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But you didn't say how long they gave you to do it. Could you hand in the assignment a week later? I've never been given a homework assignment for a job int

But you didn't say how long they gave you to do it. Could you hand in the assignment a week later? I've never been given a homework assignment for a job interview, but I would love it. I absolutely hate the tests they give you on the spot, the last one I did was awful and made me angry! I would much prefer an 8 hour homework assignment. That pressure would be fun, and I get to work with my tools in my comfort zone. I spend 8 hours playing video games (over a few days), so putting that aside for a challenge with possible good job at the end seems okay to me.

maxk42 9y ago
They wanted it done by Monday. Then I got to choose which day of my weekend I wanted to sacrifice: I chose none and I'll begin my new position at a company that respects my time Monday. To be clear: I've been given take-home "challenges" that take 2 - 3 hours each. Including at the company I wound up going with. I have no problem with these. If you expect me to sacrifice a full day of my time then you can pay me or find someone more desperate than I am.
- exodust 9y ago
  Okay, they wanted it by Monday, yeh that's rough.
gricardo99 9y ago
I've done interview assignments a few times. In every instance I made it clear I needed a 2-3 weeks to complete the assignment (which was < 8 hours of work) due to my schedule. They never had a problem, and the interviews advanced to the next stage after they reviewed my submission. I think most people are ok spreading 8 hours of work over a couple weekends. Paid shows the company is more respectful of your time, but in the end if they're taking up much of your time they should absolutely be flexible, or they will definitely pick-up a selection bias in their candidates.
kokx 9y ago
8 hours really is a lot of time to work for free. They are basically expecting you to dedicate some of your spare time to doing work for them. To me, this means the company does not value my own time, and it might even be a red flag which indicates unhealthy expectations about your work-life balance. If they had an assignment which would take about an hour, maybe two, fine. But any more than that and I think you should be paid for that.
stevenwoo 9y ago
I've gotten a couple of 24 hour tests - they were released electronically so you are timed from when you choose to start to when you turn it in and both times was graded on how much time it took you - more than 24 hours and you failed. One of them had two puzzle questions and I understood how to one of them in an hour or so but didn't figure out the trick for the other one until I took a shower a couple of days later but since I could only do one of them I immediately just told them I would pass on it.
WorldMaker 9y ago
> I've never been given a homework assignment for a job interview, but I would love it [...] I spend 8 hours playing video games (over a few days) The problem becomes, but then when would play videogames? It's fine to be eager for an occasional puzzle challenge, but don't forget about the opportunity cost. They want 8 hours of your videogame time for something that likely has a low return on that time investment (ie, the homework assignment is [not] productive code; there's no guarantee you get the job as that homework assignment is only input in the process, etc). That sort of opportunity cost favors the young (with no or small families, and a stronger ability to live on fewer hours of sleep), the eager (passionate for that particular job), and generally those with fewer work/life balance concerns (what if you need those 8 hours to stay healthy or protect your family?). If you are already employed, you risk burning out by trying to burn the candle at both ends and do unpaid work in your off-hours. There's a possible opportunity cost that your day job's productivity suffers and you potentially lose your job. Even when unemployed there are opportunity costs at play (if two companies need 8 hours in the next 12, which one do you turn down). The old adage is that unemployment is a full-time job (hunting for prospects, networking, talking to recruiters, dealing with unemployment wage systems, etc), and is stressful enough without adding additional unpaid labor on top of it.
gaius 9y ago
but I would love it. I absolutely hate the tests they give you on the spot, the last one I did was awful and made me angry! It’s not “instead of” it’s “in addition to”

maxk42 9y ago

They wanted it done by Monday. Then I got to choose which day of my weekend I wanted to sacrifice: I chose none and I'll begin my new position at a company that respects my time Monday. To be clear: I've been given take-home "challenges" that take 2 - 3 hours each. Including at the company I wound up going with. I have no problem with these. If you expect me to sacrifice a full day of my time then you can pay me or find someone more desperate than I am.

exodust 9y ago
Okay, they wanted it by Monday, yeh that's rough.

gricardo99 9y ago

I've done interview assignments a few times. In every instance I made it clear I needed a 2-3 weeks to complete the assignment (which was < 8 hours of work) due to my schedule. They never had a problem, and the interviews advanced to the next stage after they reviewed my submission. I think most people are ok spreading 8 hours of work over a couple weekends. Paid shows the company is more respectful of your time, but in the end if they're taking up much of your time they should absolutely be flexible, or they will definitely pick-up a selection bias in their candidates.

kokx 9y ago

8 hours really is a lot of time to work for free. They are basically expecting you to dedicate some of your spare time to doing work for them. To me, this means the company does not value my own time, and it might even be a red flag which indicates unhealthy expectations about your work-life balance. If they had an assignment which would take about an hour, maybe two, fine. But any more than that and I think you should be paid for that.

stevenwoo 9y ago

I've gotten a couple of 24 hour tests - they were released electronically so you are timed from when you choose to start to when you turn it in and both times was graded on how much time it took you - more than 24 hours and you failed. One of them had two puzzle questions and I understood how to one of them in an hour or so but didn't figure out the trick for the other one until I took a shower a couple of days later but since I could only do one of them I immediately just told them I would pass on it.

WorldMaker 9y ago

> I've never been given a homework assignment for a job interview, but I would love it [...] I spend 8 hours playing video games (over a few days) The problem becomes, but then when would play videogames? It's fine to be eager for an occasional puzzle challenge, but don't forget about the opportunity cost. They want 8 hours of your videogame time for something that likely has a low return on that time investment (ie, the homework assignment is [not] productive code; there's no guarantee you get the job as that homework assignment is only input in the process, etc). That sort of opportunity cost favors the young (with no or small families, and a stronger ability to live on fewer hours of sleep), the eager (passionate for that particular job), and generally those with fewer work/life balance concerns (what if you need those 8 hours to stay healthy or protect your family?). If you are already employed, you risk burning out by trying to burn the candle at both ends and do unpaid work in your off-hours. There's a possible opportunity cost that your day job's productivity suffers and you potentially lose your job. Even when unemployed there are opportunity costs at play (if two companies need 8 hours in the next 12, which one do you turn down). The old adage is that unemployment is a full-time job (hunting for prospects, networking, talking to recruiters, dealing with unemployment wage systems, etc), and is stressful enough without adding additional unpaid labor on top of it.

gaius 9y ago

but I would love it. I absolutely hate the tests they give you on the spot, the last one I did was awful and made me angry! It’s not “instead of” it’s “in addition to”