Creatives beware. I was contacted several weeks after applying. After a relatively easy interview with both HR and the hiring manager, I was asked to do a complex writing assignment. It was lengthier than the usual copy assignment. Typically a company will have you do a writing assignment based on a past project to get your take. It alleviates concerns with stolen work. Since FSAstore.com was changing directions, they asked me to come up with copy for the future direction. I was asked to come up with an email/banner/social campaign, a concept board for their new direction, two banner slogans and a project with my own ideas and strategy for an open concept campaign with copy for an email, the homepage, social and a banner. Yes, there were red flags (like not supplying an idea for the open concept or not asking me to create a one-off closed concept campaign) with this project but I chose to overlook that. After submitting the project, I was asked to come into the office to meet with the hiring manager. Throughout the interview, she was positively glowing about my writing. She wanted to know the strategy behind my ideas. When I mentioned I had also put together copy for a closed concept campaign, the hiring manager absolutely insisted I email that to her. The hiring manager had given me her email address and insisted I email her if I have any questions. I did. I heard nothing back. A few weeks passed and I heard nothing. I emailed HR and asked what was happening with the role. She got back to me later that day and said the hiring manager had passed and that they had tons of other qualified candidates. (Since the job was reposted a month later, a little honesty would have been nice.) I emailed the hiring manager (she insisted that I do if I have any questions) to find out what I could do to improve. I didn't hear back and found the offer of contacting the hiring manager to be pretty disingenuous, particularly after taking the time to complete a long writing assignment, giving them fresh strategies. When I emailed the hiring manager and HR (in a professional manner) a month later expressing concerns over my work being used, I didn't hear back. This is such a hot button issue in the creative field that companies will generally go out of their way to address it, particularly if that's not their intention at all. Their lack of response and disingenuousness are major red flag and shows the company's overall stance on awkward/negative issues. Essentially, if they ignore it, it'll go away.