When an Interview Turns Into Free Work

BEWARE OF SUCH INTERVIEWS creative people.

I want to share an incident that happened with me recently while I was actively looking for a Videographer job.

The Call

I got a call from an HR who asked me to come for a face-to-face interview along with a short test shoot to check my skills.

The same day, I checked their website but it wasn’t opening because of some issue. Even checked their Instagram, which doesn’t seem interesting as of for a marketing agency.

But, still decided to give it a chance.

The next morning, I was excited. In the early days of my career, interviews used to scare me. But after giving so many over the years, I’ve matured enough to know that it’s simply a conversation where the other person just wants to know you better before hiring.

The Interview

The interview location was in an area surrounded by farmhouses. It was confusing to find, but somehow, I managed to reach.

When I entered, people slowly started gathering. Strangely, no one introduced themselves or made me feel like they were part of the company. Soon, I realized there were almost 10–15 people there for a shoot, including 4–5 Videographer like me who had come for the “interview.”

No one gave me any proper brief. They simply asked me to take out my camera and start shooting. I asked what exactly the shoot was, what kind of frames they wanted, or if there were any guidelines. The answers were vague and unclear.

So, I shot based on my own understanding. After nearly an hour of non-stop work, I completed the first video—only to be told that I had to shoot 3 more variants of the same brand. This went on for almost 2 more hours.

The Decision

That’s when I realized: people will often take advantage of your skills to get free work done.

Normally, for Videographer roles, interviews involve a small test task that takes a short time. But here, they made me shoot 5–6 complete videos for two brands.

When I mentioned that I had other commitments and needed to leave, one of them insisted: “Please do one more shoot, then you can go.” I firmly said no and walked out.

Even the person who was modeling in the shoot told me privately that they weren’t being paid either in the last shoot—he had come upon request that they will pay him for the last shoot and this shoot. He also said: “They won’t hire you. They’re just using you to get their work done.”

I was shooting another brand video with the same person in the garden and had almost completed 80% of it when my camera battery died. I had actually carried a spare battery and a charger, just in case.

But by then, I had already realized they were not genuine and were only taking advantage of me. So, I decided not to continue.

Even then, they asked if I had brought a charger. I said no. Still, before I left, they copied all the footage from my SD card.

When I politely asked about the interview process, the only response I got was: “I’ll forward your clips to HR and she will decide.” 

At the end of the day, it’s the company’s responsibility to check whether a candidate is capable and has the required skills for the job. That’s usually done by HR or the hiring manager through a structured interview and a fair assessment task.

But in this case, the HR wasn’t even present. Instead, we were just made to work on real brand shoots without any feedback, interaction, or genuine assessment—they just wanted their work done. 

Conclusion

No proper conversation. No personal interaction. No real interview. Just free work disguised as an “assessment.”

This kind of approach is not only unprofessional but also highly disrespectful to a creative’s time, effort, and skills.

Learnings

1. Always research the company before attending an interview—check their website, social media, and reviews.
2. Clarify the process beforehand—ask if it’s a short test task or a full shoot.
3. Know your boundaries—a test task should only take a short time; anything more is exploitation.
4. Protect your work—don’t share raw footage or let them copy your SD card unless it’s a genuine assignment with agreement.
5. Trust your gut—if things don’t feel right, it’s okay to walk away.
6. Value your skills—your time, effort, and equipment cost money. Don’t let anyone take them for free under false promises.