We applied some advice that I saw on a HN thread years ago (but sadly do not have the link handy) and it has worked well: we pay our candidates for their time. The take home concept really is insulting when a candidate’s time isn’t valued. Since we incur a cost so we’re serious about knowing for sure that we want to interview the candidate.

I wish people were less surprised when we tell them they deserve to be paid for their work, but companies have been advantaged in the hiring process for so long (excepting COVID) that disregard for people’s time is embedded in corporate culture.

However, to the point people have made about not getting comprehensive feedback: it’s just not worth it. Corporate counsel will basically refuse to let you tell a candidate why they were rejected for fear of any inadvertent lawsuit exposure. This is also deeply embedded in corporate culture and it’s hard to imagine it changing.