Hiring questions that show how your process feels to candidates
Ask candidates how each stage went, from the application to the offer, and what made them say yes. Each question below comes with when to ask it and what the answer tells you.
What candidate experience survey questions tell you
Candidate experience survey questions ask the people who went through your hiring process how it felt: whether each stage made sense, how long they waited, whether anyone told them what came next and what the interviews told them about the company. Candidates rarely tell the recruiter about a poor process, and each of them can still become a customer, a referral or a future hire.
Ask within a week of the final decision, both to the people you hired and to the people you turned down, by a link in your own outcome email. Pick five or six questions for candidates who were turned down and add the offer questions for new hires. Keep the résumé, start date and salary questions for an application form, apart from the feedback survey.
Each written answer is read as it arrives and filed under a category and a theme from your own list, with a sentiment and an urgency, so a complaint about an interviewer stands out from advice about scheduling. The link can carry a tag such as the role or the stage reached, which stays with each answer for workflows, Google Sheets and the API.
- Questions
- 15
- Best asked
- Within a week of the final decision
- Industry
- HR and employees
- Where to find them
- From library in the Usertick survey editor, on every plan
The 15 hiring and candidates questions, with when to ask each
Grouped by what they tell you. Use them as they are or change the wording.
How each stage went
Rate the stages and the overall feeling first, to see where the process lost candidates and whether it gave a true picture of the job.
- 01Matrix
Rate each stage of the interview process
Rates the application, screening call, interviews and task in one grid. The heat map shows which stage pulls the experience down, with a row average for each stage.
- 04Stars
How well did the interviewers describe the role?
Five stars for how well interviewers explained the job. A good interview score next to a low score here means the conversations went well but the role stayed unclear.
- 08Big scale
How well did the process reflect what the company is like?
How well the process matched what the company is like, from 1 to 10. Results shows the average and a column per step; compare it later with how new hires rate their first month.
- 11Emoji
How did the process make you feel?
How the process felt, on a row of faces. Put it near the start, so candidates who stop early still leave a feeling you can read beside the stage ratings.
Speed, clarity and feedback
These questions measure waiting and silence, from clear next steps to the days until an offer.
- 02Yes / No
Were the next steps clear at every stage?
A yes or no on whether candidates knew what came next. Select No in Results to see how those candidates rated each stage and how long they waited for an offer.
- 12Yes / No
Did you receive feedback after your interview?
A yes or no on feedback after the interview. Ask it of candidates you turned down; a low share of yes gives the hiring team a clear habit to fix.
- 03Ruler
How many days passed between your application and the offer?
Days from application to offer, on a ruler from 0 to 60. Use logic to skip it for candidates without an offer; Results shows the median and the middle half.
- 05Multiple choice
What was the hardest part of the process?
Names the hardest part of the process in one tap, from the task to waiting for news. Results shows the share of each; keep Nothing as an option so candidates with a smooth process aren't pushed into a complaint.
Sources and reasons to accept
Ask where the candidate found the role and, for new hires, what made them say yes, to know where to advertise and what to lead with.
- 09Dropdown
How did you find the role?
Where the candidate found the role. Results shows the share and count of each source; choose one to see whether candidates from referrals or job boards rated the process differently.
- 10Multiple choice
What mattered most when you accepted the offer?
Ask only candidates who accepted, and let them pick every reason that counted. Results shows a bar per reason, which tells you what to lead with in the next job ad.
What candidates would tell you
End with whether they would apply again and the advice they would give, which works for hired and rejected candidates alike.
- 06Yes / No
Would you apply here again?
A yes or no that works for hired and rejected candidates alike. A high share of yes among the people you turned down says the process left a good impression even without an offer.
- 07Text
What advice would you give our hiring team?
An open question for advice to the hiring team. Each answer gets a theme and a sentiment, so filter to the negative answers and read what went wrong before you read the praise.
Details for the application form
These collect application details instead of feedback, so put them in a separate application form with anonymous responses off.
- 13File upload
Upload your CV
A résumé upload belongs in an application form, apart from this survey. The file arrives with the answer and shows in a gallery in Results. File upload is on every plan, 1 per survey on Free.
- 14Date
When could you start?
A calendar for the earliest start date, for an offer or application form. Results shows a calendar of the dates picked, which helps you plan start dates for a group of hires.
- 15Slider
What salary range are you looking for?
Salary expectation on a slider from 30,000 to 200,000. A slider picks one number, so word it as the expected salary and keep it in the application form.
Tips for asking about hiring and candidates
Small choices that get honest, useful answers.
- 01
Ask every candidate, hired or not
Send the survey to candidates you turned down as well as new hires. The people without an offer notice the parts of the process that new hires forgive.
- 02
Keep feedback apart from applying
Ask for the résumé, the start date and salary in the application form, and keep this survey to the experience, so candidates don't feel the answers count toward a decision.
- 03
Wait for the final decision
Send the survey after the candidate hears the outcome. While they are still in the process, candidates have every reason to stay polite.
- 04
Tag the link by role
Add the role or the team as a tag on the survey link, so each answer carries it into workflows, Google Sheets and the API.
Add these questions to a survey
From the library to the first answers.
- 1
Open the library
In the Usertick survey editor, choose From library, filter by industry and topic, and add several questions at once.
- 2
Or paste your own list
Paste questions reads up to 10 questions from any text on Free, 100 on Starter and 200 on Pro and above, keeps your wording and picks an answer type for each.
- 3
Choose where it runs
Show the survey on your website, send it by email, share its link and QR code, or switch it to a conversation.
- 4
Read the answers
Results counts every score and choice, and Usertick reads each written answer and files it by topic, on every plan.
Templates and more questions about hiring and candidates
Full surveys that ask about the same things, and neighboring topics in the library.
Templates
Browse all templatesFrequently asked questions
Within a week of the final decision, once the candidate knows the outcome. Usertick sends no automatic email when your hiring system closes a candidate, so send to a contact list in weekly batches or put the link in your own outcome email.
Yes. Use logic to skip the offer questions for them, and keep the stage ratings, the next steps question and the open question for advice.
Yes, by link. With anonymous responses on, Usertick stores no user ID, traits or visitor ID for website, link or QR code surveys. Surveys sent through Usertick email are not anonymous.
Five or six for candidates you turned down and up to eight for new hires. Start with the stage grid, the next steps question, the hardest part and the open question.
Yes. The question library comes with every plan, the free plan included, and the free plan covers 150 responses a month across your surveys.
Yes. Once a question is in your survey, reword it, change its options or its answer type, and add logic to skip it for some answers.
Yes. The library is translated into Usertick's built-in languages, and in any other language it shows in English for you to translate.
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