\nKey Takeaways<\/b><\/p>\n
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Asking candidates for creative or strategic advice without the intent of hiring them is exploitation.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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Asking candidates for a list of clients that they could “bring over when they’re hired” with no intention of hiring them is exploitation.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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Exploiting candidates and posting job openings that don’t exist will damage your company’s brand.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
![\"How](\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/how-to-turn-a-job-interview-from-exploration-to-exploitation.png\")
<\/p>\nWays Candidates Exploit Job Candidates<\/h2>\n\n
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“Interviewing” Candidates for Free Creative and Strategic Advice<\/b><\/p>\n
Whenever this internationally renowned ad agency posts a new vacancy, or uploads a new job to its careers page, it is inundated with applications. The agency is a highly sought-after place to work in the industry, with the \u2018best of the best\u2019 always keeping an eye out for any new opportunities.<\/p>\n
The agency recently posted a role for a Group Account Director to take over a global account. Half a dozen of Australia\u2019s most qualified \u2018G.A.Ds\u2019 immediately applied. A good friend of mine was one of them.<\/p>\n
All six of them had a first-round interview and the \u2018shortlist\u2019 was quickly reduced to three – including my friend.<\/p>\n
After the second interview, she was told that she was one of only two candidates being asked to research and present their strategy to completely reposition their client\u2019s iconic brand. The presentation (the third and final stage in the recruitment process) would take place the following week.<\/p>\n
After spending an entire weekend preparing for her presentation, she received glowing feedback and it was clear that she had left a great impression on the agency\u2019s upper echelon.<\/p>\n
Then things went cold and she didn\u2019t hear anything from the agency for a few weeks.<\/p>\n
When someone finally took her call, she was told that whilst her presentation had been \u2018outstanding\u2019, they wouldn\u2019t be taking her application any further.<\/p>\n
People in the advertising industry talked, and it didn\u2019t take long for my friend to find out that the panel had also told the second candidate that his presentation was ‘outstanding,’ but that they weren\u2019t pursuing his application either.<\/p>\n
However, as it turns out, what the agency did do, was take the best creative and strategic elements from both \u2018outstanding\u2019 presentations, pitch the combined concepts to their client, and secure the work on the global repositioning (a million-dollar piece of business).<\/p>\n
Employers taking advantage of recruiters while still having every intention to make a hire is one thing, but abusing a \u2018shortlist\u2019 of top candidates when an organization is under-resourced and where there is no real vacancy in sight is nothing short of exploitative.\n<\/li>\n
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“Headhunting” Dirty Tricks<\/b><\/p>\n
A former client of mine has been a Business Development Manager within the legal industry for the last 15 years. He recently shared the following story with me.<\/p>\n
Although very comfortable in his current role with a mid-tier firm, he was recently \u2018tapped on the shoulder\u2019 by a global top-tier firm.<\/p>\n
First a coffee, then a lunch with two of the partners. He was flattered and was seriously considering the potential move as it would be great for his career and would also give him international exposure. They even asked him if he\u2019d be happy for them to start to contact a few referees.<\/p>\n
However, alarm bells started ringing when they asked him to come back a week later and present a full business plan, together with a list of clients that he\u2019d be able to bring across, as well as some examples of tenders he\u2019d recently won.<\/p>\n
As part of his own due diligence, he made a call to the firm\u2019s HR Department only to be told that they were completely unaware of any Business Development Manager vacancy and that they were under a total headcount freeze. Some more quick research revealed that the firm was in fact in the process of making redundancies.<\/p>\n
Needless to say, he politely withdrew his candidature.<\/p>\n
Clearly, this is a manipulative way for a \u2018leading\u2019 firm to potentially get their hands on some quick new business in tough times.\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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