[kadirmalak]

Home assignments are a great way to evaluate a candidate. A "one hour" project would not be sufficient for that, the problem would be too easy.

I find it weird that you guys don't want to spend some time to show your skills to the employer, without getting paid. These are not real projects. You're not benefiting the employer when you finish them. They also spend some time evaluating your project submission.

(I'm not talking about the companies trying to make people work free by giving them parts of the real projects in disguise)

[rrwo]

It's literally gambling with your time. You do the work, with the hope of winning a job.

That's several hours of your time that could be used for things that will have a more immediate benefit: working your current day job, working on open source projects, or maybe on some other hobbies or even spending time with your family. Or even sleeping.

[lkschubert8]

Its hugely asymmetrical in terms of amount of time spent in a setting where there is already a large amount of asymmetry.

[flaviut]

> They also spend some time evaluating your project submission.

I could evaluate a project in 5-10 minutes. Or an employer could have a fully automated system for the first round of evaluation.

The problem isn't benefiting the employer, it's that the costs are asymmetrical. The employer has no incentive to act in a way that respects the applicant's time.

There's a similar problem in real estate. If buyers weren't required to place a deposit with their offers, they'd waste the time of countless sellers.