For a work sample, I’d leave one requirement a little ambiguous and tell the candidate they can ask questions. During my AiSDR (it's YC S23) interview, I was allowed to search and ask for clarification. I initially thought that was a trap. I once wrote about finding out what the CTO was looking for (https://domelian.substack.com/p/1000-days-at-yc-company): what I did when I got stuck, and whether we could think through the problem together. I’d make that permission explicit, especially if candidates are also allowed to use AI.

It's in a flux, and no standard has emerged. The closest I'm observing across companies I work with is customized work-sample.

"If you can't do standardized, then just have them work on your codebase to see if they can grok it."

Pretty much the same as always. I am an ancient JavaScript guy, so most of the interviews comprise opinions about subjects for young people with limited experience that I find to be absolutely unnecessary. That goes about as well as it sounds.