In a post on Reddit, a fresher shared how their first-ever job interview turned into a disheartening lesson in modern hiring practices, labelling tests conducted by companies as a "hiring scam" used to extract free labour from hopeful candidates.

"This was my first ever interview. I was nervous but hopeful," the candidate said, adding that after clearing the initial HR round, the company sent them a detailed assignment: 10 LinkedIn posts and 3 blogs based on the topics provided. They were given two days.

Despite the tight deadline, the applicant poured their heart into it and submitted everything on time. The company responded positively -- only to request another task. Again, the candidate delivered, hoping this would seal the deal.

Later, they were told they were selected and an offer letter arrived. The candidate said they told their family and stopped applying elsewhere. The job was theirs or so they thought. However, on the scheduled joining day, there was no communication. No onboarding call or welcome email.

"I kept trying to reach them. In the evening, they finally texted me just one line: 'Sorry, we can't move forward.' That's it."

The experience, while soul-crushing, isn't unique. Many commenters resonated with the post, pointing out a growing trend: companies extracting free labour under the guise of 'assignments' or 'trials', only to ghost candidates once the work is done.

The user now finds it hard to trust any company that asks for assignments.

"This was my first ever experience with any company. And now, every time another company asks for an assignment, I just don't feel like doing it. It already feels like they're using me. That trust is gone. And this wasn't some small company either, this was one of those big names that post daily about culture and employer branding on LinkedIn," they wrote.

The post earned sympathy for the fresher and the trouble they faced.

"If it were on LinkedIn, report their job post as a scam? Any job postings that were scams or using bad false tags to get people to the post I've just been flagging," suggested one user.

Another added: "It's not how they treat 'freshers,' it's how they treat people who entertain it. To get the most out of the situation, remove the company name from the materials you prepared and use them to start a portfolio."