What is a writing sample for employment?

A writing sample is a document used to assess a candidate’s ability to communicate via the written word. Many jobs, including technical writer, editor, communications manager and marketing specialist require excellent writing skills. Writing samples can be past work from previous jobs or new assignments where employers request an original piece of writing.

Employees may have to write annual reports, memos, blog posts, newsletters and other items, so it’s important to hire people with good communication.

Requesting a writing sample has several benefits for employers:

• This type of pre-employment test allows you to compare the writing and working styles of different applicants, providing a clear and valid way to assess their skills.
• A quality writing assessment can represent the work performed in the open role.
• All candidates receive the same instructions and time to complete a sample, helping to create a fair evaluation.

While writing assessments offer many benefits, they can also be time-consuming, especially if you request in-depth work samples. It may be preferable to consider using writing samples mainly for candidates who will be doing a significant amount of writing in the role.

How long should a writing sample for a job be?

A writing sample for employment should be a significant piece of writing, as it can be difficult to assess a candidate’s skills based on a few sentences or paragraphs. The sample should be long enough to check the candidate’s grammar and spelling.

A long writing sample can help you assess if the candidate’s writing is well-organized, flows smoothly and effectively conveys information.

What type of writing sample to request

The writing sample you request should be relevant to your open position.

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Public relations/ marketing jobs: Press releases, newsletter articles, email copy
• Copywriting jobs: Short-form sales letters, landing pages, product pages
• Content writing jobs: Blog posts, short articles, social media posts
• Technical writing jobs: e-books, case studies, white paper excerpts, executive summaries
• Administrative/clerical jobs: Business letters, professional emails, memos

Providing instructions to candidates

If you require a writing sample for employment, provide clear instructions to every candidate. Consider reading the prompt several times to ensure it’s easy to understand and without errors. Make sure candidates have the following information:

• Writing topic
• Minimum/maximum length
• Formatting requirements
• In-house style rules
• Submission requirements

Consider using some of these examples to help you create easy-to-read instructions:

• Write an email introducing a new sunglasses brand. Audience members include men and women between the ages of 18 and 29. The email should be no more than 300 words. It should also mention three of the following product features: polarization, impact-resistant lenses, customization, mirrored coating and polycarbonate lens construction. Upload your completed sample to our hiring portal by June 12. Accepted file formats include .pdf, .odt, .doc and .docx.
• Review the attached report and write an executive summary ranging from 300-400 words. The target audience consists of past supporters who haven’t donated within the last five years, so your executive summary should highlight the impact of our organization on the community. Be sure to mention the completion of a new park in Northeast Heights as one of our top achievements of 2024. Send your writing sample to hr@creightonlogistics.com by August 28. Include your last name in the subject line.
• Provide a writing sample from a previous job or work experience that demonstrates your ability to communicate effectively with a similar target audience . The sample should be relevant to the tasks you’ll perform in this role, such as drafting reports, crafting marketing emails or writing executive summaries. Upload your chosen sample to our hiring portal by June 12. Accepted file formats include .pdf, .doc and .docx.

Requesting previous work samples

If you don’t have time to create a writing prompt, you can also ask candidates for previous work samples. For example, if you’re hiring a public relations specialist, you can ask to see their job portfolio, including press releases and other publicity-related writing. Asking for previous samples eliminates the need to develop a prompt and send it to every candidate.

Requesting previous samples may be less time-consuming for your HR department. You don’t have to create a prompt, ask for feedback from multiple collaborators or take other steps to launch a new assessment.

Another benefit of requesting previous samples is that experienced employees are likely to have many samples for your review. Instead of evaluating a single piece of writing, you can view a candidate’s entire portfolio, giving you more confidence in your selection.

Consider asking the following questions during interviews when reviewing writing samples or job portfolios:

• What was the purpose of this sample?
• Who was your target audience ?
• How was your writing received?
• What was the outcome—did your writing help your previous employer increase sales, reach a new audience or achieve another goal?
• Tell me about the process you followed to complete this writing project.

How to assess a writing sample

When you receive a writing sample, determine if the candidate followed the provided instructions. If the sample meets your basic hiring criteria, share it with several team members for review and request that they give feedback.

Their feedback should be as objective as possible, so consider providing a rubric with different point values for each item. For example, you might make grammar and syntax worth 10 points, organization worth 10 points, creativity worth five points and formatting worth five points.

Have each reviewer complete a score sheet with a rating for each category. If a candidate receives a 10 for grammar and syntax, a nine for organization, a four for creativity and a five for formatting, they’d score 28/30. Once you receive score sheets from each reviewer, calculate the average score for each candidate.

The writing sample is just one piece of information used to assess a candidate’s suitability for an open role. When making a hiring decision, consider the writing sample results along with resumes, interviews, skills assessments and other hiring materials.