- Job market faces toughest downturn since COVID-19 pandemic
- A Pune man was asked to work unpaid for 6-8 months before salary consideration
- The company had only two staff despite hosting a mass walk-in hiring drive
The current job market is facing its most significant downturn since the COVID-19 pandemic. The emotional toll of navigating such a market was recently highlighted by a Pune man who claimed that a recruiter asked him to work without a salary for several months before being considered for a paid role. In a social media post, the candidate named Pranav said he arrived at the interview, hoping for good things to kick on from here, only to be left disappointed.
Pranav detailed that it was a walk-in interview that began with a non-technical, introductory HR screening, where the recruiter dropped the bomb.
"Instead of asking about my skills, projects, or experience, the first serious discussion was: “would you be willing to work unpaid for the next 6-8 months? If things go well, we'll think about offering you a salary.” I genuinely thought they were joking," wrote Pranav in an X (formerly Twitter) post.
"I genuinely thought they were joking. Imagine spending years studying, building projects, learning new technologies, preparing for interviews, and then being told to work full-time for free with only the possibility of getting paid someday."
Pranav said he believed such an arrangement was different from a structured internship or training programme. In internships, interns often go without a stipend or earn a very low amount. This company, however, was hiring for a full-time role.
"Then came the part that surprised me even more. From what I observed during my visit, the organisation appeared to have only two people handling everything, the ceo and the HR representative. Yet they had organised a mass walk-in hiring drive."
Highlighting that job seekers were already dealing with rejections and being ghosted by recruiters, the least the companies could do was be transparent and fair.
"To everyone looking for a job right now: know your worth. learning is important, but so is valuing your time and skills. don't let desperation normalise unpaid full-time work disguised as “opportunity.” The job market is rough, but this shouldn't become the new normal," he said.
Check The Viral Post Here:
'Job Market Is Tough'
As the post gained traction, social media users highlighted that the job market was indeed difficult, and unfortunately, such incidents were common.
"Damn, bro, the job market is really tough," said one user, while another added: "A similar case happened with me. Man there are so many such companies in Pune that hire free labourers for their newly started company/startup."
A third commented: "As someone hiring for my own startup, and mostly looking for "people to work for free", I have only one thing to say: 'If you can't pay them, they are not employees, they are your co-founders. Give them f***ing equity" If you can't pay, and don't want to share equity, then respectfully, f*** yourself."
A fourth said: "These days, many companies waste candidates' time with endless rounds, walk-in drives, hires, ghosting, or unpaid offers. There needs to be more transparency in the hiring process."
