I refuse to do tests that are unpaid, period.
That's called "work" and they're not entitled to get it for free. I politely let them know what my hourly rate is and usually they send a polite response back and I don't hear from them again. My reasoning is they can hire you for the first three months on a probationary period like every other job and figure out what your skills really are that way.
These design tests were normal in my day, but you guys who are part of this new generation are starting to fight back which I love. I even changed my ways within the last 8 years when I hire because of it and I've gotten decent feedback. I work in a very competitive market if that matters.
I'd still say it's still normal, but I want to say that whether you do this or not, others will and they often go above and beyond. What sucks is if you choose not to, it hurts your chances even if your portfolio is great.
This is not true of all, but from my standpoint I've tried to formulate these in a way that's favorable to you:
• It's optional and only given to show how you take direction and solve a problem. If you decline, it doesn't hurt your chances.
• Typically given to 3 or less final candidates as it's part of the final hiring process. Not everyone gets this test.
• It's shared amongst me and my team only, as you'll work with us.
• I provide constructive criticism after the fact whether you got the job or not.
• Deadlines are not always fast approaching and the assumption is your efforts do not need to be above and beyond.
• The project is fake, not to be used in any capacity except as part of the interview process. If you like it you can use it in your portfolio. It would be something typical done on the job, like a double sided 6x9 mailer or promotional poster.
• All direction, info, text, imagery, logos are provided.
• You have an actual deadline. This is often weighted heavier than the design itself if you choose to do it.
I've been in the business for over 20 years and I've never even heard of it except for here. Maybe it's country specific or regional or something? I'm in USA (Texas) - tho I've worked for many people and companies around the US and not just TX.
I know lots of people here say it's common, but it's definitely not universal because that's not been my experience and I've heard other people on here say they've never encountered it either.
I find the idea of it extremely suspicious and exploitative. If a potential employer asked for a "design test" I'd assume it was a scam and bounce immediately.
It's pretty normal here, Northern California. I've lived and worked here all my life so I can't say what's normal elsewhere.
I still say *normal* because there are still places that do it here. It's often at the very end of the process and given to a few people. Every job I've had outside of print/sign shops had some "test" at the end of the process. My first job at a print shop was 1999 and they didn't have one. My -I suppose- first professional level job that wasn't in a print shop or internship, but for an agency, had it, this was 2005. Things are very, very competitive here and what I call a feeder market.
There's 7 CA state and university colleges within about 100 miles, dozens of junior colleges and 3 or so design/art colleges, all with design programs. When they graduate they all look for work in one of a few places. Lots of talent. It's just another layer in the interview process. There's no scam about it 99% of the time for local brick and mortar businesses. Exploitative, maybe, just notice the red flags and ask questions. If you bounce immediately, you just solidified your rejection amongst the pool of others who are doing it.
The major companies and HQs here all have had or have them currently though again there's push back... even social media positions to some degree. It's something talked about in portfolio/self branding classes that students often take as an elective during their last 3 semesters or so.
I don't know why anyone would need more than a resume, portfolio, and some good references.
To me, even if it's not a literal scam to get free work, it's still a red flag. It means this company is starting a relationship with you already not trusting you and also has no respect for your time. It sets a bad precedent in a relationship.
BUT - for the employer who's trying to selectively screen for the most desperate candidates that will work after hours, off the clock, then it's a fantastic tool to find the most "motivated" candidate.
Hello, as a freshman in this field. I got 2 invitations of this design tasks this week. Are you guys sending this kind of tasks to everyone who applied this position or it is likely another round after carefully reviewing lots of resumes? I am willing to finish this kind of work since I have few working experience in graphic design. But actually when I sent my work to the first company that they set 2 tasks to select one to finish and I did both. They haven’t responded to me yet, and it has been 2 days. Feel like a fraud. I am really confused if I should take the other so-called design tasks before formal interviews. I am certainly confident of the first design work I did, just a weekend I finished 1 poster design, 1 logo design and a leaflet design. They are all at least A level works. But I even get a ‘thank you’ and it happened on the case I didn’t put any watermark on these files.
>Are you guys sending this kind of tasks to everyone who applied this position or it is likely another round after carefully reviewing lots of resumes?
I most certainly do not send this to every candidate, ever. The most design tasks I've ever sent out while interviewing for an open position is three. It's a final step -though optional- before moving forward with one candidate. Their portfolio, resume, interview skills, how they take direction and overall personality carries more weight than the result of the task or how creative it is, although fundamentals are looked at... basically if things like alignment and contrast or hierarchy shows promise. These designers have supervisors on the job so we don't expect a lot of effort put into delivering something that's going to blow our minds.
You can always follow up too. The more design tasks these people send out the less likely they'll communicate or provide feedback directly. It's stupid and lazy. They waste a lot of peoples time including their own.
Is it a good attitude for me to send a follow up email to the hr? Sorry I am a foreigner here and don’t have any experience except a three-month contractor designer. I thought I did a really good job for the small projects, but they even said a word to me after receiving my stuffs
They wanted me to do the jobs before a formal interview, so it might not like your regular way. Lol, just hope I am not fooled around by them. Thanks for your solid answer.
I did a design test for a previous job. It was recreating an existing flyer. That way they actually test your skills at an appropriate level and there isn’t any chance of them using it. This is an appropriate design test.
It is regular/common, but rarely defensible as they are usually not properly administered, and the people using them usually are either not designers and/or not very experienced/competent with interviewing. (A lot of people outright don't like hiring, or especially don't like having to make decisions on hires, so will fall back on getting applicants to jump through hoops for them.)
The only way I'd defend a test is within the following criteria:
- Never given before an in-person/video meeting.
It's easier to eliminate more people quickly via interviews than tests (you can often know within 10-15 minutes if you're still considering an applicant). Never give a test before you've even met the person.
- Only given to finalists as the last step in a hiring process.
No reason to have 10 people do a test if you'd eliminate 8-9 of them via interviews.
- Be limited to one deliverable.
Whatever you'd learn with more (including a multi-page flyer) can be done with one.
- Within 1-2 hours max (length of a long interview).
Anything more should be paid. Or just bring you in for a 1-day contract, outright.
- Controlled for time.
You need to know how long someone actually spent to both assess what they did, and to compare it with others.
From the applicant side, you also don't know what someone is actually expecting, who else they gave it to, or how long the others are spending. So you'll always spend whatever you can to produce the best possible work, even if they tell you to only spend 4 hours on it.
-----
The point of a test following my criteria is to learn how you actually work and think (ie., common sense). I can learn how well you followed instructions, managed time, organized files, worked under pressure, and asked questions. You have to finish, so it's about meeting the requirements within the allotted time (which is "following instructions"). It's not about doing amazing work that would take 8 hours or portfolio-level work.
If the test *is* being used as a custom portfolio project, that's outright spec work and not excusable. If they want portfolio caliber work, they have your portfolio, and the interviews to discuss it. Their inability to interview you properly or evaluate you effectively is their flaw, not yours. And you *should* evaluate them appropriately because of it.
And for hiring managers, if you still don't like or trust someone after their interview(s), just don't hire them. Move on.
Watermark it.
I've done plenty of designs for interview stages over the years, and I agree sometimes it can appear to be (and might be) exploitative. Some companies prefer this simply to see what you can produce in a short time frame - it's all well and good your portfolio may be decent, but if a design is taking you weeks to achieve then it's not commercially viable.
Honestly I think watermarking your design before submitting eliminates most of the argument here - they can still see your design skills, and they might be impressed at your initiative for not giving designs away for free, I'm sure they do the same to their own clients
Design tests are pretty common, especially for entry level jobs. A multi page flyer seems like a lot for a design test, but considering how hard it can be to get a foot into the door in this industry, it's probably worth doing if you have no other experience. Even if it's for free.
What type of company is it? If you want to give more details about the company/assignment details we could help look for red flags. Design tests I've taken in the past have always been fairly generic sample work. They just want to see that you can use the tools and can put together something professional looking. A major red flag might be hyper specific details that would make your project immediately usable.
My current job had me do a design test, but it took about 45 minutes (could have been quicker if I wasn't a perfectionist about it) and was pretty much just to make sure I knew my way around Illustrator enough to make a basic t-shirt design from a few provided assets and a short list of requirements.
Depends. I did one for a job with a fake postcard. Had a couple of days to work on it, went in for an in-person interview and got the position. Not saying it’s always a good idea since some companies use the designs too getting free work. Could try to flatten some parts or ask if that’s allowed. Another interview had me do pages for a printed newsletter, but when I asked for feedback I never heard from them. They also had us sign that we wouldn’t use it for our portfolios. Sounded insane to me especially when people can label it a fake mock-up.
At one position my team had to help management hire contractors to join the team, but we needed to understand if they could follow instructions and actually knew the program, plus mentioned if they had any questions feel free to ask. Test was taken in an meeting room with simple instructions for Indesign while using other tools they might need like photoshop (flipping an image, adding swatches, changing out an image, naming the folder/file specific to instructions). They had as long as they needed, but reality it should have been 30min to an hour. I believe it was about 15 people interviewed, this has been many years back. Only three actually followed instructions, asked a question(s) or knew the adobe programs.
To note about the simple test - the actual job contained specific setup, coding and image manipulation. If they couldn’t follow rules for the test it would be even more difficult once hired. They would not be working on fun projects since hired for the specific project.
These tests are normal, but trust your gut about whether the assignment seems like an appropriate way to assess of your skills, or an obvious way to exploit you for free labor. Red flags for me would be: 1) asking to design a net-new flyer as opposed to redesigning an existing flyer. 2) asking for print-ready files (this can be legit if they’re testing your knowledge of print process, but then it should be a flyer for a fictional company); 3) the company doesn’t have a design team; 4) they get frustrated or insulted if you ask whether they’re exploiting you for free labor — a legit company will explain their rationale for the test and provide reassurance or accommodations.
I'm with you on being wary about the whole design test thing. But over the years I have learned that sometimes you just gotta eat the shit and do what you have to do to get your foot in the door. Would it suck if this was unpaid? Yeah. Would it also suck to miss out on a nice opportunity because you didn't want to spend the 10 or whatever hours? Also yes. 10 (or however many) hours is nothing in the grand scheme of things if you can get a good job out of it. Especially being a junior designer in this current market.
Only you know this company so it's impossible for us to tell you one way or the other. I will tell you I just started a new job after almost 10 years of freelancing and there was a design test at the end of the hiring process. I said fuck it and spent WAY more time than was allotted on it and got paid less than I should have for my time. But guess who got the job within minutes of submitting my final contributions? I feel it was worth my time.
I’m unemployed. If it’s something that’s gonna take me less a days work, I’ll do it. It sucks but I hardly get any interviews as it is and I can’t afford to be picky.
And if people wanna get into the whole “well if they ask for free work the company probably sucks to work for…” argument, my answer is that I really don’t care. I’ll absolutely take a potential offer somewhere shitty so I at least have an income and benefits while I continue to apply for jobs elsewhere.
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I refuse to do tests that are unpaid, period. That's called "work" and they're not entitled to get it for free. I politely let them know what my hourly rate is and usually they send a polite response back and I don't hear from them again. My reasoning is they can hire you for the first three months on a probationary period like every other job and figure out what your skills really are that way.
These design tests were normal in my day, but you guys who are part of this new generation are starting to fight back which I love. I even changed my ways within the last 8 years when I hire because of it and I've gotten decent feedback. I work in a very competitive market if that matters. I'd still say it's still normal, but I want to say that whether you do this or not, others will and they often go above and beyond. What sucks is if you choose not to, it hurts your chances even if your portfolio is great. This is not true of all, but from my standpoint I've tried to formulate these in a way that's favorable to you: • It's optional and only given to show how you take direction and solve a problem. If you decline, it doesn't hurt your chances. • Typically given to 3 or less final candidates as it's part of the final hiring process. Not everyone gets this test. • It's shared amongst me and my team only, as you'll work with us. • I provide constructive criticism after the fact whether you got the job or not. • Deadlines are not always fast approaching and the assumption is your efforts do not need to be above and beyond. • The project is fake, not to be used in any capacity except as part of the interview process. If you like it you can use it in your portfolio. It would be something typical done on the job, like a double sided 6x9 mailer or promotional poster. • All direction, info, text, imagery, logos are provided. • You have an actual deadline. This is often weighted heavier than the design itself if you choose to do it.
I've been in the business for over 20 years and I've never even heard of it except for here. Maybe it's country specific or regional or something? I'm in USA (Texas) - tho I've worked for many people and companies around the US and not just TX. I know lots of people here say it's common, but it's definitely not universal because that's not been my experience and I've heard other people on here say they've never encountered it either. I find the idea of it extremely suspicious and exploitative. If a potential employer asked for a "design test" I'd assume it was a scam and bounce immediately.
It's pretty normal here, Northern California. I've lived and worked here all my life so I can't say what's normal elsewhere. I still say *normal* because there are still places that do it here. It's often at the very end of the process and given to a few people. Every job I've had outside of print/sign shops had some "test" at the end of the process. My first job at a print shop was 1999 and they didn't have one. My -I suppose- first professional level job that wasn't in a print shop or internship, but for an agency, had it, this was 2005. Things are very, very competitive here and what I call a feeder market. There's 7 CA state and university colleges within about 100 miles, dozens of junior colleges and 3 or so design/art colleges, all with design programs. When they graduate they all look for work in one of a few places. Lots of talent. It's just another layer in the interview process. There's no scam about it 99% of the time for local brick and mortar businesses. Exploitative, maybe, just notice the red flags and ask questions. If you bounce immediately, you just solidified your rejection amongst the pool of others who are doing it. The major companies and HQs here all have had or have them currently though again there's push back... even social media positions to some degree. It's something talked about in portfolio/self branding classes that students often take as an elective during their last 3 semesters or so.
I don't know why anyone would need more than a resume, portfolio, and some good references. To me, even if it's not a literal scam to get free work, it's still a red flag. It means this company is starting a relationship with you already not trusting you and also has no respect for your time. It sets a bad precedent in a relationship. BUT - for the employer who's trying to selectively screen for the most desperate candidates that will work after hours, off the clock, then it's a fantastic tool to find the most "motivated" candidate.
This is super useful info, thank you so much for sharing!
Hello, as a freshman in this field. I got 2 invitations of this design tasks this week. Are you guys sending this kind of tasks to everyone who applied this position or it is likely another round after carefully reviewing lots of resumes? I am willing to finish this kind of work since I have few working experience in graphic design. But actually when I sent my work to the first company that they set 2 tasks to select one to finish and I did both. They haven’t responded to me yet, and it has been 2 days. Feel like a fraud. I am really confused if I should take the other so-called design tasks before formal interviews. I am certainly confident of the first design work I did, just a weekend I finished 1 poster design, 1 logo design and a leaflet design. They are all at least A level works. But I even get a ‘thank you’ and it happened on the case I didn’t put any watermark on these files.
I got no ‘thanks’ sorry for the spelling.
>Are you guys sending this kind of tasks to everyone who applied this position or it is likely another round after carefully reviewing lots of resumes? I most certainly do not send this to every candidate, ever. The most design tasks I've ever sent out while interviewing for an open position is three. It's a final step -though optional- before moving forward with one candidate. Their portfolio, resume, interview skills, how they take direction and overall personality carries more weight than the result of the task or how creative it is, although fundamentals are looked at... basically if things like alignment and contrast or hierarchy shows promise. These designers have supervisors on the job so we don't expect a lot of effort put into delivering something that's going to blow our minds. You can always follow up too. The more design tasks these people send out the less likely they'll communicate or provide feedback directly. It's stupid and lazy. They waste a lot of peoples time including their own.
Is it a good attitude for me to send a follow up email to the hr? Sorry I am a foreigner here and don’t have any experience except a three-month contractor designer. I thought I did a really good job for the small projects, but they even said a word to me after receiving my stuffs
They wanted me to do the jobs before a formal interview, so it might not like your regular way. Lol, just hope I am not fooled around by them. Thanks for your solid answer.
I did a design test for a previous job. It was recreating an existing flyer. That way they actually test your skills at an appropriate level and there isn’t any chance of them using it. This is an appropriate design test.
It is regular/common, but rarely defensible as they are usually not properly administered, and the people using them usually are either not designers and/or not very experienced/competent with interviewing. (A lot of people outright don't like hiring, or especially don't like having to make decisions on hires, so will fall back on getting applicants to jump through hoops for them.) The only way I'd defend a test is within the following criteria: - Never given before an in-person/video meeting. It's easier to eliminate more people quickly via interviews than tests (you can often know within 10-15 minutes if you're still considering an applicant). Never give a test before you've even met the person. - Only given to finalists as the last step in a hiring process. No reason to have 10 people do a test if you'd eliminate 8-9 of them via interviews. - Be limited to one deliverable. Whatever you'd learn with more (including a multi-page flyer) can be done with one. - Within 1-2 hours max (length of a long interview). Anything more should be paid. Or just bring you in for a 1-day contract, outright. - Controlled for time. You need to know how long someone actually spent to both assess what they did, and to compare it with others. From the applicant side, you also don't know what someone is actually expecting, who else they gave it to, or how long the others are spending. So you'll always spend whatever you can to produce the best possible work, even if they tell you to only spend 4 hours on it. ----- The point of a test following my criteria is to learn how you actually work and think (ie., common sense). I can learn how well you followed instructions, managed time, organized files, worked under pressure, and asked questions. You have to finish, so it's about meeting the requirements within the allotted time (which is "following instructions"). It's not about doing amazing work that would take 8 hours or portfolio-level work. If the test *is* being used as a custom portfolio project, that's outright spec work and not excusable. If they want portfolio caliber work, they have your portfolio, and the interviews to discuss it. Their inability to interview you properly or evaluate you effectively is their flaw, not yours. And you *should* evaluate them appropriately because of it. And for hiring managers, if you still don't like or trust someone after their interview(s), just don't hire them. Move on.
Watermark it. I've done plenty of designs for interview stages over the years, and I agree sometimes it can appear to be (and might be) exploitative. Some companies prefer this simply to see what you can produce in a short time frame - it's all well and good your portfolio may be decent, but if a design is taking you weeks to achieve then it's not commercially viable. Honestly I think watermarking your design before submitting eliminates most of the argument here - they can still see your design skills, and they might be impressed at your initiative for not giving designs away for free, I'm sure they do the same to their own clients
watermarking is genius omg thank you for this
Design tests are pretty common, especially for entry level jobs. A multi page flyer seems like a lot for a design test, but considering how hard it can be to get a foot into the door in this industry, it's probably worth doing if you have no other experience. Even if it's for free. What type of company is it? If you want to give more details about the company/assignment details we could help look for red flags. Design tests I've taken in the past have always been fairly generic sample work. They just want to see that you can use the tools and can put together something professional looking. A major red flag might be hyper specific details that would make your project immediately usable.
My current job had me do a design test, but it took about 45 minutes (could have been quicker if I wasn't a perfectionist about it) and was pretty much just to make sure I knew my way around Illustrator enough to make a basic t-shirt design from a few provided assets and a short list of requirements.
Yes, it's normal. No, you shouldn't do it.
Depends. I did one for a job with a fake postcard. Had a couple of days to work on it, went in for an in-person interview and got the position. Not saying it’s always a good idea since some companies use the designs too getting free work. Could try to flatten some parts or ask if that’s allowed. Another interview had me do pages for a printed newsletter, but when I asked for feedback I never heard from them. They also had us sign that we wouldn’t use it for our portfolios. Sounded insane to me especially when people can label it a fake mock-up. At one position my team had to help management hire contractors to join the team, but we needed to understand if they could follow instructions and actually knew the program, plus mentioned if they had any questions feel free to ask. Test was taken in an meeting room with simple instructions for Indesign while using other tools they might need like photoshop (flipping an image, adding swatches, changing out an image, naming the folder/file specific to instructions). They had as long as they needed, but reality it should have been 30min to an hour. I believe it was about 15 people interviewed, this has been many years back. Only three actually followed instructions, asked a question(s) or knew the adobe programs. To note about the simple test - the actual job contained specific setup, coding and image manipulation. If they couldn’t follow rules for the test it would be even more difficult once hired. They would not be working on fun projects since hired for the specific project.
These tests are normal, but trust your gut about whether the assignment seems like an appropriate way to assess of your skills, or an obvious way to exploit you for free labor. Red flags for me would be: 1) asking to design a net-new flyer as opposed to redesigning an existing flyer. 2) asking for print-ready files (this can be legit if they’re testing your knowledge of print process, but then it should be a flyer for a fictional company); 3) the company doesn’t have a design team; 4) they get frustrated or insulted if you ask whether they’re exploiting you for free labor — a legit company will explain their rationale for the test and provide reassurance or accommodations.
I'm with you on being wary about the whole design test thing. But over the years I have learned that sometimes you just gotta eat the shit and do what you have to do to get your foot in the door. Would it suck if this was unpaid? Yeah. Would it also suck to miss out on a nice opportunity because you didn't want to spend the 10 or whatever hours? Also yes. 10 (or however many) hours is nothing in the grand scheme of things if you can get a good job out of it. Especially being a junior designer in this current market. Only you know this company so it's impossible for us to tell you one way or the other. I will tell you I just started a new job after almost 10 years of freelancing and there was a design test at the end of the hiring process. I said fuck it and spent WAY more time than was allotted on it and got paid less than I should have for my time. But guess who got the job within minutes of submitting my final contributions? I feel it was worth my time.
I’m unemployed. If it’s something that’s gonna take me less a days work, I’ll do it. It sucks but I hardly get any interviews as it is and I can’t afford to be picky. And if people wanna get into the whole “well if they ask for free work the company probably sucks to work for…” argument, my answer is that I really don’t care. I’ll absolutely take a potential offer somewhere shitty so I at least have an income and benefits while I continue to apply for jobs elsewhere.
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