Test tasks can be effective — we know how

Candidates are often intimidated by test tasks because work on them may not be paid or paid with minimum wage. The performed work may be used by the company in the future (without the candidate's consent), and so on. So we decided to highlight the following: what candidates think when they understand that the test should be performed.

Will the completed task be paid for?
For many candidates, especially more experienced ones, lack of payment is an obstacle. A junior, in turn, can more easily agree to an unpaid test. Keep this in mind.

Will the company use the result of the work?
If the test assignment involves work on an active project, then at least the test should be paid for, and the use of the work results should be notified to the candidate in advance.

How long will it take to complete the test? If the work takes a long time, for the candidate it may be similar to a freelance project, which must be paid according to the level of payments to full-time employees. It is best to limit the task to 2-3 hours - it will be acceptable to both parties.
In order for your task to be completed, in addition to the interest of the future employee, pay attention to the above-mentioned.

How to evaluate a completed test task?
🔹 Specify the evaluation criteria. For example, estimate one or another stage of the task in the range from 1 to 10. And at the end summarize.
🔹 Consider efficiency and speed of solving each stage of the test and the total time spent on the solution.
🔹 Evaluate objectively how similar the solutions presented in the tasks are to “commercial execution”. This is essential because the future employee will have real projects with real customers.

What else is important?
If candidates have questions during the task (this is quite likely), be sure to provide them with a contact of the employee who can explain and help.

Therefore, test assignments are not only a way to effectively evaluate future candidates for the company without wasting time. For the candidates, this is the best opportunity to prove themselves and demonstrate skills. And the correctly formulated test task will help to establish this process even better.