Stop Asking People for Free Work

Seriously, just stop. (Image description: a woman with dark, curly hair holds her open hand in front of her face.) Photo by Isaiah Rustad on Unsplash

A few months ago, an old friend reached out. A former colleague of hers was looking for some help getting his organization’s name out in the wider world. Was I interested in speaking with him?

I was, and she connected us, and after a lengthy phone call with this person and his colleagues, I sent a comprehensive proposal that explained my approach to strategic organizational storytelling. One of the steps in the proposal—a step that I had accounted for in the project budget—was the creation of an annual communications plan.

Not long thereafter, I received an email from my contact at the organization stating that the organization’s founder wanted more from me and the other consultants they were considering—would I mind creating a marketing plan for an upcoming event the founder would be speaking at?

There was no compensation offered in exchange for this request.

Now, mind you, what he was asking for was not the full communications plan that was part of my proposal, but it would have been a component of it. I was immediately uncomfortable with this request…but sadly, I wasn’t surprised.

I can’t tell you the number of times while pitching work and applying for jobs that I’ve been asked to create a marketing plan, or to write a piece of thought leadership, or to conduct a comprehensive edit…