[PragmaticPulp]

Take homes are easy to iterate on. If multiple candidates can’t understand the problem or waste time with over-complicated solutions, you update the instructions.

If you’re constantly worried about “traps” then you might not want to work for those companies anyway. Take homes should be straightforward and similar to solving real problems.

> As far as I can tell, any company that isn’t willing to pay contracting rates to solve real problems on their stack is likely being disengenuous with their take homes

Take homes are contrived problems, not real work. Every candidate receives the same problem so they can be compared.

No company should be giving employees actual unpaid work to do as part of the interview. That’s more of an internet trope than a real problem because no rational company is going to be sending their codebase to applicants to add features to.