Job candidate rejects recruiter's request for free, unpaid work during interview process: 'I was asked to produce a full list of tasks for [free]'

Why is the interview process so unnecessarily drawn out these days?

If you get to the point of an interview, it should not take long for a recruiter to understand if your resume, cover letter, and initial application match well with the actual person interviewing. It should also not take long to see if it's a "personality fit." In other words, cards should be on the table from the get-go and that goes both ways. This means that salary expectations and benefits should be clearly explained before any in-person interview. Let's not waste each other's time here.

As for assignments during the interview process, these should be brief and to the point. One should not be asked to complete work tasks for free that a manager could then use for their own job. This Redditor declined to complete a laundry list of tasks and responsibilities after advancing to the third round of interviews for a new position. After all that interviewing, it became clear that he was being manipulated. Let's give this dude a virtual round of applause for standing up for himself.

For more stories like this, check out this post about an employee's malicious compliance and how a micromanager finally backed off afterward.