Setting Up Pre-screening Question Functionality

Objectives

After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
  • Add pre-screening questions
  • Create question libraries
  • Configure question fields
  • Import a question library
  • Import cascading questions
  • Evaluate candidate screening questions

Pre-screening Questions

Requisitions can generate hundreds of applications. As a result, it is useful to have less qualified candidates automatically disqualified or rated in a certain way.

Including questions on the application is a convenient way to request information from the candidate as a form of pre-screening.

The use of questions on the application saves time for the recruiting team by easily identifying top-rated candidates and prevents the need to review each and every application.

Purpose of Pre-Screening Questions

  • Candidate screening can be used on items such as the following:

    • Eligibility for employment

    • Ability and willingness to travel

  • Job-specific screening, that is screening to find suitable candidates that meet very specific criteria for a certain job, can be used the following items:

    • Education level

    • Employment background

    • Experience

    • Knowledge, skills, and abilities

Pre-Screening questions are displayed.

Screening Questions and Candidate Application Questions

Customer FAQs on Screening and Candidate Application Questions

  • Where do I put this question?

    • Should this be a screening question?

    • Should this be a question on the application template?

If a question needs to be asked of all candidates, for example if it is a regulatory compliance question, then it is recommended to use it as an application question rather than a screening question.

The screening questions are very good for job-specific questions as they can be adjusted each time you create a requisition.

Screening QuestionsApplication Questions
Can be set to be disqualifier questionsCannot be set as disqualifier questions
Must be added to each requisitionAre in the XML template, so questions are presented to all candidates
Cascading questions are supportedCascading questions are not supported
Can vary by jobCan be designated to only appear internally or externally, or can vary by country (overrides)

Questions Section on a Requisition

To add a question to the questions section on a requisition, use the following steps:

  1. Create a new job requisition.

  2. In the job requisition, add questions by clicking on the Add more questions link.

    Add questions by clicking on the Add more questions link.

  3. This opens a window with three tabs.

    Browse tab is selected. You can view the question libraries organized in a tree structure here.

    • Search

      • Here you can enter keywords to search for a question in the question library.

    • Browse

      • Here you can view the question libraries in a tree structure.

      • Select the checkbox next to the questions you want to add to the requisition, then click Add.

    • Create

      • Here you can create a new question on the fly.

      • This option does not add the question to the library, only to this requisition.

  4. After the questions are added to the requisition, the question field refreshes.

    Questions for the candidate is displayed.

  5. The questions appear at the bottom of the application when a candidate applies.

Additional Selections on the Question Field

  • Required

    • Click this box if the question must be answered by the candidate. This makes it a mandatory field.

  • Disqualifier

    • Click this box if the question will be a disqualifier question.

    • If a candidate does not put in the correct answer, they are automatically disqualified (and moved to that status in the pipeline).

  • Score

    • Click this box if the question is to be scored, which is used to generate an overall rating for the candidate and can be used to disqualify. 

    • This score or rating can be seen on the candidate summary, and candidates can be sorted by score.

    • This helps the recruiter start with the most qualified candidates and work their way through the list, a form of "short-listing".

    • The candidates who will not be advancing can be mass-disqualified.

    • To use scoring for auto-disqualifying candidates, determine the Required Score that is needed for an applicant to pass the overall questions.

    • If the total score of the applicant falls below theRequired Score threshold, the applicant are automatically disqualified.

  • Weight

    • If a question will count towards the total score of the applicant, you have to determine by how much.

    • The Weight column can more accurately be described as points.

    • The total weight does not need to add up to 100 but instead is simply added to the total of the candidate.

    • You can assign higher points or weights to more important questions.

      Question field options are displayed.

Question Library

There are several methods for adding questions that are used for disqualifying or rating to the job requisition.

Question-Adding Options

  • Use the central question library available to all users.

    One of the method of adding questions is displayed.

    • A question library can be uploaded in Admin Center as a comma-separated value (.csv) file. It can also be loaded as an XML file.

    • Uploading a .csv file is the fastest way to get numerous questions into the system.

    • Questions can also be entered individually through theAdmin Center page.

  • Add commonly used questions from a personal My Saved Questions link.

    Select My Saved Questions to add more questions.

    • These must be added in advance by the person creating the requisition.

      1. Go to Recruiting → Preferences → My Saved Questions.

      2. Click Create More Questions.

      3. Enter the text of the question.

      4. Choose Click to Set to select the format of answers, the answers themselves, and the correct answer.

      5. Click Add.

      6. Click Save.

        Add the question and the required details, then select Save button.

    • After the above steps are completed, these questions become available on the requisition only to the user who saved them. Click the My Saved Questions link within the questions field to use these questions on requisitions.

      My Saved Questions option is highlighted. Users can create their own questions directly in the Requisition.

  • The user may create their own questions directly within the Requisition.

    • Adding a question within the requisition directly does not update the library.

Question Configuration on a Requisition Template

To configure the question field and enable permissions, you have to add XML code to the requisition template.

  1. Define the question field.

    Code block is displayed.

  2. Designate who can add and modify questions.

    Code block is displayed.

Question Configuration on an Application Template

To configure the question responses to be visible on the candidate summary, you have to add XML code to the Candidate Data Model (CDM).

Question Response, Average Rating and Permission Fields

  1. Define the questionResponse and averageRating fields.

    Code block is displayed.

  2. Enable permissions for those that need to be able to view the responses and average rating on the application.

    Code block is displayed.

Using Pre-Screening Questions Feature Permissions

When using the multi-stage application environment, the candQuestions feature permission is required in the configuration of the job requisition. This feature permission controls when (in which status of the applicant status set) the pre-screening questions will appear to the candidates. Traditionally, the candQuestions feature is permissioned in the Default status, allowing candidates to answer any pre-screening questions when they are completing their application for a job.

When this feature is permissioned to any other status in the applicant status set, it will prevent the candidate from changing their answers to the pre-screening questions assigned to the job requisition after they have submitted their application.

Ensure that the feature permission candQuestions is configured for each status where you want applicants to be able to read, but not edit, their answers to screening questions.

Question Library Import

Permission-Granting Steps

  1. Navigate to Admin Center → Manage Permission Roles.

  2. Select the role for which to enable the Manage Question Library permissions.

  3. Locate and select the Manage Question Library link.

  4. Select the Select All checkbox.

Permission Settings page is displayed. Select all the checkboxes, and then select Done button.

Question Library Import Steps

  1. Log out and then log in again.

  2. In Admin Center, search for Import Question Library.

    Note

    Questions libraries can be managed in Provisioning → Managing Question Libraries.

  3. Select the file you wish to upload. It can be in CSV or XML format.

  4. Name the new library.

  5. Select whether this library should be editable.

  6. Select in what type of encoding the file is saved.

  7. Click Import.

Question Library Import page is displayed.

CSV Question Library Import

The question library CSV file requires a structured format and order of data.

CSV Question Library Data

ColumnContent TypeDetails
AQuestion TypeOnly the following question types are presently supported:

  • QUESTION_MULTI_CHOICE

  • QUESTION_NUMERIC

  • QUESTION_TEXT

  • QUESTION_RATING

BCategoryAll questions must be placed in a category. Either a new or existing category can be used. The category value can be any alphanumeric string, preferable short.
CParent Question

This is optional; only use when you intend to set this row up as a child question in a set of cascading questions.

If used, specify the exact name of a question that already exists in the instance or is defined as a new question earlier in the file.

DName of QuestionAny alphanumeric string
EDescription of QuestionAny alphanumeric string
FValid Rating Scale IDThe exact name of a rating scale set up in the instance
GAnswer OptionUse only for multiple choice questions. Specify a comma -separated list of values from which the applicant can pick.
HExpected Right AnswerUse for the questions that have a right answer. Questions can only have a single right answer specified.
IExpected Correct Answer Direction

For numeric and rating scale questions, it is possible to specify that the right answer is "x or higher" or "x or lower". Allowable values, therefore, are as follows:

  • higher

  • lower

These should be lower-cases when included in the import file.

JGUID for the QuestionAny alphanumeric value. Spaces and special characters should be avoided.
KLocale in which this copy of the question is translatedAny locale enabled in Provisioning and Admin Center. If translated questions are desired, define the question multiple times in the import file, using the same GUID each time but specifying a different locale value on each import row.
LParent Response

This is optional; only use when you intend to set this row up as a child question in a set of cascading questions.

If used, specify the answer the applicant needs to give to the parent question in order to reveal this row as a child question.

A child question can only be tied to a single right parent answer. This means if multiple parent answers need to reveal the child question, the child question actually needs to be set up multiple times in the library, once per right parent answer.

Required Information for Different Question Types

Required and Optional Information

Question TypeQUESTION_MULTI_ CHOICEQUESTION_RATINGQUESTION_NUMERICQUESTION_TEXT
Question CategoryRequiredRequiredRequiredRequired
QuestionRequiredRequiredRequiredRequired
Question DescriptionOptionalOptionalOptionalOptional
ScaleN/ARequiredN/AN/A
Answer SetRequiredN/AN/AN/A
Expected AnswerOptionalOptionalOptionalOptional
GUIDOptionalOptionalOptionalOptional
LocaleRequiredRequiredRequiredRequired

Example

An example of pre-screening questions is displayed in a table.

Tips: Multiple Languages in the Question Library CSV File

  • To import multiple languages, you need to update the Locale column for the language.

  • If your file contains special characters, that is characters for other languages, the best character encoding to use is UTF-8.

  • Use Open Office as special characters are handled better by Open Office.

  • If you see odd characters after importing, for example boxes, question marks, and so on, then the likely culprit is the character encoding.

Cascading Questions

Cascading questions are questions that display based on the answer to the previous question, that is sub-questions with a dependence on a primary question.

Cascading Question Icon

  • They are available in the job requisition Questions field and have a little icon next to them.

    Cascading Question Icon is displayed.

To the candidate, the sub-question displays if there is one mapped to the answer of the primary question.

Cascading Questions Import

Cascading questions can only be entered through an import of CSV file.

  1. Use the standard question library import file and add two columns:

    • Parent Name and Parent Response

  2. Be sure to include the parent question in the import file.

  3. For your sub-question, put the parent question in the Parent Name column and the appropriate question answer in the Parent Response column.

  4. Complete the rest of the columns for the question content.

    • Question type, question category, question, and so forth.

  5. Once the file is imported, you can see your cascading questions when adding questions from the library in the job requisition Questions field.

Required Information for Cascading Questions

Required Information for Cascading Questions

Question TypeQUESTION

_MULTI_ CHOICE

QUESTION

_RATING

QUESTION

_NUMERIC

QUESTION

_TEXT

Question CategoryRequiredRequiredRequiredRequired
Parent QuestionRequiredRequiredRequiredRequired
QuestionRequiredRequiredRequiredRequired
Question DescriptionOptionalOptionalOptionalOptional
ScaleN/ARequiredN/AN/A
Answer SetRequiredN/AN/AN/A
Expected AnswerOptionalOptionalOptionalOptional
GUIDOptionalOptionalOptionalOptional
LocaleRequiredRequiredRequiredRequired
Parent ResponseRequiredRequiredRequiredRequired

Candidate Ratings

Scoring of certain questions allows recruiters to easily identify the most qualified candidates.

Note the Rating field for each candidate shown.

Candidates page is displayed. Rating field for each candidate shown.

Note

Neither pre-screening questions nor pre-screening question responses are reportable; however, pre-screening questions can be reportable via APIs.

Screening Questions on the Summary Page

Recruiters and other permissioned roles use the Candidate Summary page to view all application data including the screening questions.

Recruiters and other permissioned roles can review the candidate's answers to pre-screening questions.

Candidate Results Status

Candidates who are auto-disqualified are easily detected by their status of Auto Disqualified and the pink row color.

Auto-disqualified candidates are marked with pink status.

Note

Most recruiters are very interested in the benefits of using questions to auto-disqualify and rate applicants. This functionality makes them much more productive on requisitions with many applicants.

Configure and Add Questions and Review Responses

Business Example

Questions added to the job requisition can serve as a quick way to screen, rank, and disqualify candidates. In this exercise, you are required to import a question library and configure questions on the job requisition.

Task 1: Import a Question Library

Steps

  1. Open the screening questions file named Question Library from your folder of provided course files.

    Note

    The file could be in .xls format.

    1. In your course starter files, locate the Question Library.csv file and open the file.

  2. Ensure the file is saved in the .csv format.

    1. Verify that the file is in .csv format.

  3. Import the file into your training instance. Name it General Question Library.

    Note

    Permissions may take a minute or two to take effect.

    1. Log in to your instance as the administrator. Navigate to Admin Center → Recruiting → Import Question Library.

      Questions libraries can also be managed in Provisioning → Managing Question Libraries, but are generally managed in Admin Center.

    2. Browse and select the file you wish to upload. Verify that the file is in .csv format.

    3. Name the new library General Question Library.

    4. Select whether this library should be editable.

    5. Select the encoding in which to save the file.

      Note

      Generally, it is best practice to select UTF-8 as encoding. This is especially important if you are implementing multiple languages.

    6. Click Import.

Task 2: Add Questions to the My Saved Questions

Steps

  1. Log in as (proxy to) the recruiter and navigate to Recruiting → Preferences → My Saved Questions.

  2. Add the question, "Are you able to work on weekends?".

    The response options should be Yes or No. Configure the correct answer as Yes.

    1. To add a new question, select Create More Questions.

    2. In the text field, enter the question, "Are you able to work on weekends?".

    3. To enter the response, select the link to Click To Set next to Answer Range.

    4. Select the answer format from the dropdown menu. Responses to this question should be Yes or No, so select Multiple Choice.

    5. Enter Yes in the Answer Range field. Select Add Another Answer and enter No.

    6. Enter Yes as the correct answer.

    7. Click Add.

  3. After adding the question, save your changes.

Task 3: Configure the Ability to Add Questions to a Requisition

Steps

  1. Open the latest version of your JRDM in an XML editor.

    1. Log in to Provisioning and navigate to Managing Recruiting → Import/Update/Export Job Requisition Template. Download the latest version of the JRDM to your computer.

    2. Open your XML editor and open the JRDM file you just downloaded.

  2. In the JRDM, verify that the questions field is defined and that the recruiter has the ability to add questions in the pre-approved and approved states.

    If other roles also have permission, leave them there.

    1. Use the Find function (Ctrl+F) and search for "questions" to verify that the questions field definition already exists in your JRDM.

    2. Scroll down to the permissions zone and ensure the questions field is permissioned for Recruiter (R) role to write to the field in the following statuses: Pre-Approved and Approved.

    3. If other roles also have permission, leave them there.

    4. Review feature permission type=canQuestions. This allow Pre-screening questions to display to candidates in the respective status(es)

  3. If changes were made, save the file with new name, validate, and import.

Task 4: Add Questions to a Requisition

Steps

  1. Log in as the recruiter.

    1. Log in to your instance as the administrator and proxy as the recruiter.

  2. Create a new requisition.

    1. Navigate to Recruiting and select Create New.

    2. Select the job requisition template, if applicable. Choose the option to Create Requisition from a Blank Template.

    3. Enter the job title, route map operators, and select Next.

    4. Enter all the required fields.

  3. Add questions to the job requisition using the following requirements:

    • Add three questions to the requisition from the library you loaded.

    • Score the three questions. Set the weight for two of these questions to 25 and the other to 50.

    • Enter 75 for the Required Score (the candidate must get the 50 point question right and at least one of the two 25 point questions).

    • Add the question from My Saved Questions.

    • Make it a disqualifying question.

    1. From the Questions field, select Add More Questions to display the options.

    2. Select the Browse tab.

    3. Locate the General Questions Library that was imported above. Expand the library. Add three questions from the library by clicking the box and selecting Add.

    4. To score the three questions, check the box.

    5. Under the Weight column, set the weight for two of these questions to 25 and the other to 50.

    6. Underneath the questions, find the Required Score box and enter 75 .

      The candidate must get the 50 point question right and at least one of the two 25 point questions.

    7. To add the question from My Saved Questions, locate the My Saved Questions link and expand it. Select the box next to the question added above and select Add.

    8. Make it a disqualifying question by first selecting Required and then selecting Disqualifier.

      To make it a disqualifying question, it must first be required.

  4. Take a screen capture of your questions, so you know how to answer them correctly as a candidate.

  5. Route the requisition through the approval process, and post it internally and externally (remember, you may need to wait up to an hour before you can apply to this job).

    1. Proxy in as that user and approve the requisition.

    2. Continue approving the requisition until the requisition has been approved by all operators and is in Approved status.

    3. Once the requisition has been approved, post it internally and externally by going to Job Postings and entering the current date in the Start Date fields. Select Post Job.

      Remember, you may need to wait up to an hour before you can apply to this job.

Task 5: Apply to a Job as a Candidate and Answer Candidate Screening Questions

Steps

  1. As an internal candidate interested in a new position, apply to the job that you just created with pre-screening questions.

    1. Log in or proxy as an internal user and navigate to Careers.

    2. Search for the job posted above and under Take Action, select Apply.

    3. Update your Candidate Profile, if necessary, and select Next. Complete the application required fields.

  2. Answer the questions in a way that will not disqualify you.

    1. To answer the questions in a way that will not disqualify you, refer to the screenshot of the requisition you took above, if necessary.

    2. Submit the application.

  3. Apply as another candidate (internal or external), but this time change your answers so that the candidate is automatically disqualified.

    1. Complete the steps above to apply for the same job, but this time change your answers so that they will disqualify you.

Task 6: Review Candidate Screening Questions and Resulting Status

Steps

  1. Log in as the recruiter and navigate to the candidate summary for that job requisition.

    1. Log in as the administrator and proxy as the recruiter.

    2. Navigate to Recruiting and find the job that has the two new applicants, as per Task 5. View the Candidate Summary.

  2. View the Rating column for those candidates. Also drill into each candidate’s application to view their screening question responses.

    1. Make sure you are viewing all candidates by selecting the View All Candidates link at the top right of the screen.

    2. View the Rating column for those candidates that applied above to see how they scored on the questions.

    3. Drill into the application of each candidate by selecting their name. Scroll down the page to view the screening question responses of the candidates.

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