[fxtentacle]

There is if you get non-monetary benefits such as a 5 star review pushing you up in the rankings, thereby making it much easier to get future bookings at higher prices.

Edit: conceptually, it's nore like an unpaid internship. I know someone who got a highly paid job by first doing it for free for 3 months to prove his skills, as he was lacking formal certifications

Edit2: I honestly don't get why this is being downvoted. It's neither unfriendly nor offensive and it is relevant to the discussion, even if you might not like this aspect of reality.

[kelnos]

> conceptually, it's nore like an unpaid internship.

People should get paid for work they do. If a task is worth $0 to a company, then they can do without it.

The whole "you're getting paid in valuable training/experience/exposure" thing is bunk, IMO.

[ken]

> I know someone who got a highly paid job by first doing it for free for 3 months to prove his skills

And I know dozens of people who got burned by being talked into working for "exposure".

[fxtentacle]

In Germany, for such an unpaid internship you will have a contract that says that unless they fire you with a proper reason during those 3 months, your temporary contract will automatically convert into a permanent position. In many cases, it will also already list the salary that you can expect to receive after the 3 months are over. Plus you'll be meeting your future teammates every day in their office.

To me, that is a very different level of commitment by the company than working for "exposure" for someone who has no intention of hiring you.