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Ask HN: Should I offer to work for a free month to prove my worth at startup?

3 points by algaeontoast ↗ HN
I perform okay in interviews but not stellar and was curious if current or past founders here on HN would consider allowing someone to do a "trial" month or two of free work to let a promising candidate prove their worth before negotiating a full-time employment / contract agreement.

I understand if this is entirely off base, but curious if it's another potential avenue to enter a startup or show your dedication and skills outside of an on-site interview or take-home challenge?

EDIT

Seems like the overwhelming consensus is NO

For some context, I have a few years of professional experience under my belt after graduating with a CS degree.

Have 2+ years of experience at early stage startups from college. Also took some time off in college to work in the bay area.

14 comments

[ 6.5 ms ] story [ 55.5 ms ] thread
byoung2
How does working for free prove your value? It proves that you work for free, so you value your work at $0. If anything you could work on a contract basis at an hourly or daily rate on a short project and at the end of that period they could choose to hire or not.
algaeontoast
The idea was to limit the risk of hiring someone like me who might not be as experienced as they were hoping - by offering to show them what my velocity / ability was like actually doing work for them.

I might be totally off-base and naive about this - totally willing to be called out / corrected :)

liquid153
Hard No. Don’t be a fool. Just spend some time and invest in doing leetcode for that month or 2 and you’ll be better off than working for that cheap ass startup
duiker101
NO. NEVER work for free. You demonstrate you don't value yourself. Do a take home test(max a few hours) but no free trials. Let alone a month. You probably don't want to work in place that even would consider doing that, it really shows that they would value some money way more than your worth as a person.
algaeontoast
Got it!

Thanks for the feedback. Consensus seems solidly in the direction of NO.

If they were on the fence, could I offer to negotiate a trial month with pay? I.E. enough to break even but with an understanding I'd walk away if low-balled later?

duiker101
Eh, I have heard of people asking for a remunerated week trial (40 hours, could be spread over more weeks if the candidate is working another job) personally not a fan but I guess it could work. One month is a lot of effort and you really risk being used for low paid work and then being discarded.
algaeontoast
Thanks!

As someone who's planning on leaving a FAANG that starts with A and ends with N/M/R ;)

I'm more than aware of what it's like to be brazenly mismanaged and taken advantage of. Not really where I wanted this thread to go, but has to do with being involved as a NCG at a company recently acquired by aforementioned FAANG.

duiker101
If you have worked in a FAANG, chances are, you won't have a problem finding employment in another company. My suggestion is to always value yourself, and if you see that a company doesn't value yourself a you do, find another company. There are many and we can usually get to pick one that fits well. Also, I suggest not beating yourself up if an interview doesn't well, they can be really hit or miss and I don't think they often really evaluate you but rather they evaluate how you would fit in that team, which is VERY different.
oregontechninja
Absolutely not. They'll get too used to you not getting paid. Please seek appropriate compensation, and understand that most interview processes have no way to find your true future productivity so just game the interviews and see if the company is a fit for yourself after getting hired.
lm28469
Working for money is already a huge tradeoff, but working for free ... I wouldn't even imagine it.

That's why there are trial periods: both sides can stop at any point for any reasons, but you still get compensated for your time.

AnimalMuppet
No. The answer to the problem may be to get a 3-month contract, with option for them to hire you at the end of it. But work for free? No.
catacombs
Never work for free. If a startup is asking you to do that, don't waste your time with them.

/thread.