I designed the Full Cycle Recruiter role I recently opened to have a short, hypothetical sourcing exercise as part of the initial application. I'm well aware that a skills exercise ahead of any sort of synchronous call is a bit of a ✨ controversial ✨ decision so I want to outline my thinking a bit, especially for those reading this who may be considering whether or not to submit an application.
So here's a 🪟 into my 🧠 :
⭐ I pretty commonly see job applications that require some sort of written introductory exercise (a cover letter, a "why do you want to work here" type prompt, etc). While I'm sure that can be helpful for certain roles, IMO, those often just feel like busy work, or a way for hiring teams to make sure I'm not just going on easy apply blitz without paying any attention to the actual role.
⭐ These same intro exercises also typically lack connection to the role itself.
My thinking is that the simulated sourcing exercise can a) require a similar time investment (max ~30 minutes) and b) cut through the noise/fluff of the more traditional application q's to actually connect to the job you're applying for. It also sets us up for a really tactical conversation in a first interview that gives way more mutual signal on whether there's alignment.
I know that some of us may have to agree to disagree on this, and that's ok! But hopefully this gives you a new perspective, and JUST maybe convinces a few more people who were on the fence to go ahead and apply 👀 .
Love this 👏