Candidate Experience Survey Template: 30 Questions to Copy, by Stage

Unhappy candidates rarely tell you. They decline or go quiet, and a 3-minute survey is a simple way to hear why.

We build Talent Summoner, which finds and ranks candidates for a role. It does not send surveys.

Your first Role is free, with no card (pricing).

This page is for small teams and founders who run their own hiring. If your applicant tracking system (ATS) already sends candidate surveys, use its form and borrow only the questions.

Key takeaways

• Copy the 10 core questions. Swap in stage questions from a bank of 20, and keep each send to 10 or fewer.
• Send after the candidate has their decision: within 48 hours, or within a week for new hires and withdrawals.
• cNPS is the share of promoters (9–10) minus the share of detractors (0–6).
• The best survey score starts earlier: a better-fit shortlist means fewer people sit through interviews that were never a fit.

Candidate experience survey template to copy

Copy this block into your form tool and replace the bracketed parts. Keep it under 5 minutes.

CANDIDATE EXPERIENCE SURVEY - [COMPANY], [ROLE], [STAGE]

Thank you for your time with us. This survey takes about 3 minutes.
It is optional, you can skip any question, and your answers
will not affect your application. [Who sees the answers]

1. How clear was the information about this role and the process?
   Very clear / Clear / Neutral / Unclear / Very unclear
2. How easy was it to schedule your interview?
   Very easy / Easy / Neutral / Hard / Very hard / Not applicable
3. Did you know what to expect before each interview? Yes / Partly / No
4. Did the interviewers seem prepared? Yes / Partly / No
5. Did the questions relate to the job? Yes / Partly / No
6. Did you get an update within the time we promised? Yes / No / Not yet
7. Did anything make the process harder than it needed to be?
   [optional text]
8. Did you need an adjustment, and did you get it?
   (You do not need to say what it was.)
   Did not need one / Needed and got it / Needed and did not get it
9. How likely are you to recommend applying here to a friend? 0-10
10. What is one thing we should change? [optional text]

May we contact you about your answers? Yes / No
Please do not name other people in your answers.

Candidate experience survey questions by stage

Swap any of these into the core survey to learn more about one stage. Keep each send to 10 questions or fewer.

APPLICATION
11. How long did the application take? Under 10 min / 10-30 min / Over 30 min
12. Was the job advert clear about pay, location and the work? Yes / Partly / No
13. Did anything in the form slow you down or stop you? [optional text]
14. Did you get confirmation that we received your application? Yes / No
15. Where did you first hear about this role? [list your channels]

SCREENING CALL AND SCHEDULING
16. Did the first call explain the role and the next steps? Yes / Partly / No
17. Were you offered interview times that worked for you? Yes / Partly / No
18. Did you know who you would meet and for how long? Yes / Partly / No
19. Was any interview moved or started late? No / Once / More than once
20. Did the process match the timeline we gave you? Yes / Partly / No

INTERVIEW AND WORK SAMPLE
21. Was the work sample a fair use of your time? Yes / Partly / No / Did not have one
22. Did you have enough time to ask your own questions? Yes / Partly / No
23. Did each interviewer describe the role the same way? Yes / Partly / No
24. Did you feel able to show your best work? Yes / Partly / No
25. Was anything asked that seemed unrelated to the job? [optional text]

DECISION, OFFER OR REJECTION
26. How did you hear the decision? Call / Email / Did not hear
27. Was the decision explained clearly enough? Yes / Partly / No
28. If you received feedback, was it useful? Yes / Partly / No / Did not receive any
29. (New hires) Why did you say yes? [optional text]
30. (Declines and withdrawals) What was the main reason you stopped? [optional text]

How to score candidate NPS

Question 9 in the core survey gives you a candidate Net Promoter Score (cNPS). In Bain's Net Promoter System, 9–10 are promoters and 0–6 are detractors, and the score is the promoter percentage minus the detractor percentage.

Fictional example: 6 promoters and 2 detractors in 12 replies give 50% minus 17%, so cNPS is 33. One answer moves this score by 8 to 17 points, so show the counts too.

When to send a candidate experience survey

Send the survey soon after the stage, while memory is fresh. Always send it after the candidate has their result.

Never send it before the candidate has their decision. Answers will be less honest if they fear the result.

How to write candidate survey questions that get honest answers

• One thing per question. "Were the instructions clear and on time?" mixes two questions into one answer.
• Labelled scales. "Clear" and "Unclear" mean more than "4" and "2".
• An honest way out. Add "Not applicable" or "Not yet" where a question may not fit.
• No named people. Ask whether interviewers were prepared, not whether one interviewer was good.
• Optional text answers. Two open questions are usually enough.

Privacy and accessibility checks for a candidate survey

• Anonymous means you do not collect who answered. Confidential means you know who answered, but only named people can see it.
• Say which one you use. Call it confidential, not anonymous, if each person gets a unique link or only three people reached the final interview.
• Collect only what you need. Never ask about health, age, religion or immigration status.
• The UK ICO's key data protection considerations for AI in recruitment (6 November 2024) sets out the same principles: be open about use and collect the minimum. This is general information, not legal advice.
• Check that the form works with a keyboard and a screen reader, and that people can zoom in.
• The W3C's WCAG 2.2 is the current web accessibility standard. Many form tools still report against version 2.1, so check yours.

How to read candidate survey results

• Report counts next to percentages. "9 of 12 said the process was clear" is more honest than "75% satisfied".
• Read answers by stage and by outcome. Rejected candidates and new hires see different processes, so keep them apart.
• Treat a pattern as a question to check, not a verdict. Fix one thing, note the date, and compare the next group.

Fictional example: 12 of 30 candidates answer, and 5 of them did not know what the work sample involved. The founder adds a one-paragraph brief to the invite, and nobody raises it next round.

When this survey is wrong for you

• Under 10 candidates a year: a short personal call with each final-stage candidate teaches you more.
• You only need a score: one 0–10 question is enough; skip the rest.
• No one owns the answers: candidates notice when feedback goes nowhere, so name an owner first.

Where Talent Summoner fits before the candidate experience starts

• Candidate sourcing takes a role brief and returns a ranked shortlist with plain-English reasons. It searches LinkedIn, GitHub and other public sources, over 200 million profiles.
• Candidate ranking scores up to 50 CVs you already have, free and with no account.

Trade-offs: it does not send surveys, send paid LinkedIn InMail or sync with an ATS today. Survey delivery stays with your team.

We re-check the product facts on this page every quarter.

FAQ

Copy the template, set who owns the answers, and send the first survey after your next hiring decision.