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Ask HN: How is it fair that companies ask candidates to spend hours on a task?

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Ask HN: How is it fair that companies ask candidates to spend hours on a task?

#1

Post by lukevella »

Almost every job opportunity has a technical task attached to it, many of which require a significant amount of time to complete and some of which are open ended in such a way that they encourage candidates to spend as much time as possible to get an edge over the competition.

Companies say that they enjoy seeing candidates that have open source contributions, but what is the point if they end up being judged solely on their work on the task they are being asked to do for free?

It seems so wrong to me to ask people to spend so much of their time doing this work for what is at best a chance at a job offer.

Why is this acceptable?

To clarify, I am not completely against giving out tasks but asking people to spend 4+ hours is too much.

Re: Ask HN: How is it fair that companies ask candidates to spend hours on a task?

#3

Post by ArekDymalski »

To give you a bit of perspective: in other industries, it's quite common that Assessment Center sessions last around 6-8 hours (however, there are breaks and lunch included) and it's not uncommon to see even 2-day assessments.

Is it fair? I'd say yes, if following 2 conditions are met: 1. The method (AC/task/exercise) is well designed to actually test the candidate's skills and his/her performance is properly observed, measured, analyzed and assessed. It's fair for the candidate, because the hiring decision is adequate. 2. After all this effort the candidate receives both a "thank you" and short feedback about his/her performance.

Unfortunately these conditions aren't met quite often and that's not fair.

Re: Ask HN: How is it fair that companies ask candidates to spend hours on a task?

#4

Post by smt88 »

If you've gotten to know the company somewhat (several interviews that went well), give them a counteroffer:

"I know how important it is to test my skills before hiring me, so I'd like to propose an even more in-depth assessment: I'll work for you as a contractor for two weeks. If your team likes my work, you can hire me as an employee."

I don't know if it would work, but if you really can't spare the time to do assessments, it's worth a shot.

Re: Ask HN: How is it fair that companies ask candidates to spend hours on a task?

#5

Post by taprun »

I'd suggest that fairness is irrelevant. Businesses will demand as much as they can. If great candidates stop applying to them because of their ridiculous demands, they will either have to reduce their demands or hire only mediocre candidates. If great candidates keep applying, they will continue to be jerks.

This is simply a result of the way economics works. Voting with your feet is the best way to stop it.

Re: Ask HN: How is it fair that companies ask candidates to spend hours on a task?

#6

Post by lukevella »

smt88 wrote: post #4

If you've gotten to know the company somewhat (several interviews that went well), give them a counteroffer: "I know how important it is to test my skills before hiring me, so I'd like to propose an even more in-depth assessment: I'll work for you as a contractor for two weeks. If your team likes my work, you can hire me as an employee." I don't know if it would work, but if you really can't spare the time to do asse…

I'd be much happier with that if companies were open to it. The only thing is that this is one of the cases where it might hurt to ask. So it's a risky approach.

Re: Ask HN: How is it fair that companies ask candidates to spend hours on a task?

#9

Post by lukevella »

taprun wrote: post #5

I'd suggest that fairness is irrelevant. Businesses will demand as much as they can. If great candidates stop applying to them because of their ridiculous demands, they will either have to reduce their demands or hire only mediocre candidates. If great candidates keep applying, they will continue to be jerks. This is simply a result of the way economics works. Voting with your feet is the best way to stop it.

Very true. Maybe fairness isn't the right word. How about ethical?

Re: Ask HN: How is it fair that companies ask candidates to spend hours on a task?

#10

Post by lukevella »

ArekDymalski wrote: post #3

To give you a bit of perspective: in other industries, it's quite common that Assessment Center sessions last around 6-8 hours (however, there are breaks and lunch included) and it's not uncommon to see even 2-day assessments. Is it fair? I'd say yes, if following 2 conditions are met: 1. The method (AC/task/exercise) is well designed to actually test the candidate's skills and his/her performance is properly observe…

I don't agree that using other industries as examples is a good defense. Just because everyone is doing it doesn't make it right.

Obviously the more work a person puts into a task, the better you can assess their ability. But when does a task become excessive. It seems that the limit is being stretched thin.

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