Just Say No to Assessment-First Hiring

My inbox lately?

Brutal.

Candidates regularly tell me they have spent hours on assessments or one-way video recordings, then received silence or an automated rejection with no useful context. The details vary, but the operating failure is the same: a company asks a candidate for work before it establishes any real reciprocity.

A personal boundary

I draw the line here: I will not complete an assessment without some human connection and a clear upfront contract. That is not a refusal to demonstrate ability. It is a refusal to donate unbounded time to an undefined process.

Forget Pink Floyd; you are not just another brick in the wall. Candidates are multidimensional people, and a test rarely captures the whole person. If you are unemployed, your time is especially precious. It is reasonable to ask what the company needs, how long it should take, and what happens after you submit it.

Ask before you start

When I evaluate an assessment request, I want five things made explicit:

• Purpose: What specific skill or decision is the exercise meant to evaluate?
• Time box: How long should a candidate spend, and when should they stop?
• Use: Is the work hypothetical, or could any part of it be used in production?
• Ownership: Who will review the submission, and when will the candidate hear back?
• Alternative: Can a relevant existing work sample or an accommodated format provide the same signal?

A 15-minute conversation can settle most of this. It also lets both sides decide whether the role, the problem, and the working relationship are worth testing further.

A response you can send

Thanks for considering me. Before I begin, could we schedule a brief conversation about the role and the exercise? I’d also like to understand what it evaluates, the expected time, whether the work is hypothetical, and who will review it. I’m happy to complete a relevant, time-boxed assessment once we have that context.

If the company cannot schedule a conversation, ask for those answers in writing. If the exercise is useful but too broad, propose a smaller version. If you already have a work sample that demonstrates the same skill, offer it. If the request is vague, unbounded, or appears to produce usable work for the company, it is reasonable to decline or ask for a paid trial instead.

A polite no is not a verdict on the people involved. It is simply a boundary around your time.

For the employer

Assessments can be useful. The sequence matters. Talk to the candidate first. Use the shortest exercise that produces the signal you need. State the time box, rubric, reviewer, and next step. Do not disguise production work as an interview, and close the loop on the timeline you promised.

The best process is not the one with the most gates. It is the one that gives both sides enough evidence to make a sound decision without wasting the other side’s time.

The bottom line

Our worth is not measured by an assessment. A good exercise can reveal part of how someone works, but it should begin with context and end with human follow-through. It all starts with a simple: “Hello, let’s talk.”