Look Out For Predatory (Especially Unpaid) Job Postings

Startups and companies of all sizes love to try to find people they can hire but not pay. We see this from unpaid internships to “volunteer” Head of UX jobs.

With so many people out of work?—?and with frequent layoffs?—?this practice appears more predatory now. Why? Previously, the main draw of volunteer work was to give back to a charity or non-profit that needed the help.?

Over time, this evolved into the sales pitch that doing this free work would help newbies practice. People wanted a chance; a non-profit or startup wanted free work. Newbies could practice and get some “real” work in their portfolio.

This job often turns out to be much less than what was promised.?

• Newbies practice something they are new to while being held responsible for working at a higher level of experience. Few jobs for newbies treat them like newbies. You’re expected to do great work, but you really need work reviews, coaching, and support that you don’t get.
• There are no other UX people at the company, so the newbies have no support, nobody to review their work, and nobody to help them level up.
• Few environments want the quality work UX professionals (at any level of experience) want to do. Companies (especially startups) tend to want speed over quality. They tend to want order-takers over critical thinkers. They want “yes” people over someone who sees risk or asks questions.

This sometimes ends up as a crappy portfolio project many didn’t even want to put in their portfolios. And worse, it affects many people’s mental health. They feel used and abused with nothing to show for it. Some do great work while being promised a future paid job, only to be cut once the company has the designs they were waiting for.

“Come work for free” hasn’t lived up to its sales pitch often enough to be a great career choice.

But there is a new breed of bizarre job?posting.?

“Come and volunteer” so you can “give back,” “make a difference,” and “help someone in need” has evolved into “come and volunteer so you can make a difference at our for-profit company.” That sounds odd, right? Normally, humans get paid for real work for for-profit companies.

Some companies figured out that they don’t want the newbie. They want their free work done by someone with experience.?

I recently saw a screenshot of an unpaid UX job looking for someone with 10+ years of experience, but the sales pitch was the same:?

• This will be great for your portfolio.
• You’ll get mentorship from someone who is experienced (more experienced than someone with 10+ years of experience?).
• Develop your skills.
• This project is meaningful. You’re making a difference.

Does someone with 10+ years of experience need any of these things? What about someone with 3+ years of real work experience??

Critical thinking?time.?

I saw this one on LinkedIn:

Are you a new UI/UX designer with 3–5 years of experience looking to make a meaningful contribution? We’re seeking talented professionals to join our team and help optimize our platform for new moms.

By volunteering, you will:

Add a real-world case study to your portfolio: Showcase your skills and demonstrate your ability to design intuitive and user-friendly interfaces.

Join daily stand ups: Collaborate alongside other designers to deliver projects efficiently.

If you’re passionate about user-centered design and eager to learn and grow, this is the perfect opportunity for you. Apply now and join our mission to empower new moms!?

Dm with your current resume!

So many problems with this?one!!!!

• Someone with 3–5 years of experience isn’t “new.” Let’s not talk down to them and treat them like inexperienced newbies. At many companies, they’d have a Senior title.
• There’s that word “meaningful” again. This is designed to give you an emotional reaction. So many people want to do “meaningful” work. I haven’t yet seen the job description describing “meaningless” work! But more importantly, why does meaningful work magically have no budget, especially for talented, experienced people?
• “Our mission to empower new moms.” Again, note the use of emotional language that sounds like you will really make a difference. But this doesn’t say it’s a charity or non-profit. That means this is probably a for-profit company that wants free work done by someone rather experienced. Can our mission include empowering our workers and paying them?
• “Add a real-world case study to your portfolio.” Someone with this much experience might have plenty of work that “showcases” their skills and “demonstrates” their abilities. They will have to showcase and demonstrate their skills to GET this job.?
• “Join daily standups.” That’s probably the first time I’ve seen that listed as a benefit or something really good you’ll get out of a job. Most people dislike standups and recurring meetings, especially if they tend to run long or the team waits until tomorrow’s standup to talk about something that’s on fire today.
• “Collaborate alongside other designers.” Wait, how many Designers work here? Are they paid? If so, why isn’t this Senior Designer job paid?
• Also note the word “optimize.” It sounds like this is designed and maybe even shipped. You will be optimizing it. What that means and how much change you’d be allowed to make is unclear.
• “This is the perfect opportunity for you.” No, a perfect opportunity, even at a charity or non-profit, pays very very well. A rather imperfect job (hard to call it an “opportunity”) pays nothing, and might be a shitty job on top of that.
• The person who posted later said that they had done unpaid work when they were starting out (4 years ago), so it’s a good way to go. Sounds like someone gaslit them, and they haven’t yet awakened.

This should be?paid.?

Work is a transaction. You do something a company needs. They give you money. A one-sided transaction is out of balance.

It seems predatory to ask for unpaid work for a for-profit company just because someone doesn’t feel like paying. They know the value of UX enough to ask for someone with years of experience, but they don’t respect your time or what you do enough to pay. Just say no.

Unpaid work might only end up being just what it is: unpaid and?work.

I can guarantee you that these jobs are work. They are jobs. They want X hours a week from you. Make sure that’s time you have available to give, especially to an unpaid job. Make sure you want to spend time helping another company make money without you making any money.

Do not do anything for the promise of a future something.

It’s so rare that the dangled steak turns out to be a real steak you can have.?

• I’ve heard stories of people who were told that if they did six months of unpaid work, they’ll then be hired for real money. Too often, they were let go after six months or earlier. Why keep them when the company can hire another free person for six more months and dangle some steaks?
• I’ve heard stories of people who were promised equity or startup shares. These rarely turn out to have value. You can’t turn them into cash now. They might never be worth cash. And if the startup gets investors, you will probably be diluted. If you’re not familiar with dilution, definitely Google that.
• I’ve heard stories of people who were promised that if they just did some free work now, they would later get a high title and build a team. Guess how that ended.
• You’re not guaranteed that this job or work is portfolio-worthy or impressive to a future hiring manager. Many people tell me stories of wasting months in an unpaid job taking orders, and the whole project looks bad in their portfolio. The project didn’t go live, bad outcomes, design done or changed by someone else, and other reasons can make a project look bad in a portfolio or as a case study.

What can you get in?writing?

Magically, the promises and dangled steaks are rarely accompanied by written agreements or contracts. And when they are in writing, there are still ways for the company to terminate you before you get the reward.?

Make sure you have a contract, even for free work, and make sure you understand it. Don’t sign a contract you don’t understand or don’t like.?

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