Working interviews give employers a fantastic opportunity to see if candidates truly possess the skill sets they claim to have gained through previous work experience.  

Rather than sit-down sessions where job seekers respond to interview questions, working job interviews give candidates tasks or projects to complete. This allows hiring managers to observe hard and soft skills in action in a real-world working environment. Working job interviews also provide a glimpse into how candidates might mesh with other team members. The right fit is important to job candidates, too. 

Sounds good for everybody involved, right? It is, but only if everyone understands the expectations and legal obligations that go along with this method of vetting talent and conducting job interviews. There are pitfalls to avoid and preparations to make. I’d like to shine a light on different scenarios.  

Here’s an example. As a talent recruiter, I recently had a kitchen manager candidate go to a client’s location for a working interview. The candidate worked in the company’s kitchen for two hours. When the interview was over, the follow-up with me from the hiring manager revealed they were rejecting the candidate. My candidate was frustrated to not get the job, but also frustrated that the company did not compensate for their time.  

It’s important to ensure your company doesn’t become entangled with risks associated with working job interviews, whether those risks are legal in nature or potentially damaging to your employer brand.  

How to know when to pay candidates for interviews  

The working interview method can be very valuable, but again, it doesn’t come without risks to an employer, or a candidate, for that matter, whose time, skills, and effort are also valuable.

Under U.S. employment law, specifically, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employers generally must pay candidates for working job interviews. While there are exceptions, working interviews can turn a ‘job seeker’ into an ‘employee’ for the duration of the interview, and as such, must be paid for the time they work.  

Even candidates deemed unqualified for a role retain the right to payment for work performed during this kind of talent assessment process. The U.S. Department of Labor has issued fines to employers for not compensating candidates for working interviews.  

When are you required to pay a candidate for a working interview? The answer is quite simple: If the activity you assign to the candidate is revenue-generating, the candidate must be paid.  

Examples of revenue-generating activities that should be compensated:  

• A restaurant manager working the sauté station during the interview process must be paid because they are using company equipment to prepare a product for a paying customer. 

• A marketing manager candidate who creates a sample campaign during the interview that the company proceeds to use, in whole or in part, must be compensated.  

Examples of non-revenue generating activities that are okay to go unpaid:   

• An administrative assistant candidate who takes an Excel test during an interview to demonstrate mastery of the software does not have to be compensated. 

• A chef candidate who prepares a menu for a tasting by the hiring team does not have to be paid. 
• A marketing manager candidate who creates a sample campaign that the company does not use or take ownership of does not have to be paid.  

Make working interviews a positive two-way street 

If you believe working interviews are in the best interest of your company, take care to implement measures to protect yourself from liability – and be completely transparent with job seekers who show genuine interest in the new job and working with your firm.  

And if you’d like to take a deeper look at your interview process and how to make it more effective in achieving your hiring goals, reach out to me today. I am a senior recruiting partner with Goodwin Recruiting and would value the opportunity to assist you in building a stronger team.