of the bunch, not as part of my initial screening criteria, I am hearing from colleagues today that they’re being asked to submit marketing or business plans, develop strategy or design a website from the ground-up – all before even getting the first interview!

Fellow blogger, Matthew E. Berger at Sphere, writes about Hannah Reed, 22, who applied for a part-time administrative position with The New Teacher Project in Oakland, CA. She was asked to answer mock e-mails from potential clients, which required research into the organization, and to create a plan for an educational event. Was she hired? No.

As Berger notes, “Reed’s experience highlights a new fact of life for those on the losing end of a labor market where every ‘help wanted’ ad can draw a flood of interest, and fewer people wait on the other end to read all the resumes. More and more, recruiters and hiring managers are asking prospective employees to complete lengthy assignments before they will even be considered for an interview.”

It’s true such screening techniques illuminate those with poor writing or critical thinking skills and perhaps reduce the number of resumes to a more manageable number. It’s also true that applicants are given the opportunity to showcase their talents and business or scientific acumen.

However, for someone looking for a job and who knows that it will take hundreds of applications to even snag an interview, these prerequisites are undoubtedly daunting. Spend 20 or 30 hours on an assignment and then still not get an interview?

Are these exercises really meant to screen candidates or are they just a repository of free advice? How many of the submitted ideas will become part of the hiring organization’s marketing plan or training curriculum or web content? Makes one wonder.

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