Usertick
Candidate experience survey template

Hear how your hiring process feels, at every stage and every outcome

Seven questions for candidates after the final decision: how far they got, five parts of the process, whether they knew what came next, fairness, respect and a recommendation score. Use it as it is or change any question, and Usertick reads every written answer for you.

What this candidate experience survey tells you

A candidate experience survey asks candidates, hired or not, how your hiring process treated them. This template asks seven questions in under two minutes: the stage they reached, ratings for five parts of the process, whether they always knew the next step, fairness, respect, a recommendation score and one change they would make.

It is written for an email Usertick sends within two days of the final decision, to everyone who reached that point, whatever the outcome. The stage question sits inside the email, so one tap starts the survey. You can also paste the link into the decision emails you already send, or let candidates answer as a conversation, one question at a time.

Every written answer is read as it arrives and filed under a category from your list, such as tools and processes or managers and leadership, with a type and an urgency. Results shows the share at each stage, and selecting a stage filters the whole page to those candidates, so you compare the experience stage by stage.

In an emailAs a linkOn your websiteAs a conversation
Questions
7
Time to answer
About 2 minutes
Written for
An email to candidates within two days of the final decision
Plans
Every plan, the free plan included

See it on every channel

The same template on your website, behind a link, in an email and as a conversation.

In an email

Send it from Usertick to a contact list, with the first question inside the email. A tap on an answer opens the rest of the survey with that answer already kept. Usertick sends 50 emails a month on the free plan, or connect your own sender.

The 7 questions, one by one

What each question asks, why it is there, what it shows you and what to change.

Question 1 of 7 · Multiple choice

How far did you get in our hiring process?

Why ask it
The stage tells you how much of the process each candidate saw, and it is the key to comparing the experience stage by stage.
What you learn
A donut with the share of candidates at each stage. Select Interviews to filter the whole page to the candidates who stopped there.
Make it yours
Match the stages to your own process, such as a take-home task or a panel, and keep them in order.
Question 2 of 7 · Matrix · Optional

How would you rate the hiring process on the following?

Why ask it
Five parts of the process, from applying to respect for the candidate's time, each rated on its own, show which step candidates found weakest.
What you learn
A heat map per row with its average, so a slow reply or unprepared interviewers stand out against the rest.
Make it yours
Share the interviewer preparation row with your hiring managers, since it is the one they control directly.
Question 3 of 7 · Yes / No

Did you always know what would happen next?

Why ask it
Candidates wait between steps, and a single yes or no shows whether your updates kept them informed.
What you learn
The share of candidates who said yes, compared with the period before.
Make it yours
When the share drops, check the time between stages and send a short status note at each step.
Question 4 of 7 · Multiple choice

Did the interviews give you a fair chance to show your skills?

Why ask it
Whether the interviews gave candidates a fair chance is a separate matter from how pleasant they were, and Partly gives a middle answer.
What you learn
A donut with the share of Yes, Partly and No. Select No and read what those candidates wrote at the end.
Make it yours
Compare the answer by stage, since candidates who stopped after a phone screen saw less of the process.
Question 5 of 7 · Multiple choice

Did you feel treated with respect throughout the process?

Why ask it
Respect is what candidates remember and tell friends about, whether they got the job or not.
What you learn
A donut with the share and count of each answer, against the period before.
Make it yours
Read every No next to the written answer from the same candidate and raise it with the hiring team that week.
Question 6 of 7 · NPS

How likely are you to recommend applying here to a friend?

Why ask it
Asking whether candidates would recommend applying shows how the process reflects on you as an employer, including among people who didn't get the job.
What you learn
The score, promoters 9 to 10 minus detractors 0 to 6, with a bar of detractors, passives and promoters and a score line over time.
Make it yours
Select Offer, then Application, to compare the score of candidates who went the whole way with those who stopped early.
Question 7 of 7 · Text · Optional

What should we change about our process?

Why ask it
One open question collects the concrete fix, such as a shorter task, a salary range in the ad or a faster reply.
What you learn
Usertick reads each answer, files it under a category and a theme such as tools and processes or managers and leadership, marks complaints and ideas, and flags the urgent ones.
Make it yours
Keep it optional, so candidates in a hurry still send their ratings.

What the answers show

Results turns each question into numbers you can follow week by week.

How likely are you to recommend applying here to a friend?

Your NPS from promoters and detractors, compared with the period before and split by device.

How far did you get in our hiring process?

The share of each answer with its count. Select an answer to narrow the whole page to those people and read what else they said.

Did the interviews give you a fair chance to show your skills?

The share of each answer with its count. Select an answer to narrow the whole page to those people and read what else they said.

Every written answer, read for you

Each answer arrives with its category, theme, type and urgency, so the urgent ones reach your team first.

Use this template in four steps

From the template to the first answers.

  1. 1

    Open the template

    Sign up free and pick Candidate experience in the template gallery. It opens in a matching style, ready to change.

  2. 2

    Make the questions yours

    Reword any question, change the options, and add logic or more questions.

  3. 3

    Choose where it runs

    Show it on your website, send it by email, share its link and QR code, or switch it to a conversation.

  4. 4

    Publish and read the answers

    Answers arrive in Results and the inbox as people send them, each written one read and filed by Usertick.

Tips for this survey

Small choices that keep people answering and the answers useful.

  1. 01

    Ask every candidate

    Send it to the people you hired and to the people you turned down, at every stage after the application, so the answers describe the whole process.

  2. 02

    Wait for the decision

    Send it after the final decision, within two days, so candidates know their answers can't change the outcome.

  3. 03

    Keep candidates on their own list

    Import candidates as contacts from a CSV and keep them on a list of their own. Skip people who already received this survey is on by default, so each new send reaches only new candidates.

  4. 04

    Review it with hiring managers

    Go through the stage-by-stage view each quarter, starting with interviewer preparation and the respect question.

More satisfaction templates and questions

Templates like this one, and single questions from the library to add to it.

CSATTraining feedbackFind out whether a training was relevant, whether people can apply it and what to train on next. Send it at the end of the session or the next morning.
CSATOffsite feedbackLearn how the team offsite went, from the agenda to the logistics, and what to change next time. Send it within two days of getting back.
RetentionTeam pulseA short, anonymous check on workload, support and whether people feel heard. Send it every week or two to the whole team.
OnboardingNew hire, day 30Check in with new hires after their first month: what's in place, what slowed them down and what the next person should know. Send it on day 30.

Questions from the library

Browse the question library
  1. Rate each stage of the interview processMatrix · Hiring and candidates
  2. Were the next steps clear at every stage?Yes / No · Hiring and candidates
  3. Do you know how to apply for another role here?Yes / No · Internal moves and promotions
  4. How fair was the internal application process?Stars · Internal moves and promotions
  5. What stopped you applying for an internal role?Multiple choice · Internal moves and promotions

Frequently asked questions

Within two days of the final decision, while the process is fresh. Send it to hired and rejected candidates alike.

Yes. Candidates who didn't get the job see the process without the offer, and their answers show what to fix.

Yes. Select a stage in Results, such as Phone screen or Final round, and the whole page filters to those candidates.

Yes. Paste the survey's link into the decision emails you already send, or send the survey from Usertick to candidates imported from a CSV, now or scheduled up to 30 days ahead.

Most candidates at every stage answer Yes on knowing the next step, fairness and respect, and the score among candidates who stopped early isn't far below the score of those who got an offer. Follow the trend from one quarter to the next.

Yes. Every template comes with every plan, the free plan included, and the free plan covers 150 responses a month across your surveys.

Yes. The template becomes your own survey, so reword any question, add or remove questions, and change the options and the logic. The gallery stays as it is.

Yes, from Starter. The template is written in US English. Add languages by hand or with AI translation, and each person sees the survey in their browser's language.

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