I don't mind this (provided the request is decently specified and scoped), because I find interviews stressful and often pointless and work sample tests are (or

I don't mind this (provided the request is decently specified and scoped), because I find interviews stressful and often pointless and work sample tests are (or should be) higher signal, but if I'm going to do a work sample test, I don't want to then have several phone or onsite interviews as a followup. Ideally, when I'm given such a test I should be able to predict my success at completing it well enough to know whether it is worth my time. There could, of course, be unforeseen problems, but I should be able to judge the likelihood that spending the time to complete the exercise will get me the job. This means that cultural expectations are expressed up front. Do you expect the job applicant to adhere to your company code style guide or expect unit tests? I'd assume the latter is a frequent expectation but it doesn't hurt to mention; practices vary greatly from company to company so a reminder could be useful. Or maybe you write a lot of functional JavaScript on your team, and want to know if a candidate is familiar with that style. If you reject a candidate because they didn't match your preferred style but didn't ask for that, you're likely wasting my time and yours.