Cheers, Fredrik! Since we already chatted on The Scrimba podcast, I was actually shocked to hear about those companies offering you a job without an interview or asking you to work free until you prove yourself. You're right, that feels like exploitation and it's not OK!
Still, your perseverance and eventual success is inspiring to us all. Someone might not realise what a red flag those practices are if not for your post so thank you for that!