Recruiting template
Candidate Experience Survey Template
A candidate experience survey asks people who went through your hiring process how it felt: how clear the communication was, how fair the interviews seemed and whether they would recommend applying. Below are the email that invites them and four sets of questions for different points in the process.
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Note
Candidate experience survey email
When to use it: The email that invites a candidate to the survey, sent after they have heard the outcome.
SubjectHow was applying to [Company name]? A short survey
Post-interview survey questions
When to use it: The full survey for anyone who reached the interview stage, hired or not.
Three-question pulse survey
When to use it: A very short survey sent after each stage, such as a phone screen or an assessment, where a full survey would be too much.
Survey for candidates who were not hired
When to use it: Candidates who reached interview and were turned down.
New-hire survey about the hiring process
When to use it: People who accepted an offer, a few weeks after they start, to check the role matches what the process described.
How to use this template
- 1Send the full surveys after the candidate has heard the outcome. If you use the pulse during the process, say who reads it and keep it away from the interview panel.
- 2Survey everyone who reached a given stage, not only the people you hired. Candidates who were turned down see the parts of the process that need the most work.
- 3Pick the length to match the stage: the three-question pulse after a phone screen or assessment, the full survey after interviews.
- 4Say who reads the answers and whether they are anonymous, and stick to it.
- 5Keep the questions the same from one hiring round to the next, so you can compare results over time.
- 6Share what you learn with interviewers and hiring managers, and tell candidates in the next invitation what you changed.
Mistakes to avoid
- Sending the full survey before the decision, which makes candidates worry that honest answers will cost them the job.
- Asking twenty questions after a single phone call.
- Only surveying new hires, who are the most likely to have enjoyed the process.
- Collecting answers and never acting on them, or never telling anyone what changed.
- Asking for the candidate's name or contact details when you have said the survey is anonymous.
Questions
What questions should a candidate experience survey ask?
Ask about the job posting, the application, how quickly and clearly you communicated, how prepared and respectful the interviewers were, whether the process felt fair, whether they would recommend applying and what one thing you should change.
When should I send a candidate experience survey?
After the candidate has heard the outcome of their application. For new hires, a few weeks after they start, once they can compare the job with what the process described.
What is a candidate Net Promoter Score?
It uses the Net Promoter Score method on candidates. Ask how likely they are to recommend applying, from 0 to 10. Those who answer 9 or 10 are promoters and those who answer 0 to 6 are detractors. The score is the percentage of promoters minus the percentage of detractors.
Should a candidate survey be anonymous?
Anonymous answers tend to be more honest, but you cannot link them to a role or stage unless you ask. A common middle ground is to record the role and stage and leave out the name. Whichever you choose, tell candidates in the survey email.
What should the candidate experience survey email say?
Why you are asking, how long the survey takes, that answers will not affect any application, who reads them and when the survey closes. The email version above covers all five.
How many questions should the survey have?
As few as will answer what you need to know. Three questions after a single stage, and no more than about 15 after a full interview process.
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