I'm a graduating senior in college and I've recently applied to a startup and I had a phone conversation. However, now they want me to complete a "task" and submit all my code for it by Monday. This task seems very similar to what I would be doing for them, and it seems like a lot of work for an application test (I'm estimating about 3-5 hours on it).
I was just wondering if this is normal or if I should be more skeptical about this company.
I have completed a few of these for companies over here in London (UK). Sometimes they organise a set time to send you the instructions and expect you to send the working solution by a certain time. I have done this twice and I was given 2 hours to complete the task. The other ones I have completed were not timed, they just advised that I send the working solution within the next few days.
For my current job, for which I'm a contractor, the only thing that I did as far as skill evaluation was take a basic language-specific evaluation test from the recruiter.
When you say the task seems similar to what you'd be doing for them, do you mean you're concerned you might be doing some actual work for free that they'd use even if they didn't hire you?
I did a 2-3 hour evaluation for my job and had similar reservations but it turned out great. Assume that they're acting in good faith to evaluate you even if the actual method seems less than ideal.
You're the only one who has all the information to make this decision though, so make one you can be happy with.
When I apply for my next job, I'm hoping they do this too as it's a chance to demonstrate my skills. I wouldn't be bothered if they expected me to do this remotely and unpaid (of course, massive difference if it's a week's work).
A popular alternative is that they call you into the office and basically give you an exam on a certain language/technology which you have to pass in an interview situation without being able to refer to the Internet. I'd hate this and argue that it's a pretty false way to estimate productivity - there's gaps in everyone's knowledge, good coders are people bright enough to Google for solutions, determine which are actually 'good' and implement them quickly.
A small coding question isn't too unusual — at least, not for startups. What does surprise me is that the coding question came after they spoke to you on the phone, not before, as a filter.