Candidate Screening Form Template
A pre-interview filter that respects everyone’s time — work authorization, availability, and salary range before a single call is booked.
Five short questions before we book calls — they save you from interviews that were never going to fit, and they are read by a human.
PDF or Word, one file.
Every recruiter knows the sinking feeling of a great thirty-minute call that ends with a dealbreaker — wrong country, wrong salary band, wrong start date. A screening form moves those five facts to the front of the funnel, where they cost the candidate ninety seconds instead of costing both sides an interview. Done kindly, it is not a wall; it is a courtesy.
Why these fields. Name, email, and the position field tie the screening to an application — the position is free text with a paste-the-listing prompt because screeners often serve several open roles from one link. Work authorization and sponsorship are asked as two separate questions because they are two separate facts: plenty of candidates are authorized today but need sponsorship in two years, and conflating them produces exactly the surprise the form exists to prevent. Earliest start date catches notice periods and visa timelines. The salary dropdown uses ranges rather than a naked number — ranges feel safe to answer, and a range is all a screener needs; the explicit "prefer to discuss" option keeps strong candidates who hate the question from bouncing. The resume upload accepts one PDF or Word file, which is all a screen requires.
What we left out. Cover letters, references, and portfolio essays. This is a filter, not the application — every minute added here is paid in abandoned funnels, and the deep material belongs in the interview stage where it will actually be read.
Who uses this. In-house recruiters running high-volume roles, staffing agencies qualifying inbound candidates before their clients see them, and founders hiring for the first time who need structure more than software.
Make it yours. The built-in logic answers sponsorship honestly: candidates who need it see a different ending that sets expectations about an authorization review, instead of a generic thanks that later reads as a brush-off. Adjust that rule in the Logic panel to match what your company can actually sponsor — honesty here is employer branding. Swap the salary bands for your market, add a knockout question for licenses or shift availability, and turn on email notifications so screenings hit the recruiter inbox live. CSV export gives you funnel numbers — screenings per role per week — that no inbox can.
A public link that stays clean. Posting a screening form on job boards invites two kinds of noise: bots and blast-appliers. The first is handled for you — honeypot fields, timing checks, and a proof-of-work challenge screen out automated submissions without adding a single hoop for real candidates. The second is human and shows up as position answers that match nothing you posted; skim rather than delete, because a mass-applier and a promising candidate who pasted the wrong tab look identical until a human glances at the resume. Five seconds per row keeps the funnel honest at any volume.
Frequently asked questions
Why do candidates see different thank-you screens?
A logic rule routes candidates who need sponsorship to an ending that honestly describes the extra authorization review — expectations set beats silence.
What resume formats are accepted?
PDF and Word documents up to 10MB. Keeping it to one file per candidate makes the responses table and CSV export clean.
Can one screening form serve several open roles?
Yes — the position field is free text, so link this form from every posting and filter responses by role in the table or export.
Is this a legally safe set of questions?
The fields stick to widely used screening facts — authorization, availability, expectations. Local law varies, so have counsel confirm wording for your jurisdiction.