A small, often paid test a client gives before hiring. The moment the contract is really decided.
"They asked me to do a small task before deciding. Is that normal? Should I do it?"
A first-timer's worry
The short answer: a trial task is a small piece of real work a client asks you to do before they hire you, often paid. In my case, after the interview, the client gave me a trial task to create a newsletter, and paid for it right away. It is normal, and a paid one is a good sign.
It matters because it is the real audition. The interview is talk. The trial is proof. It is where the client sees what working with you is actually like, and where you decide the contract by what you deliver. A paid trial also tells you something good about the client: they value your time enough to pay for it.
Paid and scoped is normal. Unpaid and open-ended is a flag. A small paid task with a clear deliverable is healthy. A request to do large finished work for free, with no end, is not a trial. It is a warning.
Hold steady, BFF Team. We keep going together.
– Lala