Is This Employer Abuse?

Question: I have an opportunity to get a new job in a new field. The employer wants me to train and try out for three days. The catch? I won’t be paid for the three days. Is this fair?

Answer: I have mixed feelings about this one. On one hand, you’re putting in time and the result of your labor will hopefully bring some income to your would-be employer.

But you’re not free labor. The employer is training you with the idea that if you have basic skills and abilities you can then work on a paying basis. The employer has real costs in terms of time, training, a trainer, use of the employer’s facilities, etc.

More importantly, three days of lost labor for you is cheap if it means the employer is acting in good faith and you have a realistic shot at getting a job. In effect, it’s an investment of sorts to get you started.

Consider the alternative: Imagine if you balk about the three days and the employer gets someone else. You now have no job and no prospects for a job you presumably wanted — and no income.

Even when you’re hired on a paying basis the fact that you’re in a new field and new to the company means that initially the employer is going to have to train and educate you, perhaps for weeks and months. There’s an argument to be made that even at an entry-level wage you’re not actually a paying proposition for the employer until you can bring in business or do required work with the skill level of an experience person.

The view from here: Don’t worry about the three days. Grab the days and the opportunity they represent. Do the best you possibly can, make the employer feel good about you and nail down a job.

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