I will add, too, that if the door was specifically left open for follow-up questions, it will likely reflect well on you to thoughtfully request clarification.

Hi, Alec! You got some great feedback up above, but I thought I'd weigh in too. Is the job a writing-intensive job? If so, and if writing is a skill you aim to perfect, then I think spending an hour or so on a writing prompt is a great way to hone your skills. Furthermore, if the prompt isn't too specific to the company, the final product might end up being useful to you in other applications. But I agree that getting a little clarification up front is a great idea! Is the prompt needed to get you to the interview stage? How likely are you to receive an interview if you complete the prompt? In any case, good luck!

It definitely depends on the job. When we are hiring anyone with content creation as a key part of the role, we do ask candidates to submit writing prompts as part of the interview process. Much like Arika described, it's always a real-world exercise to help us gauge someone's creativity, writing quality, and ability to take feedback. Done well, a writing prompt should give you an expected timeframe to invest in completion; if not, it's completely appropriate to ask for guidance from HR or your hiring contact. When you send in your submission, you can also note how much time you actually spent, as a way to indicate the level of effort reflected by the deliverable. And, yes -- follow Arika here too: if you have samples already, definitely offer those up first! We've waived the writing prompt part of the interview for candidates with great samples already.

This is interesting! I am known to submit my previous writing samples for a job, and I did have to submit a writing prompt once (during the application process). They gave me a content-related work scenario and wanted me to write out how I would go about completing this task. I believe the prompt was more about understanding my thought process but it also gave them a chance to see how I could articulate a particular business process. I agree with Krystin, too. I wouldn't spend a lot of time on the prompt either; I think I wrote up my prompt in less than 1 hour. I still provided previous work samples and a cover letter because the role I was applying for had a heavy writing need. P.S. I did end up getting the job!

I'd be curious to know exactly what's being asked before an interview. If it's something short (like "write an email to a client") I think that's totally reasonable. But if it's something much more labor-intensive, I'm not sure I'd want to do that without at least knowing more about the job + whether I'm interested in it! I would suggest not spending more than an hour, ideally less depending on the prompt. I think a cover letter is useful to explain why you're interested in the job + how you're uniquely a fit, so it isn't necessarily replaced by a writing assessment.