Applications: Knockout Questions

Knock-out questions streamline your application process by immediately rejecting unsuitable candidates at the beginning. Knock-out questions are the first thing a new applicant sees when beginning the application process. In this article, we cover Knockout Questions.

In this article:
What are Knockout Questions
Candidate Experience
How to Add a Knockout Question to an Application
F.A.Q.
Additional Resources

What are Knockout Questions

Knock-out questions are typically yes/no type questions that function as "deal breakers", where a wrong answer immediately removes that candidate from consideration.

Please Note:

Knock-out questions are not saved in ClearCompany. It's important to note that Knock-out questions should not be used to gather information - they function only to screen candidates. If you'd like to store a candidate's answer to a question within the system, check out the Auto-grading questions setup guide here.

Candidate Experience

Candidate Gets Knock-Out

When a candidate goes to apply for a position, they will be prompted to first fill out the knock-out question (s). If they select the incorrect answer, for this example "No" they will see the knockout message. This is defaulted to "Thank you for your interest." This can be edited from the Settings tab in the application. To learn more check out Job Application: Settings.

The candidate does not appear in the system. We do not capture any information including first name and last name.

Knockout Question:

Knockout Message:

Candidate Moves Forward

If a candidate selects "Yes" they will be moved forward to the start of the application, where they can enter their information to begin.

Add a Knockout Question to your Application Process

Please note: Before deciding to add knockout questions to your application process, consult with your legal team.

Guide

You are able to add multiple questions to the Pre-Screen section and decide to knock out by total section score as well.

1. Click Tools, then Setup.
2. Click Applications.
3. Select the application you would like to use as a knockout question.
4. Add the question(s) to the Pre-Screen section of the application.
5. We will use a single yes/no question as an example: If you have already created the question you can drag and drop from the Saved Fields section on the left-hand side. If creating a new field, drag and drop a New Field.
6. Save and Close your application.
7. When you are taken back to the Applications page, click on Rules for the application.
8. From the dropdown menu at the top of the Rules page, select the Pre-Screen section you would like to assign a rule to. Then click Add under Rules.
9. In this example, if the candidate answers "No," we want to knock them out of the process. 
   1. Condition: Under Condition, select the question and the one that mentions "Options". (The other options are useful if you would like to use a section score to grade a candidate.)
   2. Operation: Under Operation, select "Equal".
   3. Value: Select a value, in this case, "No".
   4. Action: Since you are in a PreScreen section, the only action you will be able to add is Knock Out.
10. When you are finished, scroll down and click Save. (The individual option weighting, will not be used at this time, so that portion can be ignored.)
11. Your final steps will be to make sure a Knockout Message is added if you would like to customize it and to test your application as a candidate to ensure the rule you set is functioning as intended.

Important Information

Answers to questions in the Prescreen section of an application are not saved.

Questions are generally only considered to be useful if they have a knockout rule associated with them. This also includes questions tied to system fields, it's generally not advisable to add system field questions to this section of the application process.

Rules can currently only be applied to single- and multi-select type questions.

While text-based questions can be added to the Prescreen section, they cannot be set up as knockout questions.

Easy Apply

If using Indeed Easy Apply, we recommend using grading rules in the initial section of an application instead of Knockout Questions.

When a candidate goes to apply on Indeed, they will be prompted to answer the knockout question, if they are knocked out, they will not be added to the system and Indeed will state that they have already applied to the position. You will then see a discrepancy between ClearCompany and Indeed, as they will list the candidate as Applied, but they will not display in ClearCompany because they have been knocked out. Additionally, if a job is sponsored through Indeed, you will be charged for the Easy Apply click even if they don't enter your system.

Knockout Questions in Other Sections

Rules for Knockout Questions are meant to prevent someone from becoming a candidate, whereas a rule inside the application that is set as a knockout does not prevent anything.

Additional Resources

ClearCompany Blog: 10 Unique Pre-Screening Questions to Ask Candidates
Knockout Questions & Auto-Grading