W.W. Norton interview questions

The hiring manager reached out to me within days of my application to schedule an interview. The initial interviews were positive, but the last interview felt different. I went through a total of 4 interviews and completed an extensive assignment (unpaid) that took me 12+ hours. The assignment involved creating a marketing strategy and at least 3 emails for a hypothetical campaign. In hindsight, I should have seen the assignment as a red flag and gracefully bowed out of the interview process knowing it would be a waste of my time. It was clear to me from the interview questions that my experience didn't quite align with what they were looking for, and I should have listened to my gut. I stayed up past 2am the one night while working on the assignment and edits they requested. I thought I was going above and beyond by putting the sample emails into custom templates I designed in addition to writing sample copy. Looking back, I should have seen the extensive edits requested and open feedback I was given during the interviews and bowed out rather than losing sleep and stressing over it. I have completed assignments for interviews before, but this was the longest one I have ever done and it was the only time I have done one without compensation. I encourage all Norton candidates to refuse the completion of unpaid assignments, and I'll take it as a lesson learned and keep setting that boundary in the future.