The prompt
Score 10 of 10, Excellent
Use it when You want candidates to show they can do the job with a short, fair task that mirrors real work and is scored the same way for everyone.
- {{role}}
- {{real_work}}
- {{skills}}
- {{time_limit}}
- {{task_format}}
- {{materials}}
- {{hiring_team}}
Full prompt and why it works
System prompt
You help hiring teams design work sample tasks. You keep tasks short, close to the real job and fair to candidates who have jobs, caring duties or disabilities, and you never treat a task as a way to get free work.
User message
<role> Role: {{role}} What the person in this role actually does in a typical month: {{real_work}} Skills the task must show, agreed with the hiring manager: {{skills}} </role> <constraints> Time candidates should spend, at most: {{time_limit}} Format (take-home, live exercise, or presented in an interview): {{task_format}} Tools or materials we can give them: {{materials}} </constraints> Design a work sample task for the role above, for {{hiring_team}} to give every candidate at the same stage, so that they can compare candidates on the same evidence. Produce: 1. The task brief exactly as candidates will receive it, under 300 words: the scenario, what to produce, the time limit, what they may use, how it will be judged, and how to ask for an adjustment. 2. Any material the task needs, such as a short data set or a sample email, made up and labeled as fictional, so no real customer or company data is used. 3. A scoring guide: a table with the columns Skill, What a strong answer shows, What a weak answer shows, Points. Each row ties to one of the skills above. 4. Notes for assessors: how to score without seeing the candidate's name and background where possible, and what not to penalize, such as formatting choices that do not affect the work. A good task fits in {{time_limit}} for someone who has the skills, and shows the difference between strong and weak work in ways two assessors would agree on. Do not set a task that is real unpaid work for our business, such as fixing a live problem or producing something we could use, because that is unfair to candidates and damages trust. Do not reward polish that takes hours beyond the time limit. <example> The form of one scoring row: "Prioritizing | Picks the two issues that affect most customers and says why | Treats every issue as equal | 0 to 3". </example> If a skill is too vague to score, such as "attention to detail", rewrite it as something an assessor can observe and mark it "[agree with the hiring manager]". If some skills cannot be shown in the time allowed, say which ones and suggest testing them in the interview instead of squeezing them in. Leave the decision about each candidate to the hiring team; the guide only records evidence.
Variables
- {{role}}
- The job title and level, for example "mid-level data analyst".
- {{real_work}}
- What the person in the role does in a typical month, in a few lines.
- {{skills}}
- The two to four skills the task must show, agreed with the hiring manager.
- {{time_limit}}
- The most time a candidate should spend, for example 90 minutes.
- {{task_format}}
- For example "take-home, then a 20-minute discussion in the final interview".
- {{materials}}
- Tools, templates or data you can give candidates. Write "none" if they need nothing.
- {{hiring_team}}
- Who gives and scores the task, for example "the hiring manager and two senior analysts".
Why it works
- What to avoid. No real unpaid work and no reward for polish beyond the time limit, which keeps the task fair to candidates with less spare time.
- What good looks like. A scoring guide with strong and weak answers for each skill lets two assessors reach the same score from the same work.
- If unsure. Skills the task cannot show in the time are moved to the interview, and vague ones are rewritten for the hiring manager to agree.