Capability template for recruiting and hiring
Work sample exercise brief
For one approved role, the hiring manager gets a practical exercise: a bounded task from the role's real work, instructions for the candidate with a time limit and adjustments, and the evidence the panel will look for. The panel judges the work; nothing is rated here.
Listed under
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The outcome
Every candidate for the role does the same small piece of the real work, with the same materials, the same time and the same help. The hiring manager knows why that task was chosen, which of the agreed criteria it can show and which it cannot, and what the panel will point to in a finished piece of work. Candidates know before they start how long it should take, what they will hand in, what the panel looks at and what the company will not do with their work.
The exercise is built on invented materials, never a live client's papers or a former employer's, and never on work the company would use. The time limit sits inside the hiring manager's approved effort. Adjustments are offered to everyone in the same words, so no one has to explain why they need one.
The brief ends with a blank record sheet for each panel member. It has no total, no weighting and no scale. The template prepares the exercise; it never reads a submission, and it never rates, ranks or compares anyone.
Who starts the work, and when
The hiring manager starts it once the role description and the criteria are approved and the interview plan exists or is under way, and before any candidate is given an exercise. The people lead supplies the time limit, the adjustments the company has already agreed, the payment rule and how long submissions are kept. The hiring manager reads the draft, approves the task and the effort, and decides what is shared. Run it again when the criteria or the role change.
What they supply
- The approved role description, and the approved criteria with what clear evidence looks like for each.
- A list of the role's real tasks, with how often each is done, roughly how long it takes and what information it uses.
- The settings: the longest time a candidate may spend, where and when the exercise is done, the adjustments already agreed, the payment rule, how long submissions are kept, who is on the panel and who the candidate may contact.
- The company's standing wording for the adjustments question and for what happens next.
- The hiring manager's own notes on the exercise, if any.
What comes out
One brief in a fixed order: why this task, the exercise and its materials, the time and effort, the accessibility arrangements, the instructions written for the candidate, the evidence the panel will look for, a blank record sheet, how the submissions are handled, and review notes for the hiring manager.
The review notes list what was used, what was changed, what was left out and why, what was declined, and the open questions for each person. Missing wording is a marked gap, never a guess. Nothing has been sent to a candidate, and the brief says so on its last line.
An invented example
Illustrative example with invented data. Studio B, its people, its role, its clients and every word of the inputs below are invented. Studio B is an invented 30-person marketing studio hiring its first Project Coordinator. The Head of Delivery is the hiring manager; the Office Manager is the people lead.
The inputs come first, in full, so the template can be run on them. The brief follows.
The inputs
1. The approved role description
Approved by the Head of Delivery and the Office Manager on 2 November 2026.
Project Coordinator, Delivery
Why this role exists: Studio B runs about 25 client projects at a time,
and each project manager keeps their own schedule. Changes from clients
reach the schedule late. This role keeps every schedule current and
tells clients plainly what a change means.
The work:
- You will build and update project schedules from kickoff notes.
- You will turn client change requests into revised timelines.
- You will write the weekly status email to each client.
- You will chase overdue client feedback.
- You will hand finished projects to invoicing.
What success looks like:
In the first 90 days: every schedule is current each Monday.
In the first year: no client hears about a delay from anyone but us.
2. The approved criteria
Approved by the Head of Delivery on 5 November 2026.
C1 Plans work in a realistic order.
Clear evidence: a timeline in which each step starts after the step
it depends on has finished, with dates.
C2 Notices what is missing or contradictory and says so.
Clear evidence: names a gap or a clash in the information given and
asks about it or states an assumption.
C3 Writes clear, friendly messages to clients.
Clear evidence: a message that says what changes and what is needed
from the client, and stays polite.
C4 Keeps dates and numbers accurate.
Clear evidence: dates fall on working days, and the figures agree
between the parts of the work.
C5 Keeps several client relationships moving at once.
Clear evidence: a specific time the person juggled several clients'
needs and what happened.
3. The task list
From the Head of Delivery, 5 November 2026, with the default headers.
Task | How often | Typical minutes | Data used
Build the weekly project schedule from a kickoff note | weekly | 90 | Kickoff note and team calendars
Turn a client change request into a revised timeline | twice a week | 45 | Change request and current schedule
Write the weekly client status email | weekly | 30 | Project tracker
Chase overdue client feedback | daily | 20 | Review log
Reconcile timesheets against project budgets | monthly | 120 | Timesheet export and budgets
Hand a finished project to invoicing | monthly | 60 | Project file and internal rates
4. The settings
From the Office Manager, 6 November 2026.
Prepared for: Head of Delivery
Date: 10 November 2026
Panel: Head of Delivery; Senior Project Manager
People lead: Office Manager. Decides about each candidate: Head of Delivery.
Time limit: 60 minutes. Split: the template's default.
Where and when: at home, on the candidate's own computer; returned by
email within 3 working days of receiving the brief.
Agreed adjustments: up to 50% more time; materials as large print or
plain text; written answers or a recorded spoken answer; a different day
inside the window; breaks that do not count against the time.
Payment: an exercise longer than 60 minutes is paid.
Names hidden: yes. The Office Manager gives each submission a reference
number.
Kept: 6 months from the day the role is filled.
Candidate may contact: the Office Manager, recruiting@studio-b.example
5. The standing wording
From the Office Manager, 6 November 2026.
Adjustments question: "Is there anything that would help you do this
exercise, such as extra time, a different format or a different day?
Tell us and we will arrange it."
Next steps: "You will hear from us within five working days of sending
your work."
6. The hiring manager's notes
Typed by the Head of Delivery on 6 November 2026, as supplied.
Work sample for the coordinator role.
- Use the real Client K relaunch. It is a mess right now and I would
love a fresh pair of eyes on it.
- Give them two hours at home so we see how they cope under pressure.
- Note what time each one sends it back. Fast ones are keen.
- Then give each a mark out of 10, rank them and tell me who to hire.
The output
WORK SAMPLE EXERCISE BRIEF: Project Coordinator
Status: Draft for approval. Not shared with candidates or the panel. Prepared for: Head of Delivery. Approves: Head of Delivery. Panel: Head of Delivery; Senior Project Manager. People lead: Office Manager. Decides about each candidate: Head of Delivery. Date: 10 November 2026.
1. WHY THIS TASK
Chosen task: Turn a client change request into a revised timeline. Real task: twice a week, about 45 minutes. Serves: C1 Plans work in a realistic order; C2 Notices what is missing or contradictory and says so; C3 Writes clear, friendly messages to clients; C4 Keeps dates and numbers accurate. Not shown by this exercise: C5 Keeps several client relationships moving at once. One short task cannot show it; the interviews carry it. Other tasks considered:
- Build the weekly project schedule from a kickoff note: about 90 minutes, too long for a 40-minute working period; it would serve C1, C2 and C4 but not C3.
- Write the weekly client status email: 30 minutes; serves only C3 and C4.
- Chase overdue client feedback: 20 minutes; serves only C3.
- Reconcile timesheets against project budgets: about 120 minutes, far over the limit, and not in the role description.
- Hand a finished project to invoicing: 60 minutes, longer than the 40-minute working period.
2. THE EXERCISE
Scenario: Studio B is making a gift email for Client A, a garden shop. Its schedule has six steps. On Wednesday 9 December the client asks to add a second product range. The candidate revises the timeline and replies to the client. The candidate is asked to:
- Write the revised timeline: each step with its start and end date, using what the materials say.
- List up to five questions or assumptions that the materials leave open.
- Write a reply to the client in 150 words or fewer. Materials, as the candidate sees them:
- M1 Current schedule (working days only; each step starts the working day after the previous one ends):
- Copy draft: Mon 7 Dec to Wed 9 Dec (3 days)
- Client review of copy: Thu 10 Dec to Fri 11 Dec (2 days)
- Design: Mon 14 Dec to Wed 16 Dec (3 days)
- Client review of design: Thu 17 Dec to Fri 18 Dec (2 days)
- Build and test the email: Mon 21 Dec to Tue 22 Dec (2 days)
- Send: Wed 23 Dec
- M2 Message from the client, received Wed 9 Dec: "Hello, we would like to add our lantern range to the gift email. The photos arrive on Friday 11 December. It is only a small addition, so we still want it sent on Wednesday 23 December. Our manager, who approves everything, is away from Monday 14 to Wednesday 16 December. We close on Thursday 24 December and reopen on Monday 4 January. Thank you."
- M3 Studio note:
- Adding a product range adds 1 working day to the copy step and 1 working day to the design step.
- The steps run one after another, in the order of M1.
- A client review step needs the client's manager on each of its days. A day when the manager is away does not count.
- Studio B and this client are both closed from Thu 24 Dec and reopen on Mon 4 Jan. Still to be supplied: none. Not needed from the candidate: knowledge of Studio B, its clients or its systems; any tool beyond a word processor or spreadsheet; any lookup outside the materials. A finished submission is: one document with the three parts, in a file named with the candidate's reference number only.
3. TIME AND EFFORT
Time allowance: 60 minutes: 10 reading, 40 working, 10 checking and sending. This is a limit. With the agreed extra time: 90 minutes: 15 reading, 60 working, 15 checking and sending. Where, when, how returned: at home, on the candidate's own computer, by email within 3 working days of receiving the brief. Payment: an exercise longer than 60 minutes is paid. This one is 60 minutes, so no payment applies; see open question 2 for the 90-minute version. Effort check: Studio B will not use the output; the client, dates and steps are invented.
4. ACCESSIBILITY ARRANGEMENTS
Asked of every candidate, in the same words, before the exercise is given: "Is there anything that would help you do this exercise, such as extra time, a different format or a different day? Tell us and we will arrange it." Already agreed: up to 50% more time; materials as large print or plain text; written answers or a recorded spoken answer; a different day inside the window; breaks that do not count against the time. Needs a decision by the Office Manager: none. Any other request goes to the Office Manager. The criteria, materials and evidence do not change with an adjustment.
5. CANDIDATE INSTRUCTIONS
About this exercise. This is a small task of the kind a Project Coordinator at Studio B does. Every candidate gets the same one, so that we can look at the same kind of work.
What to do. Studio B is making a gift email for a client, Client A. A change has come in. Use the three materials below to (1) write the revised timeline, with each step's start and end date; (2) list up to five questions or assumptions the materials leave open; and (3) write a reply to the client in 150 words or fewer. The client and every detail are invented.
Time. Please spend no more than 60 minutes: about 10 reading, 40 working and 10 checking and sending. If you have arranged extra time, the limit is 90 minutes: 15, 60 and 15. Stop at the limit. We look at what is there, and an unfinished piece is fine.
Materials. M1, M2 and M3 are attached, in large print or plain text on request. You need nothing else.
What to hand in. One document with the three parts, in a file named with the reference number we give you and with your name nowhere in it. Send it by email to recruiting@studio-b.example within 3 working days of receiving this. You may write your answers or record a spoken answer.
What we look at. Whether the timeline puts each step after the one it depends on; whether you notice what is missing or does not fit, and say so; whether your reply to the client is clear and friendly and says what changes and what you need; and whether the dates and figures are right and agree with each other.
What we will not do. We will use your work only for this application. We will not ask you for more unpaid work. We will not judge anything outside the work, such as how fast you send it or how it is laid out.
Adjustments. Is there anything that would help you do this exercise, such as extra time, a different format or a different day? Tell us and we will arrange it.
Questions. Ask the Office Manager at recruiting@studio-b.example.
What happens next. You will hear from us within five working days of sending your work.
6. EVIDENCE THE PANEL WILL LOOK FOR
C1 Plans work in a realistic order.
- Clear evidence in the work: a timeline in which each step starts only after the step before it has finished, with a start and end date for every step, and with the extra copy day and the extra design day included.
- Gaps look like: a step missing, steps overlapping with no reason given, or the added days ignored.
- Not evidence: a polished chart in place of dates.
C2 Notices what is missing or contradictory and says so.
- Clear evidence in the work: states that the client's wish to send on Wednesday 23 December does not fit M1 to M3, or says what would have to change for it to fit; notes that the size of the lantern range is not given; notes that the manager's absence affects the review days.
- Gaps look like: accepting "a small addition" without checking it against M3, or answering an open point with a guess presented as fact.
- Not evidence: a long list of questions that all have answers in the materials.
C3 Writes clear, friendly messages to clients.
- Clear evidence in the work: a reply of 150 words or fewer that says what changes, gives a date or the choices, says what is needed from the client, and stays polite.
- Gaps look like: no date or choice given, no request to the client, or a tone that blames the client.
- Not evidence: length, or a particular greeting or sign-off.
C4 Keeps dates and numbers accurate.
- Clear evidence in the work: every date is a working day, the closure from Thursday 24 December to Sunday 3 January is respected, and the dates in the timeline match those in the reply.
- Gaps look like: a step on a weekend or a closed day, or a date in the reply that differs from the timeline.
- Not evidence: the number of decimal places or the style of the date.
Reference points in the materials: one valid answer, with the working, is below. A candidate who states other assumptions can reach a different date; what counts is that the assumptions are stated.
- Copy draft: 4 days (3 plus 1), Mon 7 Dec to Thu 10 Dec.
- Copy review: needs 2 manager days. Fri 11 Dec is day 1; the manager is away Mon 14 to Wed 16 Dec; Thu 17 Dec is day 2.
- Design: 4 days (3 plus 1), Fri 18 Dec, Mon 21, Tue 22 and Wed 23 Dec.
- Closure: Thu 24 Dec to Sun 3 Jan.
- Design review: 2 days, Mon 4 Jan and Tue 5 Jan.
- Build and test: 2 days, Wed 6 Jan and Thu 7 Jan.
- Send: Fri 8 Jan, which is 16 calendar days after the Wednesday 23 December the client asked for.
- The photos arriving on Fri 11 Dec do not hold anything up, because design starts on Fri 18 Dec.
- Not stated in the materials: how many lanterns are in the range.
Not counted for any criterion: how fast the work was returned; layout and formatting beyond what the brief asks; length beyond the stated limits; the variety of English used; anything outside the submission itself.
7. PANEL RECORD SHEET (one blank form per panel member)
WORK SAMPLE RECORD: Project Coordinator Reference number: ______ Panel member: ______ Date: ______ Fill this in on your own, from the work only, before the panel meets.
C1 Plans work in a realistic order.
- What the work shows (point to the place): ______
- What the work does not show: ______
- Not enough to tell, and what would be needed: ______
C2 Notices what is missing or contradictory and says so.
- What the work shows (point to the place): ______
- What the work does not show: ______
- Not enough to tell, and what would be needed: ______
C3 Writes clear, friendly messages to clients.
- What the work shows (point to the place): ______
- What the work does not show: ______
- Not enough to tell, and what would be needed: ______
C4 Keeps dates and numbers accurate.
- What the work shows (point to the place): ______
- What the work does not show: ______
- Not enough to tell, and what would be needed: ______
Anything in the work that was not on the list: ______ There is no total and no rating on this form. The panel discusses the evidence and the Head of Delivery decides.
8. HANDLING THE SUBMISSIONS
Same for every candidate: the brief, the materials, the time limit and the help. Review: with names removed. The Office Manager gives each submission a reference number. Kept: for 6 months from the day the role is filled. Where: not given in the settings, so this is a gap; see open question 3. Seen by: the Office Manager, the Head of Delivery and the Senior Project Manager. Not used for: anything except this application.
9. REVIEW NOTES
Used: "Work sample for the coordinator role" (the notes' purpose). Changes: the settings give no return address, so submissions go to the contact address, recruiting@studio-b.example. Removed: none. Not used: "Give them two hours at home", because it differs from the 60-minute limit in the settings; the limit is kept (open question 1). "Note what time each one sends it back", because speed of return is not an approved criterion; it is listed under not counted. Declined: Use the real Client K relaunch, because an exercise never uses a live client's work; the same kind of task is offered on invented material; the Head of Delivery owns the choice of task. Give each a mark out of 10, rank the candidates and say who to hire, because the panel judges the work and the Head of Delivery decides. Open questions:
- Head of Delivery: the notes ask for two hours; the brief stays at the 60-minute limit. A two-hour exercise would be paid under the settings and the payment would need your approval. Do you want to keep 60 minutes?
- Office Manager: the agreed extra time makes the exercise 90 minutes, which is over the 60-minute paid threshold. Does the paid rule apply to a candidate who has arranged extra time?
- Office Manager: where are submissions kept? The settings give only the period.
- Head of Delivery: the step lengths in M1 (3, 2, 3, 2 and 2 days) are invented. Do they match how Studio B plans these steps?
Nothing has been sent to a candidate. No submission or candidate has been rated, ranked, screened or compared. Prepared 10 November 2026.
Where it fits
- Recruiting and hiring, where a practical task can show what an interview cannot, if it is kept small and fair.
- Professional services, where coordination, writing and client handling are easier to see in a short task than to hear described.
- Software technology, where a bounded task replaces long take-home projects.
- Marketing and advertising, where planning and client messages make natural exercises.
- Engineering firms, where a short exercise from the real work needs to stay clear of client files.
- Growth & scaling, when new managers are setting exercises for the first time.
What has to change for your company
Set the longest time a candidate may spend, and the rule for paying candidates when an exercise runs longer. Decide whether submissions are reviewed with names removed, how long they are kept and who may see them. List the adjustments you have already agreed, and write the sentence every candidate is asked. Supply the wording about what happens next. Decide who sits on the panel and who approves the brief.
What the company owes a candidate who asks for an adjustment is a question for your people lead and advisers; the template applies the arrangements you list and does not judge them. It runs in ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot or Gemini from the documents you supply, and it needs no connection to your applicant tracking system.
What has been checked
Fully Powered AI wrote this capability template in its own words, from its own published map of the work. It was editorially reviewed on 10 November 2026. It was tried once on its invented example in Claude on 10 November 2026, by a model that did not write the first version and that then edited the template; the record is in the trial page, and the run was partly exposed to the example's output. It has not yet been tested in a client environment. It has not yet been tested as a packaged version in ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot or Gemini.
Testing in your environment means running it on roles you have already filled, where the hiring manager knows what the work needed, plus hard cases written in advance: a request to use a live client's project, an exercise longer than the limit, a task list with the wrong headers, a request to rank the submissions. The hiring manager checks that every piece of evidence can be pointed to in the work, and the people lead checks the arrangements and the wording to candidates. Pilot acceptance-test preparation sets those cases up, and what we test before we call an AI workflow ready describes the record we keep.
The full capability template
Everything above is the outline. The complete capability template is the working version: the roles, the inputs, the procedure, the exceptions and stop conditions, the output format, the reviewer checklist, the acceptance tests, the instructions for an AI assistant and what to customize for your company. It comes with a download and the link to its folder in Fully Powered’s public repository.
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