Take-home assignment email templates: every message from the heads-up to the result
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An email sending a take-home assignment should tell the candidate what the task is meant to show, how many hours it should take and that extra hours are not rewarded, the deadline with its time zone, how to submit, your policy on AI tools, how to ask for an adjustment or an alternative, any payment, and when they will hear back. Warn candidates a take-home is coming before you send it, and confirm receipt the day it arrives. The ten templates below cover the whole exchange, from the heads-up at the end of the previous interview to the note that goes to your reviewers.
Designing the task and scoring it is a separate job, covered in how to evaluate a take-home assignment, which includes a brief template and a rubric. This page is the correspondence around it. The decline after a work sample is in the candidate rejection email templates.
When does each email go out?
| Moment | Template | |
|---|---|---|
| End of the stage before the assignment | Heads-up: what is coming and roughly when | 1 |
| The agreed send date | The assignment, with a deadline window | 2 |
| Instead of 2, for timed tasks | Pick your start time; brief arrives at the start | 3 |
| Instead of 2, when you pay for the work | The assignment, with the rate and how payment works | 4 |
| Agency, client-set task | Forwarding the client's brief with your own guidance | 5 |
| Same day as submission | Receipt and next steps | 6 |
| One working day before the deadline | Short reminder, only if nothing has arrived | 7 |
| When a candidate asks | Extension reply | 8 |
| One working day after a missed deadline | Check-in, not a closure | 9 |
| When the submission arrives | Internal note to reviewers | 10 |
What must the assignment email itself include?
- The purpose, in one sentence: "This is to see how you would approach [the core skill]." Candidates do better work when they know what is being judged.
- Time limit and window, as two different things: "[2–3] hours of work, returned by [date]".
- The deadline with a time zone and the day of the week, so nobody misreads 9 a.m. Friday as Friday evening.
- How to submit: a reply with an attachment, a link to a folder, a repository invitation.
- Tools and AI: your policy, stated plainly.
- Adjustments and alternatives: a single line offering both.
- What you do with the work: who reviews it, that it is not used for anything else, and when it is deleted.
- What happens next and by when.
Ten take-home assignment email templates
1. The heads-up, at the end of the previous stage
Subject: Next step for [Role]: a short work sample
Hi [First name],
Thanks for today's conversation. We'd like to move you to the next
stage, which is a short take-home task.
What to expect: about [2–3] hours of work on [a realistic problem
from the role], which you'd return within [number] days. We'll send
it on [date] unless another week suits you better.
If a take-home is difficult for you right now, tell me. We can
[schedule a live working session instead / look at existing work you
can share], assessed against the same criteria.
[Your name]The heads-up lets candidates plan the hours around a job and a family. It also surfaces the candidates who cannot do unpaid work this week, before the brief lands and silence follows.
2. Sending the assignment
Subject: Your [Role] take-home: due [Day], [Date], [Time] [Time zone]
Hi [First name],
As promised, here's the take-home for [Role]. The brief is attached
[/ here: (link)].
Purpose: to see how you approach [core skill].
Time: about [2–3] hours. Please stop there; we score the criteria in
the brief, not extra polish.
Due: [Day], [Date], by [Time] [Time zone].
Submit: [reply with attachments / upload to (link)].
Tools and AI: [your policy, one or two sentences].
Two reviewers will score it against the criteria in the brief without
your name attached. Submissions are used only for this decision and
deleted [when / within (period) after] the process ends.
Need more time, an adjustment, or a different format? Reply and ask.
It won't count against you.
You'll hear from me by [date]. If you move forward, the next step is a
[20]-minute conversation about your choices.
[Your name]3. Timed window, candidate chooses the start
Subject: [Role] take-home: choose when to start
Hi [First name],
The next step is a timed task: you'll have [3] hours from when you
open the brief. Choose any start time between [date] and [date]:
[scheduling link / reply with a time].
At your start time, I'll email the brief [/ the link will unlock].
Send your work back within [3] hours of that time. If something
interrupts you, such as a power cut or a family emergency, tell me and
we'll rearrange. That's not held against you.
Tools and AI: [your policy].
[Your name]A timed window keeps the hours honest, but only if the candidate picks the start. A fixed start time on a weekday screens out everyone who cannot leave their current job for an afternoon.
4. Paid assignment
Subject: Your [Role] take-home (paid): due [Date]
Hi [First name],
Here's the take-home for [Role]. Because it takes about [number]
hours, we pay for it: [rate / flat amount], whether or not you move
forward.
To be paid: [what you need from them, such as an invoice or a form]
to [email] by [date]. Payment goes out within [number] days.
Brief: [attached / link]
Due: [Day], [Date], [Time] [Time zone]
Tools and AI: [policy]
[Your name]Fill in the payment mechanics with your finance team before sending, including what the candidate needs to provide and how quickly it goes out. A paid task with a slow or confusing payment process undoes the goodwill the payment was meant to buy.
5. Agency: forwarding a client's assignment
Subject: [Client]'s take-home for [Role]
Hi [First name],
Good news: [Client] would like you to do a take-home task as the next
step. Their brief is attached.
From me:
- They've said it should take about [hours]. If it's running much
longer, stop and tell me; I'd rather raise it with them than have
you spend a weekend on it.
- Due to me by [Day], [Date], [Time] [Time zone]. I'll pass it on.
- Their policy on AI tools: [policy, or "I've asked and will confirm"].
What they're really looking at, from my conversation with
[hiring manager]: [one or two lines].
Call me if anything in the brief is unclear: [mobile].
[Your name], [Agency]The line about what the client is really looking at is the value the recruiter adds. So is the permission to stop when the task runs long: the candidate will not say that to the client directly.
6. Receipt confirmation
Subject: Received: your [Role] take-home
Hi [First name],
Your work arrived. Thank you for the time you put into it.
The reviewers will score it by [date], and I'll be in touch by
[date] either way. If it goes forward, the next step is [a 20-minute
walkthrough with (name)], so keep a copy handy.
[Your name]7. Reminder before the deadline
Subject: Reminder: [Role] take-home due [Day] [Time] [Time zone]
Hi [First name],
A quick reminder that the take-home is due [Day], [Date], by [Time]
[Time zone]. If you need longer, just reply. That's fine.
[Your name]Send it only to candidates who have not submitted, and keep the offer of more time in it. The reminder's real job is to make asking for an extension easy.
8. Reply to an extension request
Subject: Re: [Role] take-home
Hi [First name],
Of course. Your new deadline is [Day], [Date], [Time] [Time zone].
Taking the extra time won't count against you; we score the work
against the brief and nothing else.
[Your name]If you genuinely cannot extend, because a decision date is already committed to other candidates, say so and offer the alternative: "I can't move the deadline past [date], but we could do a [60]-minute live session on [dates] instead, scored the same way."
9. Missed deadline
Subject: Checking in on your [Role] take-home
Hi [First name],
The take-home deadline was yesterday, and I haven't seen anything
come through. Did it go astray, or did something get in the way?
If you'd still like to be considered, reply by [date] and we'll work
out what's possible. If you've decided the role isn't for you, that's
completely fine. A quick note lets me close things off properly.
[Your name]Check your spam folder and the upload location before sending this. Then treat silence after the second date as a withdrawal, and close the record with the reason, so the candidate is not left in an open stage.
10. Internal: note to reviewers
Subject: Take-home to score: [Role], candidate [code]
Hi [Reviewer names],
A submission for [Role] is in: [link to anonymized copy]. Candidate
code: [code]. Please don't look up the candidate before scoring.
Rubric: [link]. Score independently, before discussing it with each
other, by [date]. Note anything you can't score from the work
alone; that becomes a question for the walkthrough.
[Your name]Strip the name and resume details from the copy you share where the task allows it. The reasons for blind, independent scoring are covered in the evaluation guide.
Wording the AI tools line
Whatever your policy, write it in the email as well as the brief, because the email is what candidates reread. Three wordings that work:
Allowed, disclosed:
"Use whatever tools you'd use at work, including AI assistants. Add a
short note saying what you used and what you changed yourself."
Not allowed:
"Please complete this without AI assistants, because [the job-related
reason]. We'll talk through your approach in the next conversation."
Partly allowed:
"AI tools are fine for [research / formatting], but the [analysis /
recommendation] should be your own work."The walkthrough after the take-home is where any policy is tested: a candidate who can explain each decision and change something live has shown the skill, whatever helped with the first draft. Score the walkthrough with the submission, so the assignment becomes one row in the same decision as the interviews; see how to compare candidates after interviews.
How to use these templates
- Agree the task, time limit, rubric and AI policy with the hiring manager before the heads-up goes out.
- Send template 1 at the end of the previous stage, and agree a send date with the candidate.
- Send template 2, 3 or 4 on that date, with every [bracket] filled and the deadline in the candidate's time zone.
- Put the deadline and the reviewers' scoring date in your calendar the moment you send.
- Confirm receipt the same day (template 6), and send the anonymized copy to reviewers (template 10).
- Reply to every completed submission with a decision by the date you gave. The status update emails cover a delay.
Mistakes that cost you good candidates
| Mistake | Why it hurts | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Brief sent with no warning | Candidate has no time that week and drops out quietly | Send a heads-up and agree a date |
| Time limit missing or soft | Candidates compete on hours, not skill | State the hours and that extra work is not rewarded |
| Deadline without a time zone | Disputes over whether it was late | Day, date, time and zone |
| No receipt confirmation | Candidate wonders if the work arrived | Confirm the same day |
| No decision after submission | Hours of unanswered work, which candidates remember and repeat | A decision and two lines of feedback by the promised date |
| Different tasks for different finalists | Results cannot be compared | Same brief, limit and rubric for everyone |
Questions people ask
What should an email sending a take-home assignment include?
What the assignment is meant to show, a time limit and a clear statement that extra hours are not rewarded, the deadline with its time zone, how to submit, your policy on AI tools, how to ask for an adjustment or an alternative, any payment, and what happens after submission and by when. The task itself can sit in an attached brief, but those logistics belong in the email body.
How long should a candidate have to complete a take-home assignment?
Separate the work time from the window. A task capped at two to four hours of work can still have a window of several days, so a candidate with a job and family can fit it in. If you use a timed window instead, let the candidate choose when it starts.
How do I respond when a candidate asks for more time on a take-home?
Say yes unless the extension would delay a decision you have already committed to, give a specific new deadline, and tell them plainly that the extension will not count against them. If you cannot extend, say why and offer an alternative such as a live session.
Should I confirm receipt of a take-home assignment?
Yes, the same day. A candidate who has spent three hours on your problem should not wonder whether the file arrived. The confirmation should give the date they will hear back and, if it applies, what the next conversation will be.