Work-Sample Hiring
Replace false proxies with a short, fairly paid project
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 98%
Work-Sample Hiring replaces weak selection proxies with direct evidence from a bounded project. The process begins by defining what the person will actually need to produce and removing irrelevant clues such as school prestige, interview polish, location, or personal familiarity. A candidate then receives a short project and is paid fairly whether or not the output leads to further work. The evaluator judges the work product rather than reverse-engineering ability from status signals. Strong work earns additional responsibility; weak or mismatched work leads to a different task or no further engagement. Godin presents this as a way to reduce false proxies, discover people who would otherwise be screened out, and select for qualities such as resilience, honesty, transparency, and connection through behavior rather than claims.
Origin
Godin refined the approach while volunteers contributed to The Carbon Almanac and later reused it for a distributed software pilot.
Core principles
- 01Credentials and interviews can be false proxies
- 02Relevant work predicts relevant work better than status clues
- 03Short trials should be paid fairly regardless of outcome
- 04Future opportunities should follow demonstrated contribution
- 05Personal familiarity is not the same as job evidence
How to run it
- 1
Define actual output
Specify the useful work the person must perform instead of relying on a generic candidate profile.
Pro tip Choose a sample that resembles the real engagement.
Watch out Do not test unrelated polish.
- 2
Discard false proxies
Remove filters that do not directly predict the work, including prestige, interview skill, and demographic clues.
Watch out Familiarity can feel relevant while adding little evidence.
- 3
Commission a short project
Offer a one-hour to one-week assignment with clear size, purpose, and compensation.
Pro tip State the change the project is intended to make.
Watch out Do not disguise unpaid production work as an audition.
- 4
Pay fairly
Pay for the sample whether the candidate does a good job or not.
- 5
Judge the work
Evaluate the returned product against the real need, then decide whether to offer more or different work.
Pro tip Separate criticism of the output from judgment of the person.
Watch out Do not reinterpret the result to preserve your original proxy-based preference.
In the wild
On The Carbon Almanac, volunteers received access to contribute. People who did something useful were asked to do more, while people whose first contribution did not fit were asked to do something different.
→ Responsibility followed demonstrated work rather than credentials or location.
Godin selected contributors in Nigeria, London, and Portland after seeing their previous project work, not because he knew them personally or they lived nearby.
→ The team was assembled from relevant evidence rather than geographic or personal proxies.
Common mistakes
Testing interview performance
Unless interviewing is the job, interview skill is an indirect and potentially misleading proxy.
Using unpaid trials
The sample should be paid fairly even when it does not lead to more work.
Hiring for social similarity
Knowing or liking someone personally does not establish that their work fits the project.
Is it for you?
Best for
Organizations hiring freelancers or roles whose real output can be tested in a short project.
Not ideal for
Roles where a short sample cannot be conducted safely, ethically, or representatively.
From the transcript
“unless you're hiring someone to be an interviewer, being good at interviewing is a false proxy.”
“I will pay someone to do a short project and I pay them whether they do a good job or not.”
“when the project comes back, this one-hour, one-week project, pay them fairly and then decide based on the work product whether it's useful.”
From the episode
#672: Seth Godin — The Pursuit of Meaning, The Life-Changing Power of Choosing Your Attitude, Overcoming Rejection, Life Lessons from Zig Ziglar, and Committing to Making Positive Change
Seth Godin