Effective Work Sample Exercises to Evaluate Content Writer Candidates

Content writers are the voice of your brand in the digital world. They translate complex ideas into compelling narratives that engage your audience and drive meaningful action. Finding the right content writer can significantly impact your marketing effectiveness, brand perception, and ultimately, your bottom line.

Traditional interviews often fail to reveal a candidate's true writing abilities, creative thinking, and technical skills. Resumes and portfolios show past work, but they don't demonstrate how candidates approach new challenges specific to your company's needs. This is where practical work samples become invaluable.

Work samples provide a window into how candidates think, create, and solve problems in real-time. They reveal not just writing talent, but also research capabilities, SEO knowledge, adaptability, and attention to detail. For content writers, these exercises simulate the actual work they'll be doing, giving you concrete evidence of their capabilities.

The following exercises are designed to evaluate the essential skills and competencies needed for content writing success. They go beyond basic writing tests to assess strategic thinking, optimization knowledge, and collaborative abilities. By implementing these exercises, you'll gain deeper insights into each candidate's potential contribution to your content marketing efforts.

These exercises also benefit candidates by giving them a realistic preview of the role, helping ensure mutual fit. When candidates understand what the job truly entails, those who proceed are more likely to succeed and remain engaged if hired.

Activity #1: SEO-Optimized Blog Post Creation

This exercise evaluates a candidate's ability to research, write engaging content, and apply SEO best practices—core skills for any content writer. It reveals their writing style, research thoroughness, and understanding of how content drives organic traffic.

Directions for the Company:

• Provide the candidate with your company's blog, brand guidelines, and 2-3 examples of successful blog posts.
• Select a topic relevant to your industry that hasn't been covered on your blog yet.
• Specify word count (800-1200 words is ideal), target audience, and primary keyword.
• Allow 24-48 hours for completion to respect the candidate's time while ensuring quality work.
• Provide a brief on your company's tone of voice and content style guide if available.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Research the provided topic thoroughly, identifying key subtopics and relevant statistics.
• Write an engaging, informative blog post that addresses the topic comprehensively.
• Optimize the content for SEO by including the primary keyword naturally throughout the text.
• Create an attention-grabbing headline, subheadings, and meta description.
• Include suggestions for relevant internal links and a call-to-action.
• Submit the completed post in a Google Doc or similar format.

Feedback Mechanism:

• During the follow-up interview, provide specific feedback on two strengths (e.g., engaging introduction, effective keyword usage) and one area for improvement (e.g., more specific examples, clearer structure).
• Ask the candidate to revise one section based on your feedback during a 15-minute exercise.
• Observe how receptively they handle constructive criticism and their ability to implement changes quickly.

Activity #2: Content Repurposing Challenge

This exercise tests a candidate's versatility and ability to adapt content across different platforms—a crucial skill as content marketing becomes increasingly multi-channel. It also reveals their understanding of platform-specific best practices and audience engagement strategies.

Directions for the Company:

• Select a substantial piece of existing content (e.g., a detailed blog post, whitepaper, or case study).
• Provide brand guidelines and examples of your social media presence across different platforms.
• Specify which platforms the content should be repurposed for (e.g., LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, email newsletter).
• Include analytics data showing which types of content perform best on each platform, if available.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the provided content thoroughly to understand the core message and key points.
• Create platform-specific versions of the content for each requested channel.
• For each platform, deliver:
• Appropriate copy (respecting character limits)
• Suggested visuals or graphics concepts
• Hashtag recommendations
• Best time to post (with rationale)
• Explain your strategic approach in a brief paragraph for each platform.
• Complete the exercise within 2-3 hours.

Feedback Mechanism:

• Highlight one particularly effective platform adaptation and explain why it would resonate with that audience.
• Suggest one improvement regarding platform optimization or audience targeting.
• Ask the candidate to revise their approach for the platform that needs improvement, giving them 10 minutes to adjust their strategy and explain their new approach.
• Evaluate their ability to pivot quickly while maintaining quality and strategic thinking.

Activity #3: Content Editing and SEO Optimization

This exercise assesses a candidate's attention to detail, editing skills, and SEO knowledge—essential for ensuring content quality and performance. It reveals how they improve existing work rather than just creating from scratch.

Directions for the Company:

• Prepare a draft blog post or web page content (500-800 words) with intentional issues:
• Grammatical errors and typos
• Unclear structure
• Weak headline
• Poor keyword usage
• Missing meta description
• Inconsistent tone
• Provide basic SEO guidelines and target keywords.
• Include information about the target audience and content goals.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Edit the provided content for clarity, grammar, and style.
• Restructure the content to improve flow and readability.
• Optimize the headline for both engagement and SEO.
• Incorporate target keywords naturally throughout the text.
• Write an effective meta description (150-160 characters).
• Suggest 2-3 internal linking opportunities.
• Provide a brief explanation of your changes and why they improve the content.
• Complete the exercise within 60-90 minutes.

Feedback Mechanism:

• Review the edits together, highlighting one particularly effective improvement.
• Point out one area where further optimization could be beneficial.
• Ask the candidate to implement this additional improvement in real-time during the discussion.
• Observe their thought process as they make these adjustments and their ability to explain their reasoning.

Activity #4: Content Calendar Planning

This exercise evaluates strategic thinking, content planning abilities, and understanding of content marketing principles. It reveals how candidates approach content creation at a higher level beyond individual pieces.

Directions for the Company:

• Provide information about an upcoming product launch, campaign, or company initiative.
• Share your content marketing goals, target audience profiles, and key messaging points.
• Include examples of past successful content campaigns if available.
• Specify the timeframe for the content calendar (e.g., 4 weeks before and 2 weeks after launch).
• Share analytics data showing which content types perform best with your audience, if available.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Create a 6-week content calendar surrounding the provided initiative.
• Include at least 3 different content types (e.g., blog posts, social media, email, video scripts).
• For each content piece, provide:
• Working title/concept
• Content type and channel
• Primary goal (awareness, consideration, conversion)
• Target audience segment
• Key messaging points
• Suggested publication date
• Write complete outlines for 2 of the proposed content pieces.
• Include a brief strategy explanation detailing how this plan supports overall marketing goals.
• Complete the exercise within 3-4 hours.

Feedback Mechanism:

• Highlight one particularly strategic element of their content plan.
• Suggest one adjustment that would better align with business goals or audience needs.
• Ask the candidate to revise their approach based on this feedback, giving them 15 minutes to adjust their strategy.
• Discuss their thought process during the revision and evaluate their strategic flexibility.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long should we give candidates to complete these exercises?

For take-home exercises like the blog post creation or content calendar, 24-48 hours is reasonable. For in-person or virtual exercises like editing or real-time revisions, 60-90 minutes is appropriate. Remember that respecting candidates' time demonstrates your company values and improves the candidate experience.

Should we compensate candidates for completing these exercises?

For more extensive exercises requiring several hours of work, offering compensation is increasingly considered best practice. This demonstrates respect for the candidate's time and expertise while ensuring you receive thoughtful, quality submissions. For shorter exercises (under 2 hours), compensation is less common but still appreciated.

How do we evaluate candidates consistently across these exercises?

Create a standardized rubric for each exercise that aligns with the key competencies from your job description. Rate candidates on specific criteria (e.g., writing quality, SEO knowledge, strategic thinking) rather than making purely subjective assessments. Have multiple team members review submissions independently before discussing.

What if a candidate refuses to complete a work sample?

This may indicate concerns about time commitment or intellectual property. Consider offering alternatives, such as discussing a previous relevant project in detail or completing a shorter version of the exercise. If they still decline, this might signal a mismatch in expectations or work style.

How can we make these exercises accessible to all candidates?

Offer flexibility in timing and format when possible. Clearly communicate expectations and provide necessary resources. Consider accommodations for candidates who request them. Remember that the goal is to evaluate skills relevant to the role, not to test abilities unrelated to job success.

Should we share these exercises in advance or surprise candidates?

For best results, inform candidates about the types of exercises they'll complete during the interview process. This allows them to prepare appropriately and reduces anxiety. Surprising candidates with on-the-spot exercises may disadvantage qualified individuals who perform better with preparation.

In today's content-driven digital landscape, finding writers who can create engaging, strategic, and optimized content is crucial for marketing success. These practical work samples will help you identify candidates who not only write well but also understand the strategic role content plays in achieving business objectives.

By implementing these exercises, you'll gain deeper insights into each candidate's capabilities than traditional interviews alone can provide. The result? Better hiring decisions and content writers who can truly drive your marketing efforts forward.

For more resources to improve your hiring process, check out Yardstick's AI Job Description Generator, AI Interview Question Generator, and AI Interview Guide Generator. You can also find the complete job description for a Content Writer role here.

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