What if the hiring company culled the list down to a set number of candidates and gave them all paid contract work, on something they needed done anyway, as an

What if the hiring company culled the list down to a set number of candidates and gave them all paid contract work, on something they needed done anyway, as an audition? This gives both the applicant and the company a chance to see how working together might go. The company gets something on their to-do list done, and the candidate gets paid for their time.