Assess Applicant Qualifications with Screening Questions on Indeed

 

Decide what screening questions to include

Indeed provides a number of pre-made screening questions to choose from based on your job title, to get the information you need from applicants upfront. Example of screening questions include:

• How many years of experience do you have in XYZ?
• Do you have a secondary school certificate?
• Please list two to three dates and time ranges that you could do an interview.
• Do you have a valid [licence type]?
• What percentage of the time are you willing to travel for work?
• Why do you want to work at Company ABC?

You can select as many relevant questions as you want. You can also create your own questions and include as many as you need on the application. You can ask any question that helps you figure out who is a great potential hire, or even to figure out interview availability. Screening questions help you set the minimum requirements that someone would need to be successful if hired.

Each question you ask can also be set as a ‘deal breaker’. This lets you ask questions about a candidate’s must-have qualifications (like spoken languages or willingness to relocate) as well as any applicable nice-to-have qualifications (like personality traits). We’ll also make sure you only pay for qualified applicants that meet your ‘deal breaker’ requirements, and you can give Indeed permission to file applicants under Rejected in your Employer Dashboard.

When you sponsor your job on Indeed, you’ll also get access to Matched Candidates, which uses your job description to find candidates whose resumes on Indeed match your job criteria and who you can invite to apply. Adding screening questions and marking any must-haves as deal-breakers can help us surface better matches for your jobs.

 

How to add screening questions on Indeed

Step 1: As you go through the job posting process, you’ll see a page titled Applicant Qualifications.

Step 2: Select from the pre-made list of questions or make your own. You can use a variety of question formats like:

• Yes or no
• Short answer
• Multiple choice 
• Date or number
• Request for file upload

You can remove suggested questions by clicking on the ‘X’ icon.

Step 3: Once you’ve added the questions you’d like applicants to answer, you can mark must-haves as ‘deal breakers’. It’s worth defining which qualifications are a must and which are ‘nice-to-haves’.

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 can help you quickly identify your top candidates and reach out ASAP to set up an interview.

If you mark any questions as ‘deal breakers’, applicants who answered in a way that did not meet your requirements are automatically deprioritised and placed in the Rejected Tab. You can review these applicants at any time and move them to Reviewed instead.

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

 

Screening question FAQs

Can I skip phone screens if I add screening questions?

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

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

Do not ask questions that are discriminatory or illegal, personally invasive or otherwise violate the Indeed Site Rules.

Log in now to add Applicant Qualifications to your job posting or explore our other tools you can use to streamline your hiring process.

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1. Indeed data (worldwide), Average over March–May 2023↩