For recruiters
If a candidate just sent you this link
Not every interview exercise is unreasonable.
A short, hypothetical exercise that tests a specific skill can make sense. The line gets crossed when the assignment becomes substantial enough to resemble real work: campaigns, decks, strategic plans, rebrands, channel plans, multiple deliverables, hours of production.
Ask us to explain: interview.
Ask us to make: assignment.
Ask us to make something substantial: pay us.
A ten-hour assignment doesn’t only test ability. It also tests who can give you ten unpaid hours.
If a candidate sent you this, it isn’t one person being difficult. This site collects moderated anonymous self-reports of unpaid interview work, with an estimated market value on each. They aren’t verified and they don’t prove how common it is. They do show what the work looked like. Nothing here names your company, your team or you.
A better final round
You have the portfolio. Ask about the decisions in it.
Under an hour, on the clock, together. It shows how they think without borrowing their weekend.
A defined task with an end point, not an open brief.
Define the scope, expected hours, and payment before work begins.
State clearly that interview submissions will not be used commercially without a separate agreement and compensation.