This past Saturday in the Business Section of the New York Times, I was quoted in Shortcuts as this critical topic often confuses job seekers. What do you do if you’re asked for a sample marketing plan or project as part of the hiring process? My advice is limit the amount of work you do for free, let the hiring company know that your project will be incomplete, and if they’d like a finished product, you’d be glad to work on a contract basis. Be flexible but don’t work for free.
I encountered this situation during the interview cycle for my current position. I solved the “work for free” problem by having developed a project schedule for something I was working on at home (bathroom renovation). I was able to demonstrate a mastery of the concepts and the tools, but they didn’t get anything “free”. This was also generic enough to be appropriate for multiple interviews at different companies.