What To Do If A Company Steals Your Interview Task and Doesn’t Offer You the Job

Alice* thought she’d found the perfect job back in March. She had applied to be a junior topic researcher for a daytime show on a UK TV network, having always wanted to break into the TV/production industry. It couldn’t be a better match: she watched the TV show almost everyday and had familiarised herself with the topics they covered. “I felt like I could have contributed a lot to the role,” she told FMR.

The application required her to suggest three topics and three guests that would be of interest for the show. Having put her heart and soul into the required task, she submitted the application on May 12th, but received an email saying that she hadn’t been selected for an interview and that they were unable to provide feedback for individual applications. Just a few weeks later on June 7th, Alice noticed that her topic was being discussed on that very TV show, “almost word for word.” As this wasn’t the first time this had happened to Alice, understandably, her feelings were hurt. “I was distraught that my idea had been stolen,” she said. “I would have been less so if they could have at least given me an interview for the position, as they felt my ideas were worth using.” 

Many of those who work in the creative industry are often subject to this problem. Companies will ask applicants to go through rounds of interviews and sometimes more than one task to decipher whether they’re right for the role, but if they like a task idea enough to use it, why wouldn’t they hire them? Mike Radcliffe, the Managing Director of recruitment company Represent suggests it could potentially be to get free ideas, a major “red flag” that indicates the ethics of the company. “Looking at this without cynicism, the company is trying to see if the work that the candidate can create is good enough or creative enough to take them through to a next stage interview,” he explained. “Once the company has decided on a short list of candidates then it may be appropriate to create a brief/task. That said, I would advise all our clients that they need to pay the candidate for their time and most importantly, if the company is going to use the candidate’s ideas for live client work, then this should be negotiated with the candidate.” 

But with Alice’s case, she wasn’t even in the interview process when her idea was stolen. “I understand they can’t interview everyone or give feedback to every candidate, but I think it hurt me so much that they weren’t willing to give me any time beyond an automated email, even though they clearly liked my idea,” she said. “I just don’t think they should reject candidates if they do like something about their application. Surely those are the ones who should be making the second round.” It begs the question, who ‘owns’ this idea? Once it’s presented to the hiring company, does it make it their property? In Alice’s opinion, it can be a reflection of the industry’s culture and the lack of crediting that occurs. “In the production industry it’s hard to improve, because even when you’re employed, it becomes the company’s project and concept even if you had the initial idea,” she explained. “If you try to fight it, the argument is always that they had a similar idea around the same time.”

Now, Alice is more wary about what she submits when she applies for jobs. “If I think of 3 ideas, I’m more likely not to use my favourite or what I think is best, because I worry about it being stolen without credit,” she says. “I probably spend less time on applications too, as I used to spend hours filling them out when they were really long. I include less detail and make my ideas more vague.” This approach ensures you won’t feel heartbroken if you see your loved idea used without credit, but we suggest trying to show how you’d approach the situation at hand as opposed to sending formulated concepts, so you don’t have to submit simplified ideas. If you notice your idea has been used, there’s a few things you can do. However, Mike notes that by then, the damage is done. “If the work created is later used by the client, then definitely send an email to discuss the issue,” he said. “If it’s clear that the work has been used and you can afford a solicitor to send a sternly worded letter, that could help. However, it’s really difficult to pursue this kind of action and could prove to be expensive with legal fees.” 

What could companies do to better the application process? Other than stop stealing the ideas in the first place, of course. “I think giving credit is really valuable,” says Alice. “Your self esteem is tarnished when something is stolen, and it feels even worse when they try to deny that you had any involvement.”

*Alice’s name has been changed to protect her identity.