Unpaid Trial Projects: Free Labor or Fair Test?
Many employers ask candidates to complete a task as part of hiring. Some of these are fair ways to see how you work. Others are a way to get real work done for free. Here's how to tell the difference.
Usually fair
- A short exercise that takes a few hours at most.
- A made-up or past problem, not something the company needs right now.
- Clear instructions, a deadline that fits around your current job, and feedback afterwards.
- Asked late in the process, after interviews show real interest.
Red flags
- Days of work, or a "trial week" without pay.
- A task that looks exactly like a live client project: a full marketing campaign, a real feature, a set of designs for their actual product.
- Asked before any interview, sent to many candidates at once.
- No clear answer about who owns the work if you're not hired.
- The posting itself mentions an "unpaid trial", which is listed as a warning sign in our job posting red flags guide.
Is an unpaid trial legal?
It depends on where you are and what the work is. In the US, the general rule under federal wage law is that if you're doing productive work that benefits the employer, you're likely an employee who must be paid, and a "trial shift" doing real work is often in that category. A short, hypothetical test usually isn't. Rules differ by state and country, so if you've already done significant unpaid work, your state's labor department is the place to ask.
How to push back politely
You can protect your time without sounding difficult:
"I'm excited about the role and happy to show how I work. This project looks like it would take a couple of days. Would a shorter version work, or is this something you'd be open to paying for as a short contract?"
Other options: offer to walk through a similar project you've already done, or to do a live working session instead. A good employer will usually find a fair middle ground. One that refuses any adjustment is showing how they value people's time.
Protect yourself
- Keep a copy of what you send and when.
- Add a simple note: "Shared for evaluation only; not for use without agreement."
- Set your own time limit and stick to it.
Want to check a posting before you commit hours to it? Screen it free for red flags and a pay check against local data.