Ask HN: How do you respond to a company asking for “homework” when job hunting?

If it is some reasonable amount of work to show your skills, do it.

Personally I would say okay for something up to two or three hours worth. Consider it an investment in your future job.

The alternative is a white-board coding task, where your risk of hitting something that you are really unprepared for is much, much higher.

DISCLAMER: I have given out homework in the 1.5 to 2 hour range as a hiring manager. A smallish, self contained problem (without any commercial value), just to see the candidates actually can write working code - and to get an idea about their angle of attack for the problem..

I've done a few of these assignments, usually after an interview or two. I'm on the fence. Usually it's an evening of tinkering for me, which would be pretty cumbersome if I were interviewing more that two places at the same time. On the other hand, I tend to do way better at these kinds of assignments than I do with on-the-spot whiteboard type questions, so it's nice to have an opportunity to show what I can do at my own pace.

I work primarily in design. When I've moved between companies I have been asked for this but usually at a final interview stage. I've mostly obliged as I like a challenge, with the caveat that I have other commitments and so don't expect a gold standard in quality.

My understanding after the fact was that this type of thing helped to identify people who were of an open mindset, the challenge put me out of my comfort zone a little too so that was another aspect. Finally it when the review happened it allowed us to talk about something we both had an understanding of.

The only memorable time was when I identified some problems in their brief, ones they didn't notice, and called them out on it (not in a cocky way). This was the nail in the coffin for other candidates as no one else spotted it.

Finally I've never been asked to do anything for an ongoing or upcoming project, only for something that had already existed. They also supplied content for me to work with and I chose what I could do with them in the context of what the role involved.

I politely decline but tell them I have a lot of projects on my github profile they are welcome to take a look at.

"oh ok it sounds like im hired already, so does this first assignment pay on stipend, salary or hourly"?

We give out homework, it's a 2 - 3 hour simulation of setting up services. It helps us as a team understand where a new hire's weaknesses sit. By the time we've given it it means we're interested and at the last few stages of our process.

I tell them no. I don't have the time or patience for people that want to me to work for free. I'm happy to show them what I've done but anything specific they can either pay me or GTFO and find some desperate intern to walk all over.