What are screener questions?

Screener questions on Indeed help employers filter candidates based on specific criteria. Using them helps you evaluate candidates by showing how they meet your requirements for the role.

They let you ask about experience, certifications or availability right away, so you don’t have to sift through every resume. You can pick from ready-made questions or write your own to focus on qualifications that matter most for the role.

Job pre-screening questions can:

• Speed up hiring by making sure only candidates who meet your must-have criteria move forward.
• Let you flag people who match your preferred qualifications without automatically removing anyone who doesn’t.

Job screening questions also let employers ask about a candidate’s experience with certain tools or tasks. This can help you support a skills-first hiring approach by focusing on a candidate’s skills and experience.

Types of screener questions on Indeed

Below are the types of candidate screening questions you’ll see on Indeed and whether you can make them a required part of the application process.

There are two types of questions: pre-made questions that cover common requirements or preferences, and custom questions you write yourself to learn more about job-specific skills.

Pre-made questions

Pre-made Indeed screening questions can be used to verify requirements or preferences for the role (licenses, ability to relocate, security clearance, etc.). Most can be marked as “required” to automatically filter out applicants who don’t meet the must-have criteria.

Here are the pre-made screener questions that are currently available:

• Ability to Commute
• Ability to Relocate
• Create custom question (cannot be a required question)
• Education
• Experience (Yes/No) 
• Interview Availability (cannot be a required question)
• Language
• License/Certification
• Location
• Security Clearance (US only)
• Shift Availability (US only)
• Vaccine Requirement (US only)
• Willingness to Travel
  Work Authorization

Most of these screener questions let you quickly confirm if someone meets a basic condition. For example, you could include “Can you work nights?” or “Do you have XZY certification?” so you only move forward with applicants who check those boxes.

Custom questions

If you need to know more about an applicant’s broader skill set, such as specific software they’ve used or how they would approach a particular task, you can use a custom question.

You cannot mark custom questions as “required.” Instead, they serve as “preferred” criteria and allow you to ask about specific skills and see which candidates demonstrate those abilities.

When you choose “Create custom question,” you’ll type in a short prompt for the candidate. For example, “Which tools have you used to analyze sales data?” Applicants will then type their answer as part of the application process on Indeed. Their response appears alongside their other application details, so you can easily see who might have the skills you’re looking for.

Decide what screener questions to include

Indeed provides a number of pre-made screener questions to choose from based on your job title, making it possible to gather key details from applicants upfront.

Here are some examples of pre-made screener questions:

• How many years of experience do you have in XYZ?
• Do you have a high school diploma?
• Please list 2-3 dates and time ranges that you could do an interview.
• Do you have a valid [license type]?
• What percentage of the time are you willing to travel for work?

In the next sections, we’ll show you how to create custom questions, the difference between required and preferred questions and how to choose the right ones to get the results you’re looking for.

Custom (employer-written) questions

Custom questions let you ask about practical skills needed to succeed in the role. You can include custom questions by clicking Create custom question and following a short prompt.

Before answering any custom questions, applicants will see this message: “This is an employer-written question. You can report inappropriate questions to Indeed through the ‘Report Job’ link at the bottom of the job description.”

Some skills-first custom questions could be:

• Which tools or software have you used to complete [specific task]?
• Name one method you’ve used to improve efficiency when performing [job task].
• What’s one metric you regularly tracked to measure success in [role or task]?

Keep in mind that these are short answers that candidates will type in, so consider avoiding questions that require lengthy responses or would be better suited to an interview format.

Required vs. preferred questions

Most pre-made screener questions can be marked as either required or preferred, depending on your hiring needs:

Required: Candidates who don’t meet a required screener question are automatically rejected. If a candidate does not meet the criterion for a required question, they will be moved to your Rejected list in the Employer Dashboard (you can still view these candidates if you’d like). Please note that custom questions can’t be marked as required.

Preferred: Candidates who don’t meet a preferred screener question remain in the pool but are labeled as not meeting that preference. A label is applied to their candidate details indicating they did not pass the preferred question, but they are not automatically removed from consideration.

Consider using required questions to confirm must-have qualifications. For example, “Do you have a valid [license type]?” For preferred questions, you might ask “Have you used HubSpot CRM?” to flag those who have that bonus skill without removing others.

How to choose the right questions

When deciding which screener questions to include, it can help to think about:

Minimum requirements: Which tools, certifications or task-related skills are essential for success?

Day-to-day responsibilities: What tasks will the candidate perform daily, and what qualifications best make sure they can handle them?

Core skills: Which abilities, such as communication, problem-solving or technical expertise, distinguish top talent in this role?

Short-answer suitability: Can a skill be demonstrated through a brief written response, or is it better tested in an interview?

Avoiding over-screening: Too many or overly complex questions may cause qualified candidates to drop off. Aim for a balanced set that clarifies fit without creating unnecessary busy work for the applicant.

By combining pre-made questions with a few custom, skills-focused prompts, you may better identify candidates who meet your criteria and demonstrate the practical abilities needed to succeed in the role.

How to add screener questions on Indeed

For Sponsored Jobs, screener question will appear after the confirmation page. For free to post jobs, you can add or edit screener questions in the edit/manage job flow.

Based on the job description and the qualifications you list, Indeed will generate recommended screener questions you can review.

Here’s how to review and add pre-made and custom screener questions to your job posts:

Step 1: For Sponsored Jobs, you’ll see automatically generated suggested screener questions after the confirmation page. Click the Browse more questions drop-down to see more question options.

For free jobs, navigate to the Jobs page, click on the job dropdown and select Edit job. Once on the edit page, scroll down to Customized pre-screening and click on the pencil icon to edit or add screener questions.

Step 2: To add screener questions, you can:

• Select pre-made questions from the list
• Click “Create custom question” to write your own

As you create custom questions, it might be helpful to keep a skills-based hiring approach in mind. Custom screener questions can be a great way to focus on an applicant’s core skills rather than just credentials alone.

For pre-made screener questions, he answer format is determined by the question type, so you cannot change it yourself. For instance:

• Education questions use multiple-choice
• Location questions use yes/no
• Experience questions might use yes/no or a short answer

To remove any suggested pre-made question, click the X icon next to it.

Step 3: Once you’ve added the questions you want applicants to answer, mark each pre-made question as either “required” or “preferred.” This does not apply to custom questions, however.

Step 4: When the job applications start rolling in, you can sort applicants based on the answers to these questions from your employer dashboard on the Candidates Tab.

Filter applications by their answers

Once your job is posted and you’re in your Employer Dashboard, you can use candidates’ responses to filter your applicants. This helps you quickly identify top candidates and reach out ASAP to set up an interview.

Here are two things to remember about the filtering process:

1. Required questions can trigger an automatic rejection. Applicants who don’t meet a required screener question are automatically moved to the Rejected tab. You can review these applicants at any time and move them to Reviewed if needed.
2. Preferred questions flag the candidate but do not remove them from consideration. If a candidate doesn’t meet a preferred question, their profile will note that they did not pass that preference, but they remain in the pool.

Filtering based on relevant answers helps you focus on candidates who demonstrate key competencies or meet the basic requirements of the role. In a skills-first hiring approach, these filters let you focus on applicants who show the practical abilities to succeed at the job. That may also mean fewer interview questions later on in the hiring process, since you’ve already verified must-have criteria.

Try exploring different filter options to determine the best way to view applicants for your position.

Screener question FAQs

Can I skip phone screens if I add screener questions?

Well-designed, skills-first screening questions may reduce the number of unnecessary HR screening calls and free up time to evaluate job-related abilities.

While screener questions are a powerful way to find out if a candidate meets your must-have requirements, phone screening interviews can reveal a lot about candidates, too. Consider adding screener questions and then conducting phone screens or virtual interviews with your top candidates to learn more about them.

If you’re using the Indeed Interview platform, you can review the candidate’s resume and answers to screener questions alongside the interview.

Are there any screener questions I’m not allowed to ask candidates?

Do not ask questions that are discriminatory, illegal or otherwise violate the Indeed site rules.

Can my custom questions be set as required?

No, only pre-made questions can be set as required.

How many screener questions should I include?

Aim for 3–5 focused questions. Too many can lead to candidate drop-off, while too few may not give you the insight you need. Prioritize questions that help you assess must-have skills or experience.

Can candidates see which questions are custom-written?

Yes. Custom questions appear with this message to applicants:
“This is an employer-written question. You can report inappropriate questions to Indeed through the ‘Report Job’ link at the bottom of the job description. ‘[Custom question]’”

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