If you've interviewed for a marketing, creative or digital role recently, there's a good chance you've been asked to complete some form of task.
Perhaps it was a presentation, a creative brief, a campaign proposal or a short piece of written work.
And in many cases, that makes complete sense.
Employers want to understand how someone approaches a challenge, applies their skills and thinks through a problem. Particularly in creative and specialist roles, a CV and interview don't always tell the full story.
But there's a balance to be found.
When does a reasonable assessment become an expectation that's asking a little too much of someone's time?
Why interview tasks can be genuinely useful
Let's start with the positives.
A well-designed task can give candidates an opportunity to demonstrate skills that might not come across during a traditional interview.
Someone might not be the most confident interviewee, for example, but could be brilliant at developing ideas, solving problems or thinking creatively.
For employers, tasks can provide a useful insight into how someone might approach the work they'd actually be doing.
And for candidates, they can offer a chance to understand the types of challenges the role involves.
When both sides know what to expect, it can be a really valuable part of the process.
The problem isn't necessarily the task itself.
It's how much is being asked, when it's introduced and what the business hopes to learn from it.
Time is an important consideration
It's easy to underestimate how long a task might take.
What sounds like a straightforward presentation or short creative exercise could quickly turn into several hours of research, preparation and design.
And for someone who's already working full-time, that can mean sacrificing evenings or weekends to complete it.
Now imagine that person is interviewing for several roles at the same time.
Each business might believe its task is perfectly reasonable, but collectively the demands can become quite significant.
Candidates absolutely understand the importance of demonstrating their ability.
But they also want to feel that their time is being respected.
Being clear about how long a task should take, what level of detail is expected and how it will be assessed can make a big difference.
Are we assessing the right things?
Another question worth considering is whether the task is actually measuring what matters for the role.
For example, if you're recruiting a senior marketing professional, asking them to develop an entire campaign strategy might not always be necessary to understand their capabilities.
A discussion around a previous project, a short hypothetical exercise or a focused presentation could tell you just as much.
Similarly, for creative roles, an existing portfolio may already provide plenty of evidence of someone's technical ability and thinking.
A task can still add value, particularly where there are specific skills to assess. But it helps to be clear about what additional information it will provide.
The Chartered Institute of Marketing, creative industry bodies and recruitment professionals all regularly discuss the importance of evaluating relevant experience and capability. The principle applies here too: a good assessment should help answer a meaningful question about someone's suitability.
More work doesn't automatically mean a more accurate assessment.
The candidate experience matters too
Recruitment is a two-way process.
While employers are assessing whether someone is right for their business, candidates are also learning about the organisation they're considering joining.
A well-organised task, with a realistic timeframe and clear instructions, can leave a really positive impression.
But if the expectations feel unclear, the workload seems disproportionate or there's very little communication afterwards, it can have the opposite effect.
And that would be a shame, particularly when someone was genuinely excited about the opportunity.
It's also worth remembering that not everyone has the same amount of free time outside work. Caring responsibilities, other commitments and different personal circumstances can all affect someone's ability to complete lengthy assessments.
Keeping tasks focused and proportionate helps make the process fairer for everyone.
Finding the right balance
There's no single answer to how long an interview task should take.
It depends on the seniority of the position, the skills being assessed and the nature of the role.
But a few simple questions can help employers decide what's reasonable:
- What exactly are we trying to assess?
- Could we learn the same thing through an interview or existing portfolio?
- How long should the task realistically take?
- Have we explained what we're looking for?
- Is the exercise relevant to the role, rather than a request for usable work?
- Can we offer feedback or at least a clear update afterwards?
For more substantial exercises, it may also be worth considering whether a paid assessment would be more appropriate.
The aim isn't to remove practical assessments from recruitment.
It's to make sure they're purposeful, proportionate and a positive experience for both sides.
Final thoughts
Interview tasks can be brilliant when they're done well.
They give candidates the chance to show what they're capable of and help employers make more informed decisions.
But they shouldn't become an endurance test.
A thoughtful, well-structured assessment can tell you far more than an unnecessarily lengthy exercise.
And when candidates feel their time and effort have been valued, they're much more likely to come away with a positive impression of the business, regardless of the outcome.
At Beyond The Book, we support businesses and candidates throughout the recruitment process, helping both sides understand expectations and make confident decisions.
If you're reviewing how you assess talent across Marketing, Creative or Digital, we're always happy to share our experience of what works well.
