Screening Questions

What Are Screening Questions?

Screening Questions are reusable sets of questions that candidates answer when submitting an application.

A Screening Questions set can be assigned to one or more jobs, allowing you to collect role-specific information without recreating the same questions for every posting.

Questions can be used for:

  • Collecting additional information from candidates
  • Confirming job requirements
  • Reviewing qualifications or availability
  • Calculating a screening score
  • Assigning candidate fit labels
  • Automatically moving candidates to hiring stages
  • Rejecting candidates who select a knockout answer

To manage Screening Questions, go to Careers → Screening Questions.

Create a Screening Questions Set

To create a new set:

  1. Go to Careers → Screening Questions.
  2. Select Add New.
  3. Enter a descriptive title for the question set.
  4. Configure Score-Based Screening if required.
  5. Add the questions candidates should answer.
  6. Select Publish.

Use a title that identifies the role or purpose of the questions, such as Warehouse Applicant Questions or Management Experience Screening.

Score-Based Screening

Score-Based Screening calculates a candidate’s percentage score using the scored questions in the set.

The score can help reviewers sort candidates, apply fit labels, and automatically assign a hiring stage after an application is submitted.

Score-Based Screening is optional. Questions can still be collected for manual review without enabling scoring.

Approve Candidates Who Score Above

Enable Approve candidates who score above and enter a percentage when candidates with higher scores should automatically move to an approved hiring stage.

The candidate must score higher than the entered percentage. A candidate whose score is exactly equal to the threshold remains in the normal review stage.

For example, if the approval threshold is 80%, a candidate must score more than 80% to be automatically approved.

Reject Candidates Who Score Below

Enable Reject candidates who score below and enter a percentage when candidates with lower scores should automatically move to a rejected hiring stage.

The candidate must score lower than the entered percentage. A candidate whose score is exactly equal to the threshold remains in the normal review stage.

For example, if the rejection threshold is 40%, a candidate must score less than 40% to be automatically rejected.

Manual Review Range

Candidates who do not score above the approval threshold or below the rejection threshold remain in the normal review stage.

The Manual Review range shows the score interval between the rejection and approval thresholds. These candidates can then be reviewed by an HR team member before their hiring stage is changed.

Approved Candidate Stage

Use Move approved candidates to to select the hiring stage assigned to candidates who score above the approval threshold.

Select a stage that matches your organization’s hiring process, such as Needs Review, Reviewing, or another configured stage.

Rejected Candidate Stage

Use Move rejected candidates to to select the hiring stage assigned to candidates who score below the rejection threshold.

Knockout answers are handled separately and move the candidate to the system’s rejected stage.

Fit Ranges

Fit Ranges convert a candidate’s percentage score into a label that is easier for reviewers to understand.

Available fit labels include:

  • Strong Fit
  • Good Fit
  • Possible Fit
  • Needs Review
  • Low Fit
  • Not a Fit

Fit labels appear with candidate information in areas such as the candidate list, candidate details, Talent Pool, and dashboard.

Add a Fit Range

Each Fit Range contains:

  • Score from: The lowest score included in the range
  • Score to: The highest score included in the range
  • Fit label: The label assigned to candidates within the range

Leave Score from blank when the range should have no minimum. Leave Score to blank when the range should have no maximum.

For example:

  • Blank to 29% — Not a Fit
  • 30% to 49% — Possible Fit
  • 50% to 79% — Good Fit
  • 80% to blank — Strong Fit

Make sure the ranges cover the intended scores without creating unnecessary overlaps. If more than one range matches a score, the first matching range is used.

Candidates with a knockout answer receive a Knockout result instead of a normal fit label.

When Fit Ranges are updated and the question set is saved, fit labels are recalculated for existing active and archived candidates who used that question set.

Add Questions

In the Questions section, select Add Question for each question candidates should answer.

Questions can be added, removed, and reordered within the set.

Each question contains:

  • Question Text
  • Field Type
  • Scoring Enabled
  • Required
  • Answer Choices or Number Rules, when applicable

Question Text

Enter the exact question the candidate will see.

Keep questions short, specific, and easy to understand. Ask one thing at a time so the answer can be reviewed or scored fairly.

For example:

  • Are you legally permitted to work in this location?
  • How many years of related experience do you have?
  • Are you available to work weekends?
  • Please provide a link to your portfolio.

Field Types

The selected Field Type determines how the candidate answers the question.

Text

Provides a single-line text field for a short written response.

Text questions are collected for manual review and are not scored.

Text Area

Provides a larger field for a detailed written response.

Text Area questions are collected for manual review and are not scored.

Number

Accepts a numeric response.

Number questions can use scoring rules and knockout rules when Scoring Enabled is turned on.

Check Box

Allows candidates to select one or more answer choices.

Check Box questions can be scored when Scoring Enabled is turned on.

Radio

Allows candidates to select one answer from a list of choices.

Radio questions can be scored when Scoring Enabled is turned on.

URL

Collects a website address, such as a portfolio, professional profile, or work sample.

URL questions are collected for manual review and are not scored.

Select

Displays a dropdown list from which the candidate selects an answer.

Select questions can be scored when Scoring Enabled is turned on.

Upload

Allows the candidate to upload a requested document or file.

Upload questions are collected for manual review and are not scored.

Scoring Enabled

Turn on Scoring Enabled when a Check Box, Radio, Select, or Number question should affect the candidate’s screening score.

When scoring is disabled:

  • Check Box, Radio, and Select questions can still have answer choices.
  • Candidate answers are still saved.
  • Points and knockout settings are hidden and ignored.
  • The question does not affect the screening score.

Text, Text Area, URL, and Upload questions are always reviewed manually and are not scored.

Required Questions

Enable Required when the candidate must answer the question before submitting the application.

Only make a question required when the information is necessary to review or process the application.

Answer Choices

Answer Choices are used with Check Box, Radio, and Select questions.

Add one row for every answer the candidate can select. For example:

  • Yes
  • No
  • Weekdays
  • Evenings
  • Weekends

When Scoring Enabled is active, each answer choice can also include:

  • Points: The number of points awarded for selecting the answer
  • Knockout: Rejects the candidate when the answer is selected

Points and knockout settings are ignored when scoring is disabled.

Knockout Answers

A knockout answer is used when a particular response makes the candidate ineligible for the position.

For example, a knockout may be appropriate when a candidate confirms that they do not hold a legally required licence.

When an application contains a knockout answer:

  • The candidate receives a Knockout fit result.
  • The normal approval and rejection score thresholds are not used.
  • The candidate is automatically moved to the system’s rejected hiring stage.

Use knockout rules carefully. Confirm that the question is lawful, job-related, and based on a genuine requirement of the position.

Number Rules

Scored Number questions use rules to decide how many points a numeric answer receives or whether the answer is a knockout.

Supported formats include:

  • = 10: Matches exactly 10
  • > 2: Matches numbers greater than 2
  • >= 5: Matches 5 or higher
  • < 2: Matches numbers lower than 2
  • <= 5: Matches 5 or lower
  • 2-4: Matches values from 2 through 4

A plain number such as 10 is ignored. Use = 10 when an exact match is required.

If more than one rule matches the candidate’s answer, the most specific rule is used in this order:

  1. Exact match
  2. Number range
  3. Comparison rule

Each Number Rule can include points or be marked as a knockout.

Assign Screening Questions to a Job

After publishing the Screening Questions set:

  1. Go to Careers → Jobs.
  2. Open the job you want to edit.
  3. Find the Candidates section.
  4. Locate Screening Questions.
  5. Select the question set candidates should answer.
  6. Update or publish the job.

Only one Screening Questions set can be selected for a job.

Screening Questions are optional. Applications can still be collected when no question set is selected.

Review Candidate Answers

Submitted answers are saved with the candidate’s application.

Open the candidate under Careers → Candidates and review the Answered Questions section. This section displays the questions and answers submitted with the application.

Scored applications can also display:

  • Percentage score
  • Points earned
  • Fit label
  • Knockout result

These results should support the HR review process. They should not replace a fair review of the candidate’s complete application.

Edit Screening Questions

To edit a question set:

  1. Go to Careers → Screening Questions.
  2. Select the title of the question set.
  3. Update its screening settings, Fit Ranges, or questions.
  4. Select Update.

Changes to questions and scoring rules apply when future applications are submitted. Previously submitted answers remain stored with their applications.

Changes to Fit Ranges are different: saving updated Fit Ranges recalculates the fit labels for existing active and archived candidates associated with that question set.

Review changes carefully when a question set is already assigned to active jobs.

Delete Screening Questions

To remove a question set:

  1. Go to Careers → Screening Questions.
  2. Hover over the question set.
  3. Select Trash.

Deleting a question set removes it from the list of available Screening Questions.

If the set is assigned to an active job, open that job and select a replacement question set or remove the selection.

Deleting a question set does not remove answers already stored with submitted applications.

Privacy and Fair Hiring

Only ask for information that is relevant to the position and permitted under the laws that apply to your organization.

Do not use Screening Questions to request unnecessary private, sensitive, or discriminatory information, including:

  • Social insurance or identification numbers
  • Banking or credit card information
  • Passport information
  • Unnecessary health information
  • Information about protected personal characteristics

Your organization is responsible for the questions it asks and how candidate information is collected, reviewed, stored, and used. Review applicable privacy, employment, accessibility, and human-rights requirements before publishing screening questions.