What to Send Instead of a 10-Hour Unpaid Case Study

What should you send instead of a 10-hour unpaid case study?

A 10-hour unpaid case study is a substantial request, especially during an early interview stage. You can show your ability without accepting an open-ended assignment by sending:

1. Two relevant work samples that resemble the role's responsibilities.
2. A short explanation of your decisions, including the problem, constraints, process, and result.
3. A proposed limit, such as a 30- to 60-minute discussion or a short paid exercise.
4. A question about how the company will use your submission.

This approach keeps the conversation constructive while protecting your time and intellectual property.

How do you politely decline a long unpaid assignment?

Avoid accusing the employer of bad faith unless you have clear evidence. State that the assignment is larger than you can complete unpaid, then offer a specific alternative.

Thanks for sending this over. The proposed exercise appears to require approximately 10 hours, which I am not able to complete as unpaid interview work. I would be happy to share two comparable portfolio examples and walk through my decisions. If a practical exercise is still needed, I can complete a short, time-boxed version or discuss a paid assignment.

This reply does three useful things: it identifies the boundary, demonstrates continued interest, and gives the hiring team a reasonable next step.

What should a portfolio packet include?

A useful portfolio packet does not need to be long. For each example, include:

• The context: What problem or goal were you addressing?
• Your role: Which parts did you personally own?
• The constraints: What limited the project, such as time, data, scope, or technology?
• Your decisions: Why did you choose that approach?
• The outcome: Share a verified result when you can. Do not imply metrics you cannot substantiate.
• A relevant artifact: Link to the finished work, a public case study, a GitHub repository, or a redacted sample where appropriate.

You can organize the packet in Notion or Google Docs and check every permission before sending it. If the work is private, provide a short summary instead of sharing confidential material.

How do you decide whether an unpaid case study is reasonable?

Not every unpaid exercise is automatically inappropriate. Before agreeing, ask:

• How much time should the exercise take?
• Is the assignment limited to the interview process?
• Will the company use, publish, or distribute the work?
• Who will review it, and what criteria will they use?
• Is the task similar to the role, or does it request production-ready work?
• Can the company accept an existing portfolio example instead?
• Would a shorter exercise or paid project demonstrate the same skill?

A brief, clearly bounded exercise may be manageable for some candidates. A request for a complete campaign, product strategy, design system, article series, or production feature deserves closer scrutiny.

What can you offer instead of a 10-hour assignment?

Offer an alternative that tests the same capability with less unpaid labor. For example:

• A 20-minute walkthrough of a comparable project.
• A 30-minute live critique of a sample brief.
• A one-page outline instead of a complete strategy.
• A small code review instead of a full feature.
• A short paid trial project with an agreed deliverable and usage terms.
• A discussion of how you would approach the assignment, without producing the entire deliverable.

A useful boundary is to agree in advance on the maximum time, deliverable, feedback process, and ownership of the work.

How should different professionals respond?

Developers

Send a relevant GitHub repository or redacted code sample. Explain the trade-offs you made, such as performance, maintainability, testing, or accessibility. Offer a short code discussion or review rather than building a complete production feature for free.

Writers and content strategists

Send two published pieces with a short note about the audience, brief, research process, and edits. Offer a concise outline or editorial discussion instead of writing a full unpaid article or campaign.

Designers

Share a case study showing the problem, iterations, decisions, and final result. A short critique or design walkthrough can demonstrate judgment without giving away a complete new concept.

Product and operations candidates

Send a relevant planning, research, or process example with confidential details removed. Explain how you prioritized constraints and measured progress. Offer to discuss a hypothetical approach rather than preparing a full strategy deck.

What if the employer says the assignment is mandatory?

You can ask whether the requirement applies to every candidate and whether the company has a shorter or paid alternative. If the employer refuses to clarify the scope, insists on production-ready work, or reacts negatively to a reasonable boundary, treat that response as information about the working relationship.

You are allowed to continue with the process, decline the assignment, or withdraw from consideration. Choose based on the role's importance, the company's response, and the opportunity cost of the work.

How do you compare the opportunity cost?

A 10-hour assignment is not just time spent writing, designing, researching, or coding. It can also replace time you could use to:

• apply to better-fitting roles,
• follow up with existing leads,
• improve your portfolio,
• complete paid client work,
• rest before an important interview.

If you are looking for freelance or contract work while continuing a full-time job search, use a simple workflow: collect promising opportunities, check the original listing, verify the scope, and respond only when the fit is strong. Public communities such as Reddit, LinkedIn, and Discord can contain relevant leads, but checking each source manually can become distracting. Sidequestboard is an optional pipeline-building resource for people who want freelance, contract, or other public opportunities alongside their job search.

How can you keep your job search organized?

Create a small tracking system for every opportunity or interview process. A Trello board, spreadsheet, or Notion database can record:

• company or client,
• role and source,
• date received,
• assignment scope,
• time requested,
• response sent,
• next step,
• decision or outcome.

Store portfolio links in one place, test access in a private browser window, and keep a reusable response template. When a new lead appears in Reddit, LinkedIn, Discord, or another public community, record the original source before responding so you can verify the details later.

Ready-to-send response templates

Portfolio-first reply

Thanks for sharing the exercise. Before committing to a 10-hour unpaid assignment, I would be glad to provide two relevant portfolio examples and explain the decisions behind them. I am also happy to discuss my approach in a short call or complete a smaller, time-boxed exercise.

Request for a paid assignment

I am interested in the role, but the proposed scope is substantial for an unpaid interview exercise. If the company needs new work created for evaluation or potential use, I would be happy to discuss a paid, clearly scoped project with agreed deliverables and usage terms.

Clarifying the scope

Could you clarify the expected time, evaluation criteria, and whether the submission will be used outside the interview process? If the exercise is intended to take around 10 hours, would you consider a shorter version or a paid assessment?

Declining while staying professional

Thank you for considering me. I am going to withdraw because I cannot complete a 10-hour unpaid assignment. I appreciate the opportunity and wish you success with the search.

Frequently Asked Questions About Unpaid Case Studies

Is it reasonable to refuse a 10-hour unpaid case study?

Yes. You can explain that the scope is too large for unpaid interview work and offer relevant portfolio evidence, a short exercise, or a paid alternative. The employer may still decide not to continue, but a clear boundary helps you make an informed choice.

Should I send my best work if I decline the assignment?

Send work that is relevant and that you are authorized to share. Two strong, comparable examples with a clear explanation are usually more useful than a large collection of unrelated links. Remove confidential information and verify that every link works before sending it.

Can a company legally use an unpaid case study?

The answer depends on the jurisdiction, the agreement, and how the work is used. Do not assume that an interview submission can be used freely. Ask about ownership, licensing, confidentiality, and whether the company will use or publish the work. Seek qualified legal advice for a specific dispute.

What if I have no portfolio samples?

Use a personal project, open-source contribution, volunteer project, or carefully labeled practice brief when you have permission to share it. Explain that it is a self-directed example and distinguish assumptions from verified results. You can also offer a short conversation about how you would approach the role's work.

Should I keep applying while an interview process is pending?

Yes. Until you have a written offer and accept it, keep your job search active. Track applications and leads in a simple system, and prioritize opportunities with clear scopes, respectful communication, and realistic evaluation steps.

A calmer search process makes it easier to protect your time. If freelance, contract, or other public opportunities are part of your plan, Sidequestboard can help you discover and save fresh listings in one feed, then open the original source to respond directly.

Want to keep your opportunity pipeline moving while you protect your interview time? Open Sidequestboard, save three fresh freelance or contract opportunities that fit your portfolio, and respond to one today.

Sources

• Upwork — Freelancer Service Fee — Official platform fee information; verify current terms before relying on pricing.
• Fiverr — Your Earnings — Official platform fee information; verify current terms before relying on pricing.
• PeoplePerHour — Service Fees — Official platform fee information; verify current terms before relying on pricing.
• Contra — Pricing — Official platform fee information; verify current terms before relying on pricing.
• Upwork — Explicit source for research record relevantPlatforms.4.
• Fiverr — Explicit source for research record relevantPlatforms.5.
• Toptal — Explicit source for research record relevantPlatforms.6.
• Contra — Explicit source for research record relevantPlatforms.7.
• PeoplePerHour — Explicit source for research record relevantPlatforms.8.