Bidders using "Skill Tests" to get free work.

chalmers-erin · ‎03-27-2020

The last two bids have turned into the company trying to disguise getting work for for free by calling it a skills evaluation. Example- I'm a recruiter and have been given parameters and job description and then asked to come up with the Linked profiles of eight candidates that best meet their needs. Oh, but don't contact them. I've told them no thank you. Anyone else? Anyone else?

petra_r · ‎03-28-2020

Erin C wrote:
The last two bids have turned into the company trying to disguise getting work for for free by calling it a skills evaluation. Anyone else?

Flag as inappropriate, select reason "Client is asking for free work" and move on.

prestonhunter · ‎03-28-2020

Erin: You are right. This is a problem.

If all freelancers behaved appropriately, such as you are doing, by not working for free, then this would not be a problem.

Freelancers who work for free, and clients who ask for free work, share the blame.

It is unlikely that we will see all of Upwork's millions of freelancers behave appropriately any time soon, so it means we as individuals must be proactive and thoughtful about this type of situation. We should be aware that there are clients out there who ask for free work. We should behave professionally toward everyone, but should not waste our time with clients who simply manipulate freelancers into work for free and are not real clients who hire and pay freelancers.

There is nothing wrong with a "skills evaluation." But real, ethical clients pay freelancers for their time, including paying for "skills evaluation."

In fact, the problem with dishonest scammer "clients" asking for free work under the guise of "skills evaluation" is such a problem, it has led to the following: In traditional hiring by real employers, unpaid skill tests or skill evaluations might be part of the hiring process when hiring people for full time employment. But such a practice is basically untenable now when hiring freelancers on Upwork, except for in an extremely limited sense, because quality freelancers are aware of the scammers, and will suspect even honest clients of being scammers if they appear to ask for free work. So as a client who wants to hire quality people, I need to carefully avoid any appearance of asking for free work, no matter how well-intentioned.

In other words: NO unpaid skills tests. NO unpaid skill evaluations. As a client, I have two choices:

- hire freelancers based on what I see on their proposals and their profile pages, including their portfolios.

[or]
- hire freelancers and pay them using official Upwork contracts to do skill tests or skill evaluations. And then hire the freelancers whose evaluations I am most impressed with to do further work.

feed_my_eyes · ‎03-28-2020

If I'm asked for a free "trial", I politely point out that I have many work samples available already, and ask the client to provide further details about their project so that I can send them my most relevant portfolio pieces. If they're a legit client, they'll be happy with that (and often end up hiring me anyway); if they're just looking for free work, then I never hear from them again and I consider myself lucky to have dodged a bullet. For your line of work, you could offer to supply them with case studies if they want proof of your abilities.

I think that it's an over-reaction to immediately assume that a client is trying to get free work (not saying that that's what you've done - just a general observation); some clients are geniunely worried about hiring a stranger and just want to have additional assurances that THEY are not going to get scammed. I don't think that it's necessary to jump to conclusions and report them until after you've had a discussion.

prestonhunter · ‎03-28-2020

Excellent points by Christine.

As a client, I am going to make sure I don't do anything that might make a freelancer think I am asking for free work.

As a freelancer, I don't automatically assume a client is a scammer. When a client asks for sample work or a skills test, I can ALWAYS say yes.

I can tell them that, yes, I would be happy to do that and I can tell them how much it would cost to hire me to do that.

I can assume that the client will do the right thing.

If the client declines to do the right thing, then of course I can then report them for asking for free work, and I won't agree to do it.

jasoncsimon · ‎03-28-2020

I made this mistake once a few years ago when I was starting out. A potential "client" asked me for a quick sample article to evaluate my skills. Thinking it was worth the risk I went ahead and did it, and then never heard from them again. Now, I have no idea whether they used it or not, but the point was they got me to do work for free.

I learned my lesson and will not do a stitch of work for any client unless there is money in escrow, even for a trial. Most legitimate clients will understand this, and will pay a small amount for a trial; I'll do these, though they often are below my normal rate, but I put the amount of work into them that the amount they are paying merits. In most cases, these lead to normal work. If for some reason they don't want to proceed, at least I got paid a small amount for my time.

Anything you do here is part of a transaction between buyer and seller. Would you walk into a store and ask for a free sample of goods before purchasing? (exception: some places offer that as part of their business, but that's not standard in most places).

Don't do it unless there's cash up front. If they insist, report them and move on.