I had my first interview with HR, which went reasonably well. After that, the hiring manager sent me two tasks. One was a written task where she requested five potential leads with explanations, which she had mentioned beforehand. At that point, I realized their actual intention, but I decided to continue with the process.
During the second interview, we had a role-play exercise where she asked many questions and seemed impressed. Later, she called and requested five references, which I provided. However, none of them were contacted. Eventually, HR informed me that they had decided to move forward with other candidates.
It seems gathering five potential clients from each candidate, essentially building the sales pipeline for free. It’s a clever tactic, but it shouldn’t come at no cost! Actually, I am legally required to issue an invoice.