Rather than relying on diplomas and years of experience, employers are increasingly requiring tangible evidence of a candidate’s capabilities through completed projects, case studies, open-source contributions and code repositories before making hiring decisions.
The rise of proof of work screening is a major shift that transitions the focus of the hiring process from proof of what you know to proof of what you can actually do. That’s an important distinction.
When a hiring manager looks for proof of work, they are not just checking a box, noted Riten Debnath, founder and CEO of Fueler, a career infrastructure platform for proof of work hiring. They are looking for hard evidence that you have done similar work in the past and proof that you can do it again.
In fact, 92% of hiring managers say that demonstrating how skills were used — or how they would be applied — is more effective than reviewing a resume.
Here’s how to select and share concrete evidence of your skills, abilities and experience during proof of work screening interviews.
Address the Hiring Managers’ Needs and Concerns
Select works samples that directly connect your past experience and results with the specific problems the hiring manager is trying to solve.
Your ultimate goal is to reduce the employer’s fear of making a bad hire, explained Brian Jenney, senior software engineer and owner of Parsity.
To avoid mistakes, managers look for answers to the following questions when they review samples:
- Can this person actually do the work?
The best way to answer this question is through the execution layer. Do not describe what you built, show it. Screen-share and walk the reviewer through data dashboards, campaign analytics, website UX flows or software demos.
- Can this person think and solve problems on their own?
The key question from hiring managers, especially for senior professionals, is can you succeed in environments that are less than perfect?
Highlighting challenging projects where instructions were incomplete and priorities shifted establishes you as someone who will take the initiative to solve problems and complete stretch assignments.
- Can this person communicate clearly?
This question is almost always answered by how you write about your work. If your project documentation is clear, structured and easy to follow, you are likely to pass the test. However, posting about something you’re building on LinkedIn or creating documentation on GitHub and sharing the link with recruiters and hiring managers can put you ahead of the pack.
Select Relevant, Compelling Work Samples
The best work samples demonstrate mastery of the work, tasks and challenges that are relevant to the role.
“Don’t highlight another movie selection app,” Jenney warns.
Avoid unrelated or passion projects with no proof of results. Instead, showcase something that solved a real business problem and delivered verified cost savings or increased revenue, even if it was a pro bono project for a small business.
Before including any sample in your proof of work presentation, ask yourself these questions:
- Is it relevant to the role I want?
- Does it prove that I can do the job?
- Can I explain the decisions I made and what I would do differently next time?
- Did I own the entire project from start to finish?
- Is the sample thoroughly tested and error-free?
- Does it use a third-party like Google for authentication?
- Does it provide a flawless experience for users across multiple devices and browsers?
- Can I measure or describe the results?
If a project fails two or more of the criteria, skip or improve it before presenting as proof of work, Debnath advised.
However, a stellar work sample also highlights critical and highly sought-after soft skills and proves that you can handle the level, and complexity demands of your target position.
Take software engineers, for instance. Their strongest evidence often includes open-source contributions. Why? Because adding code to public projects proves that you can work inside an existing codebase, communicate through code reviews, and earn the trust of other engineers. Shipped applications with real users are even stronger because they prove you can convert an idea to a working product that people actually use.
For product managers, product teardown analyses show that you can look at an existing app or product and clearly explain what is working, what is broken and why. While growth experiments with real numbers have the highest value because they show that you make decisions based on data, not just opinions or feelings.
For AI professionals, the most compelling evidence is actually building something with AI, like a chatbot or AI agent, rather than just using AI tools.
Develop Effective Presentation Techniques
Proof of work provides concrete evidence of your abilities, but only if you know how to present your work sample effectively in person or virtually.
Most people only share the finished app or the completed design. The best candidates share something more valuable: the thinking and process behind the result.
“This is what separates someone who got lucky from someone who can do it again,” Debnath noted.
To prove your experience is transferable and repeatable, use a story to describe each project covering the context, the problems you faced, your role, the tools and techniques you used, and most importantly, the outcomes you delivered.
Be sure to describe the process you followed as well. Recruiters and hiring managers often probe your actions and reasoning to assess the authenticity and depth of your expertise. What did you try first? What failed? What did you change? Process reveals your working style and proves that your success wasn’t an accident.
Finally, conclude with an overview of the results using data whenever possible and what you would do differently next time around.
Reflection is the most underused and powerful part of any proof of work sample and presentation. It shows that you learn from experience and have the ability to improve your performance and value to an employer over time.
