Hire by real work with an API work sample

Send a work sample: the candidate builds requests against a sandbox API of their own, and locked checks - never AI - say which jobs they got done and how long it took.

In short

A work sample shows how a candidate really works. They get a brief and a sandbox API of their own - a small order desk with products and orders - and build the requests that do each job. When they hand in, their saved requests run again on fresh data and locked checks are applied. You see which checks were met and how long it took; you decide.

Before you start

• Who: the people who manage hiring send work samples.
• Plan: work samples count toward a monthly allowance of your plan; other assessments do not count (see Plan & usage).
• First: open the applicant. The sandbox is available only where the installation has it.

Steps

1. Open the applicant and choose to send an assessment.
2. Under "Assessment", choose a work sample: "Run the order desk" (45 minutes) or "Test the order desk API" (60 minutes).
3. Press "Send assessment".

Result: the application shows the result as facts, such as "5 of 7 checks met", the time taken and the requests the candidate handed in.

What the candidate sees

• "The task", "What needs doing" and "Your sandbox" with its API key and routes.
• "Build a request" and "Send" show what the sandbox answers - not whether a check is met.
• "Start from the shop's data again" resets the sandbox before a request.
• "Your saved requests" keeps up to 30 requests in the order they should run. They are handed in when time runs out.

Good to know

• There is no pass mark and nothing passes or fails a candidate: the checks give facts, and people decide.
• Exploring in the sandbox cannot help or hurt: only the saved requests are graded, on fresh data.
• The sandbox reaches no other host, and each candidate's is their own. No AI sees any of it.
• Work samples count toward your plan's work samples a month: 5 on Free, 50 on Pro, 200 on Business and 1,000 on Enterprise. Other assessments do not count.
• Requests and the sandbox are kept with the application and erased with it.

Read time as context, not a score Some people need more time. The notice offers them adjustments; weigh the time taken with that in mind.

If something goes wrong

• The work samples are missing from the library: the sandbox is not available on this installation.
• You cannot send one: the workspace used this month's work samples. It resets next month.

Related

• /help/jobs/send-an-assessment
• /help/jobs/review-applicants
• /help/settings/plan-limits