Official skill · Hiring

Fair work sample or take-home task

v1.0.1 · Updated 4 November 2026

Designs a time-boxed work sample that mirrors the real job, with a candidate brief, a 4-level rubric, an accommodations line, and no free consulting. Use it when you want a take-home or skills test for a role.

Works in Claude, ChatGPT, and coding agents. On Team and Business, the official skill in your pod updates itself when we improve it.

When to use it

• You want a take-home or skills test for a role
• You want to check whether an existing take-home is fair and the right length

What you give it

• The role and 2 to 4 skills to test
• A real task that can be made safe
• Who scores it and when

What you get

Internal design notes, a candidate brief with time box and accommodations line, and a scoring rubric.

How it works

1. Pick one real task Choose something the person will do in their first 3 months, at the size of one sitting. Rewrite it with invented data or a past, finished problem. Our rule: never use a live client problem or unshipped work; that is free consulting.
2. Set the time box Our default is 2 hours or less for unpaid work, stated in the brief as a recommended limit. We found no controlled research on the right length; the 2-hour figure is practitioner guidance (Kofman-Burns, RecruitingDaily, 2023), which recommends a 2-hour limit for nearly all roles, says assignments over 1 to 2 hours present an equity issue because not everyone can fit unpaid work into evenings and weekends, and recommends paying candidates if you need more. Over 2 hours: pay for it or cut it "[check: local law / HR]".
3. Test it on a colleague Someone in a similar role does the task cold within the box. If they can't, cut scope until they can.
4. Write the brief What to make, who it's for, the time box, what format to send, what you will and won't judge (for example "spelling doesn't count; reasoning does"), the deadline, and who to ask. Kofman-Burns suggests a window of at least 10 days that includes 2 weekends; that is our default.
5. Write the rubric before anyone submits One row per skill, each with 4 levels described in words (Google's re:Work guide describes poor, borderline, solid and outstanding answers). Score each submission against the rubric alone. Our default: hide the name and use 2 scorers where you can.
6. Offer accommodations The EEOC says an employer may tell all applicants what the process involves, such as a timed test, and ask whether they need a reasonable accommodation, for example more time or another format. Put that offer in every brief, with a contact.
7. State what happens to the work The candidate keeps their work, you won't use it in the business, and you'll give a short result either way.

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Changelog

• v1.0.1 · 4 November 2026 · Example: the Outstanding escalation level now passes both clinical tickets, medication and symptom, to the nurse.
• v1.0.0 · 4 November 2026 · First release.