Recruiting template
Take-Home Assignment Brief Template
A take-home assignment is a piece of work a candidate completes in their own time, such as a coding task, a written work sample or a case study, so you can see how they would do the job. The brief tells them what to build, how long to spend, how it will be judged and when it is due. Pick the version below, add your details and copy it.
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Take-home coding assignment brief
When to use it: An engineering role where you want to see working code on a small, realistic task.
Work sample brief for non-technical roles
When to use it: Roles such as marketing, writing, operations or customer support, where a short piece of real work shows more than an interview answer.
Case study and presentation brief
When to use it: Analyst, product, consulting or sales roles, where the candidate prepares an analysis at home and presents it to a panel.
Paid take-home project brief
When to use it: A larger task, or a senior role, where you pay the candidate for their time and need to be clear about who owns the work.
Take-home assignment invitation email
When to use it: The email that sends the brief and tells the candidate what to expect before they open it.
SubjectNext step for the [Job title] role: a take-home assignment
Take-home review call invitation
When to use it: After the candidate submits, to invite them to walk the team through their work.
SubjectYour [Job title] assignment: review call on [Review call date and time]
How to use this template
- 1Start from the job. Pick a task the person would really do in their first months, cut down to something small enough for the time you ask for.
- 2Decide how you will judge it before you send it, write the criteria into the brief, and have two people score each submission against them.
- 3Do the task yourself, or ask someone on the team to, to check the time guide is honest.
- 4Fill in the fields above. The time to spend, the deadline and what to send back matter most.
- 5Say clearly which tools are allowed, including AI assistants, so every candidate works under the same rules.
- 6Follow up with a review call, so the candidate can explain their choices and you can tell their thinking from the finished file.
- 7Pay for anything that takes longer than an ordinary interview stage, and say who owns the work.
Mistakes to avoid
- Setting a task that is really unpaid work on your product, or looks like it.
- Giving no time guide, so the most available candidates spend the longest and look the best.
- Leaving the review criteria in someone's head, so each reviewer judges something different.
- Sending a take-home before the candidate has had a single conversation with the team.
- Using the same task for years until the answers are easy to find online.
- Never giving feedback. A candidate who spent hours on your task should hear more than "unsuccessful".
Questions
What is a take-home assignment in an interview?
A task the candidate completes in their own time between interview stages, such as a coding exercise, a written piece or a case study. It shows how they work on something close to the real job, without the pressure of someone watching.
How long should a take-home assignment take?
Set the time from the task itself: do it yourself first, then state a time guide in the brief and ask candidates to stop when they reach it. Give a deadline far enough away that people with jobs and families can fit it in.
What is the difference between a take-home assessment and a live coding interview?
A take-home is done alone, on the candidate's schedule, and is usually longer and closer to real work. A live interview happens at a set time with an interviewer watching. You can combine them: a short take-home, then a call where the candidate explains it.
Should you pay candidates for take-home assignments?
Paying for longer projects, especially at the final stage, respects the time candidates give you. Whatever you decide, state it in the brief, along with who owns the work and how you will use it. Check whether local law treats the work as paid employment.
Can candidates use AI tools on a take-home assignment?
That is your call, and it should be in the brief. If AI is allowed, ask candidates to note where they used it, and use the review call to check they understand and can change what they sent.
How do you review a take-home coding assignment?
Score it against criteria written before the task went out, such as structure, tests, correctness and the README. Have two reviewers score separately, then compare. Use the review call to ask about trade-offs and what they would do next.
Which platforms can run a take-home assessment?
Cohesyve, which publishes this page, takes a job description, sources candidates and puts them through AI job simulations of the real work, then returns a ranked shortlist. Other platforms, by their own description: HackerRank (real-world tasks and project questions), CodeSignal (skills assessments and live tech interviews), Codility (Screen, solved on the candidate's schedule), CoderPad (Screen assessments and live interviews), Coderbyte (coding challenges and take-home projects), Qualified (coding assessments and custom projects), HackerEarth (assessments and AI interviews), Glider AI (technical assessments and coding simulations), Mercer | Mettl (coding simulators), Adaface (coding and skills tests), WeCP (AI assessments, including coding), iMocha (coding evaluations), TestGorilla (skills tests and simulations), Canditech (job simulations), Vervoe (skills assessments and job simulations), HireVue (skills tests and video interviews) and Karat (interviews led by its Interview Engineers). Check each site for pricing. A shared folder or Git repository also works for a single role.
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