How to Run a Work Sample Test for Veteran Candidates

A resume tells you what someone says they can do. An interview tells you what they sound like. Neither one shows you the work. That gap trips up a lot of hiring for veterans. A veteran ran gear, led people, and made calls under pressure. But the resume puts it in words like "logistics operations" or "detachment leadership." You read that and still do not know if they can do the job in front of you.

A work sample test closes the gap. You give the candidate a real task from the job. They do it. You score it against a rubric. Now you have proof, not a guess. This works well for veterans because they often show more by doing than by writing. Below is how to build one, run it fair, and score it clean.

What Is a Work Sample Test?

A work sample test is a small, real task from the job. The candidate does the task. You watch the output and score it. That is the whole idea.

Think of a scaled-down version of the actual work. For a dispatcher role, you hand them a busy shift log and ask them to prioritize calls. For an analyst role, you give them a messy spreadsheet and one question to answer. For a maintenance lead, you have them write a work order and a parts request from a fault report. The task looks like Tuesday at the job. Not a puzzle. Not a brain teaser.

This is different from other steps in your hiring flow. A resume screen checks the paper. An interview checks how they talk and think. A work sample checks the work itself. You need all three. But the work sample is the one that turns "sounds good" into "can actually do it."

Why Do Work Samples Fit Veteran Candidates So Well?

Military work is hands-on. A veteran spent years being judged on whether the task got done, not on how it read on paper. So a task-based test plays to a real strength. You get to see the thing they were actually trained to do.

Here is the translation problem a work sample solves. A veteran writes "managed logistics for a 200-person unit." A hiring manager reads that and shrugs. Same veteran, given a real inventory and a shortfall to fix, sorts it in twenty minutes and explains every call. Now you see it. The skill was always there. The resume words just hid it.

Veterans also handle pressure well. A timed task with a clear goal is a normal day for them. They do not freeze. They triage, they act, and they tell you what they would do next with more time. That last part matters. A good candidate who runs out of time but shows sharp judgment can beat a slow one who finishes.

If you want more on reading past the resume words, see our guide on how to evaluate a veteran's resume. And if you are still deciding whether to drop hard degree filters, our piece on skills-based hiring for veterans pairs well with this one. A work sample is the tool that makes skills-based hiring real.

How Do You Design a Job-Relevant Work Sample?

The whole value comes from one thing. The task must match the job. Test a skill they will not use, and the score means nothing. Worse, an off-job test can be unfair and can put you at legal risk. So start with the job, not the test.

Step 1: List the core tasks of the role

Write down the three to five things this person will do most. Not every duty. The ones that decide if they sink or swim. For a warehouse lead, that might be reading a pick list, spotting a count error, and writing a clear handoff note. Pick from that list.

Step 2: Shrink one real task into a sample

Take one core task and cut it down. Use real materials when you can. A redacted work order. A sample data set with fake names. A short scenario from a past shift. Keep it small enough to do in a set window. Big enough to show real skill.

Step 3: Set a clear goal and a time box

Tell them exactly what "done" looks like. Give them a time limit. Thirty to sixty minutes works for most roles. If a task truly needs longer, that is a sign to cut it down more, or to pay them (more on that below).

How Do You Keep a Work Sample Test Fair and Legal?

A work sample is a selection procedure. That means the same fairness rules apply to it as to any test you use to hire. You want the test to be job-related and used the same way for everyone. This is not just good manners. It is the law.

The EEOC's guidance on employment tests and selection procedures lays this out. Under Title VII, a test that screens people out cannot do so on race, sex, or other protected traits. The one exception is when the test is job-related and needed for the business. The Uniform Guidelines at 29 CFR 1607.5 spell out how to show a test is valid. Content validity is the easy path here. It means the task on the test matches the task on the job. Build a job-relevant sample and you are most of the way there.

A few rules keep you clean:

How Do You Score a Work Sample With a Rubric?

Gut feel is where fair tests go to die. Two managers watch the same task and rate it two ways. The fix is a rubric. Write it before anyone takes the test. Score every person against the same lines.

A good rubric has three to five things you are scoring. Each one gets a short scale. Something like 1 to 4. Give each score a plain meaning so two people rate the same work the same way.

Pick your scoring lines

Pull the lines straight from what the job needs. For a data task, you might score: got the right answer, used a clean method, and explained it well. For a leadership scenario, you might score: made a clear call, thought about risk, and communicated the plan. Keep the list short. Three good lines beat ten fuzzy ones.

Write out what each score means

Do not just write "1 to 4." Say what a 4 looks like and what a 1 looks like. A 4 on "clear method" might be "steps make sense and anyone could follow them." A 1 might be "no clear path, jumps around." Now the number means something real.

Have two people score when you can. If their scores are far apart, talk it out and land on a number. This kills one manager's bias. It works the same way a good structured interview scorecard for veteran candidates does. Same idea, aimed at the work rather than the talk. Pair the two and you have a strong, fair read on each person.

What Are the Most Common Work Sample Mistakes?

Most bad work samples fail the same few ways. Watch for these and you skip a lot of pain.

One more trap. Do not spring the test with no warning. Tell the candidate ahead of time what the task will cover and how long it runs. A surprise timed test rewards people who game your process. It punishes people who prep and show up ready. That is the opposite of what you want. Our recruiter's checklist for screening veteran applicants covers how to set clear expectations at each step.

How Do You Run a Work Sample Remotely?

Many roles hire remote now, and a work sample still works. You just plan the setup a bit more. The goal is the same task, the same time, the same fair shot for everyone.

Send the prompt and materials by email or a shared link. Set a clear start and stop. Some teams put the candidate on a short video call and watch them work through it live. Others let the person do it on their own time inside a set window, then get on a call to walk through it. Both are fine. The live walk-through is gold. You hear how they think, and you catch anyone who had help.

Keep the tech simple. If a candidate needs a special tool they will not have day one, hand them a simple stand-in or a sandbox. Do not let a login screen decide who gets hired. And keep the video-call standard the same for every person. Same clarity on what you expect. Same time. Same rubric.

Where Do You Find Veterans to Test?

A work sample only helps if the right people reach it. You need a steady flow of veteran candidates who match the role. That is the part most midsize teams struggle with. You do not have a big veteran-hiring program or a full recruiting staff. You just need qualified people in the door.

That is where BMR fits. We add over 1,000 new veteran profiles every month, and our members have built more than 74,391 resumes. These are transitioning service members and veterans who are actively looking and have already done the work to line up their skills to civilian roles. You get a pool that is ready to be tested, not a pile of cold resumes.

Run your fair, job-relevant work sample against that pool and you will see the payoff fast. The translation gap closes. The proof shows up in the output. You hire on what people can do, not on how a resume happened to read. To reach BMR's veteran talent pool, connect with our team on the hire page.

A work sample is one strong tool. Pair it with a good scorecard and a fair way to line up your finalists. Our guides on how to interview a veteran candidate and how to compare two veteran candidates fairly round out the flow. Together they give you a hiring process that is fair, fast, and built on proof.