I kind of disagree with Number 5. Small assignments are fine but what's the line on how much to pay that person compared to the size of project/task that is given to him/her? I also think that some companies are using that kind of a task to their advantage or can start using it that way, which isn't nice if you don't get hired in the end... I was given a test after a face-to-face interview. I aced the test, then told I was a 98% fit (I had a good interview (2-3 hours prior to this "assignment") with 2 senior programmers and CTO), then I didn't get the job because I was "too confident". I blogged about the assignment and solution here: http://www.kanersan.com/blog.php?blogId=46 The company was providing private advertising solutions to businesses. They could've used the idea/theory of my solution in one of their projects but I did not get a dime out of it and spent a good day solving it... This is why I'm not happy.