I walked out of a job interview once.
This was after I'd been a founder. After I'd built a company, hired dozens of people, and designed hiring processes myself.
They asked me to show up in person, which I did. Then they asked me to build a product feature... on the spot. No heads-up. No context. Just an ambush disguised as an "interview."
That feature would have gone directly into their codebase. Free labor, essentially.
I left.
And it wasn't the last time something like that happened.
The Pattern
As I transitioned from founder to employee, I was asked to:
- Flesh out full product features
- Perform full competitive ecosystem analyses
- Create go-to-market plans
- Develop comprehensive marketing strategies
All for companies I didn't work for. All under the guise of "interview case studies."
The irony wasn't lost on me. I had been on the other side of the table. I had designed hiring processes. I had evaluated candidates.
But I had never asked anyone to do this.
There's a fine line between evaluating a candidate and exploiting them.
And now, having experienced both sides of that line as a founder and employee, I can tell you exactly where it is.
What Makes a Case Study Fair vs. Exploitative?
Case studies aren't the problem. I used them as a founder, and when done right, they're valuable. But the difference between a fair assessment and exploitation comes down to three factors: scope, relevance, and respect.
Mature Companies Get It
They timebox the exercise. "This should take 2-3 hours" is clear. "Build us a comprehensive strategy" is not.
When I was hiring, I was explicit: "This exercise should take you no more than three hours. If you find yourself going beyond that, stop and bring what you have."
They clarify deliverables. You know exactly what's expected such as a slide deck, a written doc, or a wireframe. Not "show us what you can do."
They respect the candidate's time. If they're asking for more than a few hours of work, they compensate for it.
Immature Companies Don't
They ask for fully polished work. Not a sketch or a framework—they want production-ready deliverables.
I've been asked to deliver presentation-ready competitive analyses that would have taken 20+ hours to do well.
They set no limits. The scope creeps. "While you're at it, can you also..." becomes a pattern.
And sometimes, they ghost you after you've invested tens of hours. You've essentially done consulting work for free, with no feedback and no job offer.
The Unfair Advantage Problem
Here's something I never did as a founder: ask candidates to analyze my actual competitive landscape or build my actual features.
Case studies are most fair when they aren't about the company's actual product or market.
When you ask a candidate to analyze your competitive landscape or build your feature, you are evaluating them, but you are also extracting value. That's consulting work, not an interview.
A good case study uses a hypothetical scenario or a parallel market. It tests the candidate's thinking, not their willingness to do free work.
As a founder, I get the temptation. You're resource-constrained. You need smart people. And here's someone willing to demonstrate their skills by solving a real problem you have.
But that's precisely when you need to check yourself.
Because what you're really doing is:
- Creating an unfair power dynamic. The candidate wants the job. You control whether they get it. That makes it incredibly hard for them to push back on unreasonable asks.
- Setting a terrible cultural precedent. If you're willing to exploit candidates before they're hired, what does that say about how you'll treat them after?
- Filtering for the wrong thing. You're not selecting for the best candidate—you're selecting for whoever is most desperate or most willing to be taken advantage of.
When I interviewed candidates, I wanted to hire people with strong boundaries. People who could push back. People who valued their time.
Exploitative case studies filter those people out.
The Dilemma for Candidates
Worst of all, these exploitative case studies put candidates in an impossible position.
Even as someone who understood hiring processes, someone with a strong professional track record, I felt the pressure.
You want the job. You want to put your best foot forward. Especially when you've made it so deep into the process, maybe you've done three rounds of interviews already.
And that makes it incredibly hard to say no, even when the ask is unfair.
I rationalized it the first time: "Maybe everyone else is doing it and I'll look bad if I don't." Then: "I've already invested so much time, I can't walk away now." Then: "Maybe they don't realize how much they're asking."
But here's what I learned:
The companies worth working for don't play these games.
A Framework for Fair Case Studies
If you're building a hiring process, here's how to think about case studies:
1. Time-Box Everything
Be explicit about how long the exercise should take. If you're asking for more than 3-4 hours of work, you should be paying for it.
When I hired, I said: "This should take 2-3 hours. We're looking for your thinking and approach, not a polished final product."
One option I used for senior roles: Offer a paid trial project. Hire them as a contractor for a week. You get to see their work in a real context, and they get compensated fairly.
2. Use Hypothetical Scenarios
Test their thinking process, not their willingness to be your unpaid consultant.
Instead of: "Analyze our top 3 competitors and recommend a differentiation strategy."
Try: "Here's a hypothetical B2B SaaS company in the project management space. How would you approach understanding their competitive position?"
I've heard many stories of folks who provided product ideas and were not hired, but their ideas eventually showed up in the employer's product. It's hard to say whether those ideas came from the interview or germinated elsewhere, but regardless, it leaves candidates feeling exploited. Using a hypothetical scenario avoids that altogether.
Having a hypothetical scenario also avoids favoring candidates who have domain experience over more skilled ones who do not.
3. Provide Context and Resources
If you want good work, give them what they need to do it well:
- Background on the (hypothetical) company
- Access to relevant data or research
- Clear evaluation criteria
Don't make them guess what you're looking for.
One way to do this is to create a case study packet. It includes the scenario, the constraints, the deliverable format, and the evaluation rubric. Every candidate gets the same thing.
4. Give Feedback Regardless of Outcome
If someone invests hours in a case study, the least you can do is tell them what you thought of their work.
Even a 15-minute debrief call shows respect for their effort.
I did this for every candidate who completed a case study. Win or lose. Some of them became advisors, investors, or partners later. That goodwill compounds.
5. Ask Yourself: Would I Do This For Free?
Before you send out a case study, ask yourself honestly: If the roles were reversed, would I be willing to do this amount of work with no guarantee of compensation?
If the answer is no, revise the assignment.
I'm telling you this as someone who's been on both sides: if you wouldn't do it, don't ask someone else to.
What This Looks Like in Practice
Here's what I actually did:
For a marketing role, I didn't ask for a full go-to-market plan. I presented a scenario and asked them to walk me through their thinking in a 30-minute conversation. I learned more from watching them think on their feet than I ever would have from a deck.
For a product role, I didn't ask them to spec out features. I shared a hypothetical user problem and asked how they'd approach it. Then I asked follow-up questions. Their process told me everything I needed to know.
For senior roles where you need to evaluate execution, consider hiring them for a paid trial project. Usually one week, sometimes two. Paid at their consulting rate or higher.
The result? I got better candidates, because I wasn't filtering for people who were willing to be exploited. I got more authentic signals, because candidates weren't exhausted or resentful. And I built a culture where people felt respected from day one. And more importantly, even after we have parted ways.
For Founders: The Long Game
Your hiring process is your brand.
Every candidate you interview talks to other candidates. They post on Glassdoor. They share experiences on LinkedIn. They tell friends in the industry.
If you're known for exploitative interview processes, you'll attract desperate candidates and repel confident ones.
If you're known for respectful, thoughtful processes, you'll attract people who have options, and those are usually the people you want.
If You're Job Hunting
Don't be afraid to walk away from bad setups.
I know it's hard. Especially in a competitive job market. Especially when you've made it far into the process.
But ask yourself: Do you really want to work for a company that's willing to exploit you before they've even hired you?
Here are questions you can ask when presented with a case study (I started asking these after my second exploitative experience):
- "How long should this take?"
- "What format are you expecting?"
- "Is this based on a real project you're working on, or a hypothetical scenario?"
- "Will I receive feedback on my work regardless of the outcome?"
Good companies will have clear answers. Bad companies will dodge or get defensive.
And if the ask is unreasonable, if they want 20 hours of work, or want you to solve their actual business problems for free, you have every right to push back or decline.
You can say:
"I'm excited about this opportunity, but this scope feels like a consulting project rather than an interview exercise. I'd be happy to do a shorter version, or we could discuss a paid trial arrangement if you'd like to see more extensive work."
Sometimes companies immediately adjust the ask. Sometimes, they get defensive and stop responding.
That defensive company usually is a terrible place to work, because they don't respect your time. The case study should tell you everything you need to know.
The Bottom Line
Case studies can be a valuable part of the hiring process. But only when they're done with respect, clear boundaries, and fairness.
The best hiring processes attract people who have options and chose you in part because of how you treated them.
The best companies I interviewed with earned my respect before they ever made an offer.
The interview process is the first real signal of your company's values.
As a founder, you're hiring for skills. But you are also hiring for culture. You're building a reputation. You're creating a brand.
Make it count.
