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I have applied for a company, and they asked me for to do an application using their technologies and to do a report on how to install the application, the tools i used and the difficulties that i encountered.

I did it, and sent it to the company. The company never told me anything and 2 weeks later i read in their website that they were starting an academy to form people from scrath, so it seems that the company "used" me to do their dirty work for them.

Now, I'm applying for another company which is requiring me to do the same as the first one. I have almost done the application and the report, but i'm thinking on whether to deliver the code or just some print screens.

What do you guys recomend?

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    academy to form people from scrath ?? – paparazzo Feb 23 '17 at 11:06
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    “form people from scratch” sounds like an offer for students just out of high school without any prior knowledge. I assume it does not mean the “mental break and rebuild” bootcamp kind of thing in special forces military. – Martin Ueding Feb 23 '17 at 11:14
  • stupid question : how long did it take to do that application ? 1h, 1 day ? I wouldn't consider something longer for an interview when I may apply to others company too. – Walfrat Feb 23 '17 at 11:44
  • If you've almost done with the demo application, why not just finish and hand it over? You have nothing to lose at this point. Even if they use it, that's their loss, not yours. – Brandin Feb 23 '17 at 12:46

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To go into an interview with no trust of the company you intend to work for is not a good place to start. Either trust them and send in what they ask for, or don't trust them and don't apply. Look at it this way; if you don't trust them to interview honestly, then what hope do you have of actually getting paid properly?

It's clear that they want to see the code to make sure that you can actually do what they are asking. I suspect if you send in just screenshots then your application will wind up in the bin.

So really it comes down to your choice whether you trust them or not. If you don't, then don't waste your time doing the exercise in the first place.

Jane S
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  • From what i see in this post: http://workplace.stackexchange.com/questions/67970/programming-tests-on-interview?rq=1, here the person says to do the opposite –  Feb 23 '17 at 11:46
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    @thunder, did you happen to notice that the answer in the link you cited has 0 votes? If you have something you want to do, just do it. It seems like you're seeking approval of a decision you've pretty much already made.. – Kent A. Feb 23 '17 at 11:53
  • @thunderer You do your due diligence before you apply. When you have decided you want to work for a company, then you need to have a base level of trust. If you don't have that, then you really shouldn't be applying in the first place. – Jane S Feb 23 '17 at 11:53
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If a honest company asks you to do work for them, they generally pay you. At least the companies you want to work for do. A coding tests for a serious company will not consume more than 1 hour of time. For any task that takes more than half a day, feel free to let them know in advance that you will charge them. Do so before you start working on the task.

Of course if you chose to do the task, do it properly, don't send screenshots.

Even in the unlikely case that the job exists, if the interview requires you to perform free, unpaid labor, you can expect the actual job to adhere to the same ethical standards.

Peter
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  • Maybe it's just me, but charging a company for asking you to complete a test is a bit extreme and will likely lose you the job. unless they are asking you to write something that they will sell of course. – ayrton clark Feb 23 '17 at 12:45
  • @ayrtonclark If the "test" is to spend half a day or more perform a piece of actual work, charging for the actual work is basic business. There are some reputable businesses that ask you to perform actual work for them, but if the business is reputable it compensates actual work with actual money. So yes, it's just you. – Peter Feb 23 '17 at 15:41