** asking for 40 hours of free training

[angelika]

Hi, I recently received a job application from a company called **. It said that after the initial screening, the candidate will have to go through 40 hours of training without being paid. This is definitely a scam and my best guess is that they are an online training company who want to improve their statistics of the number of people who have availed of their training. I cannot come up with any other reason for the same, why are they asking for this training? I have been hired by global giants like HP and anyways whether small or big company in my career of 14 years has asked for a week's training! Can anyone please share their views with me or help me confirm whether this is a genuine company. *Removed by admin

[t-hall]

I've worked for companies over the years who require a lot more training time than just a week. However - they PAY for that time. You may want to run away from this client as fast as you can, and never look back. Well established companies will most often not seek free work like this one is asking of you. oDesk is FULL of very small and brand new clients who are really no different than you or I. They simply do not have the funds to try new things, so the quality of 'employment' with them is as low as any job could be. Yes... I know we are not employee's... but let's get real for a sec.. it is what it is. Calling us freelancers, or independent contractors, is a legal loophole to reduce responsibility and liability.

[angelika]

Well yes I have not taken it up. However the other point is the forum admin edited my post and removed the name of the company, which is against my right of freedom of expression. It is because of these loopholes that such companies are allowed to carry on their operations!

[katrinabeaver]

Your post was edited because in the forum rules it states that you can't post individual client or freelancer names or companies. We all have to play nice and by the rules. 🙂

[manyar]

In my opinion, if the training's about some important knowledge that could be useful for your future jobs and you're ok with it, then go for it. Some clients just want to take anvantages by not paying you, so it's your choice. There's many expensive courses that only provide theories, so great trainings could worth more than that. I have more than 10 years working experience in big companies and still think that if someone ask me to do unpaid trainings, if it's some useful new skills or something that I want to master about... I'll go for it.