What Should You Do When a Potential Employer Asks You to Perform a Writing Assignment for Free?

As a freelancer, I’m always chasing new opportunities. But this doesn’t mean that I work for free.

On the contrary, I charge a lot of money for my services. So I balk when a potential client asks me to do an editing test, prepare a plan, or even write an op-ed.

I have plenty of samples publicly available on my website, and when pitching a prospect, I usually draft a proposal. In other cases, I draft a cover letter and submit a résumé. And either way, I’m always happy to chat on the phone.

Of course, I’m a freelancer, not an employee. That’s a big difference. In fact, before I worked for myself, on several occasions, I did free work for potential employers. I considered this to be the cost of doing business.

At the time, I was young. I was hungry for an opportunity, and I didn’t know my worth.

Today, I have a different view. I think that if a company can afford to hire people, it can afford to pay them a nominal amount for custom work. Put simply: Don’t ask your future employees to give away their labor.

What’s more, compensating candidates is in an employer’s self-interest: It helps the hiring manager narrow down the pool to those he’s interested in most. If I have a hiring budget of, say, $1,000 for each position, that makes my own interviewing process more judicious and rigorous.

All this said, I’m now also an employer. Has this changed my viewpoint? When hiring, I absolutely want to see writing samples from a prospective employee. But instead of asking for freebies, I ask about each sample. Did the person write it from scratch, or did he revise something he was given? Did anyone edit the final paper? Does it live online anywhere?

And if I decide that I need more, I put my money where my mouth is.