I applied online and received not an invite for an introductory call but rather a request to submit hours of work [done in PPT] without compensation. As a strategy consultant, regrettably, it's not likely worth my time-risk to invest 10 hours into a project for an opportunity to be screened. I'm incredibly short on free time. (As part of my assessment, I also gleaned the likely base compensation based on publicly available data; it was below market.) If Cruise hopes to recruit among those with a McKinsey and BCG pedigree, it will need to sell itself better and align the recruitment process to (a) its desired candidate profile, (b) talent acquisition norms found among companies with which it competes, and (c) broad market conditions (a tight market with exceptional competition for departing and former strategy consultants). Further, this sort of unpaid "homework" only exacerbates frictions in a labor market fraught with inefficiencies and frustrations among candidates and employers alike. It's not good for the future of labor markets; and I cannot support it. The company is, yes, well-capitalized due to its relationship with GM. But its employer brand is weak (and thus not an asset on your resume). Traction is minimal when measured by revenues. And the signal Cruise sent with its screening process reeked of engineering tech-bro egotism. I didn't care to know more about its culture.