> As something of a counterpoint, a literal 4-hour assignment isn't that bad--especially as an alternative to a day of interviews. _The_ alternative is not a d

> As something of a counterpoint, a literal 4-hour assignment isn't that bad--especially as an alternative to a day of interviews. _The_ alternative is not a day of interviews. There are in fact, an innumerable number of alternatives. One alternative is to simply drop the assignment entirely from the interview process (without replacement) and judging by what's left.