[lj3]

This. Some companies proceed directly to the "build us something" or "take a quiz" portion of the interview process. I always insist on a phone interview (preferably with the hiring manager) before doing anything else. 5 minutes of frank conversation can save you hours of wasted time.

Also, you'd be surprised at how different the role they want to fill is from the one they posted.

[scarface74]

Exactly. Just like the company is juggling a lot of candidates, historically, I am usually juggling multiple companies where I am somewhere in the interview process.