This. Exactly the same thing what I told to a friend who spent 2 days on a task after a very positive interview and got frustrated after he was rejected.
If you're a freelancer, it's a different thing - but if it's a fulltime position at a company you really want to work for, then it should be ok unless you spend more than a day or two. It's also good for the designer to see what kind of tasks you're going to deal with when you get the job. It's annoying to get rejected even if you deliver something good, but well, shit happens.
I personally try to give tasks that wouldn't take more than a day. Sometimes it turns out (especially with less experienced designers) the designer comes up with a better design than I expect compared to her/his portfolio and I immediately stop my search to hire her/him.
The important bit is to measure if the position/company is worth your effort. If it's the right company, they'll pay you back in experiences that are more valuable than 8 hours of your life.
This. Exactly the same thing what I told to a friend who spent 2 days on a task after a very positive interview and got frustrated after he was rejected.
If you're a freelancer, it's a different thing - but if it's a fulltime position at a company you really want to work for, then it should be ok unless you spend more than a day or two. It's also good for the designer to see what kind of tasks you're going to deal with when you get the job. It's annoying to get rejected even if you deliver something good, but well, shit happens.
I personally try to give tasks that wouldn't take more than a day. Sometimes it turns out (especially with less experienced designers) the designer comes up with a better design than I expect compared to her/his portfolio and I immediately stop my search to hire her/him.
The important bit is to measure if the position/company is worth your effort. If it's the right company, they'll pay you back in experiences that are more valuable than 8 hours of your life.