Job interview cheeky f*ery

[theultimatehousekeeper]

About three months ago I interviewed for a very basic admin job at a start-up company.

I had to prepare an interview task beforehand and it was a newsletter pertaining to the start-up. The interview instructions said that the newsletter of the successful candidate would be used IRL once they were in post.

So, I prepared my newsletter, talked them through what I'd done. They seemed very happy with it and asked to keep it, which I said was fine.

I didn't get offered the job but got offered a much better one paying one third more for another company, so no hard feelings at all.

But along the line of applying and researching this company before interview I liked their facebook page. Today a new post has popped up with their first newsletter.

They've used my design. I don't mean it's a bit similar - they have wholesale copied every single party of my design - the colours, the layout, the articles...it's my piece of work!

Can anyone top that for CFery? I'm not saying it's illegal or anything and I'm sure it's my own fault for letting them keep my newsletter. But how rude?!

this is common OP - ever read clientsfromhell.net?

crap behaviour from them though

I agree completely with the letter @JassyRadlett suggested (excellent user name, by the way!)

They may well have asked if they could keep it, but that doesn't mean they could use it, reproduce it or publish it without your permission. The copyright/intellectual property is still yours and I'd absolutely ask the cheeky fuckers to pay for your work.

I'm a freelance writer and I NEVER and I mean NEVER provide free samples.

Your body of work should be enough to show your worth.

If they can't judge you on that then they're lying and want free stuff. And who wants to work for liars?

Dear whoever,
It appears that you have used the incorrect newsletter to promote (blah blah).
You asked recent job candidates to prepare newsletters for interview on the understanding that the successful applicant would have theirs published. I was not the successful candidate and therefore you have published my work in error.
I do not give you permission to use my design under these circumstances. Kindly remove it from your website.
Yours ....

I agree completely with the letter @JassyRadlett suggested (excellent user name, by the way!)

bows The best Radlett. (And someone had pinched Decca when I first joined....)

Ex-Copywriter here. A very similar thing happened to me when I interviewed for a well-known shoe brand (the shoes were bloody horrible too). I was just out of university, had little by way of a portfolio, so was really grateful they invited me to interview.

They set a written task as part of the interview process, met with me three times, then didn’t offer me the job. (Fine by me in the end, the CEO was a nightmare.) Three weeks afterwards they used my piece on their website blog, word-for-word under the name ‘Staff Writer’. Contacted them multiple times asking for accreditation (at the least!) and they either fobbed me off or ignored my emails. Not sure if there is any recourse for you unless you had a contract in place (sometimes they pay you for the task and ask you to sign to say they ‘own’ the work). Still pisses me off when I think about it - I feel for you!

Absolute wankers! I'm on team invoice.

Loads of people in this twitter thread have experienced the same thing. Seems to be particularly common in new media.

twitter.com/tom_usher_/status/1098168880604856320?s=19

Before you do anything, get screenshots of the work from their page. Then send the invoice. Highest level of cheeky fuckery.

The best Radlett.

Who can not love the exclaiming!

Bettycrocka, wow that feels even worse!

I don't feel to attached to the work as bottom line is it was just a newsletter, but it's more the fact that I think they've used my work to fill the deficit in the person they appointed instead of me?!

I think I'm also pissed off because the work they do is kind of hybrid third sector and bills itself as quite worthy and ethical.

But not ethical enough to respect me, who worked hard and delivered in good faith.

This puts me in mind of the time I was doing a media course. Our tutor very proudly told us how he had done work for the BBC in the past. He set us an assignment, create a game show, story board it etc. I did, and I got a B. 6 months later I saw my exact show on the BBC! I couldn’t believe it. Ok, it was only on in the daytime and only lasted 6 months and was not popular. But still! How could he give me a B for something he sold! Bastard.

Invoice the CFs

and name and shame so we can all post outraged comments on their FB page on your behalf

Asta that’s shocking, you should sue.

Definitely comment under the post on facebook. And sent the e-mail suggested above. Cheeky fuckers.

@Asta19

What was the show?!

Do you have a copy of the email mentioning the requirements to prepare for the interview (the newsletter)? I’d post a screen grab of that as a response to the newsletter being posted and say that you’re glad they were pleased with your newsletter, regardless of the unsuccessful outcome and that your invoice will be sent in X days and payment terms are X

I totally see your point here, but I;m not looking to be employed by them in the future, it's just a fill in job while I'm training for something else.

Right got that! mind you id they like what your doing perhaps some part time work to be had;?.

Mind ytou if they are a start up they may not have relised what they've done whereas on another occasion perhaps different?.

I’m still bitter about my teacher at primary school getting us to write a ghost story, then entering in a children’s writing competition, under his DAUGHTER’S name. My fucking story won and she was able to pick a toy to the value of £20! This was fourty years ago and I was growing up in absolute poverty. Fucking arsehole.

@theultimatehousekeeper urgh, if they're billing themselves as ethical, that makes it so much more disappointing/ infuriating! At least I knew my lot were awful pretty much from the outset.

Hope you manage to get peace of mind however you decide to pursue this one!

As I say, it wasn’t popular, it was called “the alphabet game” in my assignment I called it “A-Z” but every single detail was the same and my assignment was submitted 6 months before it aired. This was many years ago now but i’ve realised it still annoys me a bit!

You own the copyright, there is (presumably) no licence to say you've passed the copyright to them so you'd be within your rights to raise it with them. If you were a graphic designer or the like I'd definitely say something.

And just to add you saying they could keep it is not you signing over the intellectual property!!

It's possible the person they hired wasn't up to the job. I had a similar experience.

One of the interview questions was what would you do to raise engagement (marketing job). I made four suggestions based on having spent time exploring and analysing their website. They wrote all the suggestions down but I didn't get the job. A few weeks later all four changes had been made (things like placement of a particular video from their YouTube on a certain web page and reorganising stories into named groupings so very specific recommendations).

After a month they got back in touch to say they were re-advertising the post and they strongly urged me to apply, turns out the person they hired oversold themselves and they couldn't actually do anything they promised. I didn't apply as they never gave me any feedback from the interview when I requested it yet they clearly had enough time to go through all my answers and implement them!