Hiring glossary
What is a work sample test?
A work sample test is a pre-hire assessment in which candidates complete a task that is identical or closely similar to work they would do in the job, and are scored on the result.
To find out whether someone can write a press release, debug a function or reconcile an account, you ask them to do it. The US Office of Personnel Management describes work samples as tasks that mirror the job, set up as close to the real working environment as practical. OPM also notes they suit roles where applicants should have the skills on day one, since they measure what a person can already do.
A good work sample is short enough to respect the candidate’s time, uses the same materials for everyone, and is scored against criteria written before anyone takes it. It can be set as a take-home project or as a timed task in the browser.
Also called: work sample, performance test.
Example
For a data analyst opening, candidates get a CSV of sales data and 45 minutes to answer three business questions in SQL and summarise what they found in a paragraph. Each submission is scored on correctness, method and clarity.
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