Understanding the Purpose Behind Paid Interview Solicitations

Jenny Chudy · 2025-06-18T15:34:11.232Z

Random question: I get solicitations all the time for paid interviews saying they want to learn more about the industry I’m in. This happens far too often (2-4 a month) to be legitimate but, I am curious what their angle is?

Understanding the Purpose Behind Paid Interview Solicitations | ElevateCX

Miles Goldstein
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I would just be cautious. Research to ensure they are a legitimate firm, and do not provide them your banking information. Worst case, they may be phishing for financial or related info. Best case, you are getting paid for something many of us do for free.
sh
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This is a big trend for investment companies - "expert advice" is the new "AI" startup.
sh
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The best part is it's a write off! Because "consulting" is a write off, so why not build an entire business model on soemthing you can legally claim as a loss?
Jenny Chudy
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Oh yeah i knew it was a scam of some kind but that makes a lot of sense!
sh
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I have a lot of experience in this area lol
Henry Dunn
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I’ve done a number of these interviews, specifically about Assembled and Zendesk. Agree that you should make sure they are real. I put my rate at $250/hr and had several calls, so when it works it’s nice!
Mariena Quintanilla
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These can definitely be legit but most people I’ve spoken with have found that the volume isn’t there combined with expertise fit for it to be worth their time. I’ve know a couple people that do them a few times a year though.
Erica
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Just agreeing with Henry’s pricing, that’s my expectation as well. They can be legit! I’ve done a few of them. I’ve also traded other things, a founder gave me a year of LinkedIn premium for 30 minutes of my time. Like alright boss you got it
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Jenny Chudy
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Interesting. Maybe I’ll give it a whirl but I genuinely think some of them at least are fishy
Erica
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oh yeah BE SKEPTICAL
Erica
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but some of them do pay without stealing your identity
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Mariena Quintanilla
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if in doubt post the company name here to see if anyone has worked with them. people do that in fractional united and a CTO group I'm in semi regularly
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Erica
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Yessss we love backchanneling!
mercer
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Yep. Just seconding Henry and Erica.
Mario Guisado
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One note, if you’re a freelancer, there’s little risk, beyond them stealing your identity. However, often this is done to gain competitive information. The research is conducted on behalf of a company trying to understand what their competitors do and glean some otherwise unavailable info. Tread carefully.

44 comments