Candidate questionnaire
A first pass before the interview: contacts, experience, work format, salary expectations, availability date and a CV file.
Who it is for and when to run it
This form is for a recruiter or hiring manager who gets more applications than they can phone. Instead of a first call that starts with «tell me about yourself», the candidate spends three minutes answering what you would ask anyway: experience, working setup, pay and when they can start.
Put the link in the job ad, in the auto-reply to an application or on a QR code at a careers fair. It works for volume hiring (retail, delivery, support) and for single roles where you want to see a portfolio before you talk.
It does not replace the interview. Its job is to filter out a clear mismatch on money, schedule or experience before you spend an hour on someone.
What the template is made of
Every block in the order it sits in the builder. Branching decides which of them a given person actually sees.
- Candidate questionnaire Text block
The welcome screen promises «about three minutes» and mentions the CV at the end. People who know how long a form is are less likely to drop it halfway.
- Contacts Section break
A section break separates contact details from the experience questions. On a longer form these headings give a sense of progress.
- First and last name Short answer
Name is required: without it there is nothing to match the application to and nobody to address on a call.
- Phone Phone
Phone is required because interview invitations for high-volume roles usually go by call or messenger.
- Email Email
Email is required too, so you have somewhere to send a test task or the office address.
- Portfolio or profile Link
Portfolio or profile link is optional. For a designer or developer it is the strongest signal; for a cashier it is a pointless field, so there is no asterisk.
- Experience and expectations Section break
The second section moves the candidate from «who I am» to «what I want».
- Job title Short answer
Job title is a text field because one link often collects applications for several openings.
- Years of relevant experience Single choice
Experience is chosen from four ranges rather than typed. That makes the export easy to filter: under a year in one pile, over six years in another.
- Which working setup suits you? Multiple choice
Working setup allows several answers. Plenty of people would take hybrid or remote, and a single choice would hide that.
- Monthly salary expectations Number
Salary expectations as a number. A plain number, not a set of bands, lets you sort every candidate by amount and compare with the role budget.
- When could you start? Date
Start date tells you how long to wait: two weeks of notice or free tomorrow.
- CV as a file File upload
CV upload. This is the file_upload type, which unlocks on Pro; on the free plan swap it for a link field.
- Tell us about yourself, briefly Long answer
The free «about yourself» field lets candidates say what did not fit the options, and shows whether they can write two clear sentences.
- Consent to personal data processing Consent
Consent to data processing is required: you are collecting personal data, and the form itself should record the basis for it.
How to adapt the template
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Hiring for one role only? Replace the job title field with a dropdown or drop it and name the role on the welcome screen.
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For volume hiring add a required single-choice question about shift pattern. For frontline roles that is the first filter.
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No Pro plan: delete the CV upload and add a Link field labelled «Link to your CV or LinkedIn profile».
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Make the portfolio field required for creative roles and remove it for the rest to keep the form short.
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Branch on experience: candidates with «Less than a year» can see an extra question about training or internships that others skip.
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Want applications in your team chat as they arrive? Connect Telegram or a webhook into your ATS or CRM. More on HR use cases on the employee survey page.
How to read the results
Export to CSV and sort by two columns: salary expectation and experience. Candidates far above budget drop out straight away; invite the rest in order of start date.
Read the «about yourself» field as a writing sample, not a story. Two tidy sentences about the job often say more than a paragraph of buzzwords.
If one link covers several openings, split applications by job title before comparing pay. Expectations for different roles are not comparable.
If far fewer people apply through the link than view the job ad, shorten the form: drop the portfolio and «about yourself» for simple roles and compare the next two weeks of applications.
Common mistakes
- Asking for ID numbers, marital status or home address at the application stage. That is personal data you do not need yet and a reason to close the tab.
- Making every field required. Each asterisk on a long form costs you applications.
- Leaving «about three minutes» on the welcome screen after adding ten of your own questions.
- Collecting applications without a consent block, or deleting it to «simplify» the form.
Questions about the «Candidate questionnaire» template
What questions should a job application form include?
The core set is contact details, the role applied for, years of relevant experience, preferred working setup, salary expectations and start date. That is enough to screen out mismatches before a call. Motivation and skills are better explored in the interview than in a longer form.
Can candidates attach a CV to the form?
Yes, the template includes a file upload block, available from the Pro plan. On the free plan replace it with a link field and candidates will paste a link to a CV in cloud storage or on LinkedIn. Every other question in the template works on the free plan.
How do I add the application form to a job posting?
Once published, the form has a plain link and a QR code. Paste the link into the job ad or the auto-reply to applicants, and print the QR code on flyers or a careers fair stand. On a careers site you can embed the form with a one-line widget.
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Do not start from an empty canvas
Open the catalog, take the closest template and rewrite the questions for your job. Five minutes instead of an hour.