Lately I've had a number of potential clients ask me to do "trial projects" for them, before they decide to hire me or not. Small tasks, hypothetical branding or an ad for a fictional product. This work is unpaid, and while I fully understand the implementation of such aptitude tests, I am still quite averse to producing work for free. What is your experience with such projects? Do you issue them? Ought I challenge potential employers about it? Thanks gang.
These things get complicated, so let’s break it down to 2 categories:
1) Doing work on a project until a client knows they want to go with your direction. Many “art contests” fall under this category too. This is bullshit. It’s called “working on spec” and feel free to forward them this website: https://www.nospec.com
2) Doing work on a fictional project that definitely is not going to be used by the company in order to show your ability. This is called an “Art Test” and is frequently used in many industries — but for long-term projects or staff jobs, not for single project freelance. For that, a client should be able to tell from your portfolio how you will work and to what quality. That’s what a portfolio is for. If they’re asking you to do as much work to get the job as you will be doing ON the job then that’s also bullshit. You can definitely push back. Start politely, of course, but say you stand by your portfolio work. If they want to hire you just for sketch/idea stage first, they can do that, and then decide whether to go further past that, but you must prioritize paying work.
Protect yourself!
—Agent Negative Space
