Creating Custom Application Questions

This guide shows you how to create custom application questions, configure different question types, and use applicant responses in your hiring process.

Overview

Custom questions allow you to:

Gather specific information beyond resumes
Screen candidates based on requirements
Collect salary expectations, availability, and other details
Add knockout questions to filter unqualified applicants

Question Types

OpenATS supports five question types:

Type	Use Case	Example
Short Answer	Brief text responses	”What is your salary expectation?”
Long Answer	Detailed text responses	”Describe your experience with API development”
Checkbox	Multiple selections	”Which programming languages do you know?”
Radio Button	Single selection	”What is your preferred work arrangement?”
Boolean	Yes/No questions	”Are you authorized to work in the US?”

Adding Custom Questions

Navigate to Job Questions

Go to Jobs in the sidebar
Click on the job you want to configure
Click the Custom Questions tab

Add New Question

Click + Add Custom Question to open the question builder.

Select Question Type

Choose from the dropdown:

Short Answer - Single line text field
Long Answer - Multi-line text area
Checkbox - Multiple choice (can select multiple)
Radio Button - Multiple choice (select one)
Boolean - Yes/No toggle

Use Short Answer for concise responses like salary or availability. Use Long Answer for questions requiring detailed explanations.

Enter Question Text

Type your question in the “Enter the question here” field.Examples:

Short Answer: "What Is Your Salary Expectation?"
Long Answer: "Describe your experience building RESTful APIs"
Checkbox: "Which of these technologies have you used professionally?"
Radio: "What is your current work authorization status?"
Boolean: "Are you willing to relocate?"

Write clear, specific questions. Avoid jargon or ambiguous phrasing.

Configure Options (if applicable)

For Checkbox, Radio Button, and Boolean questions:

Click Setup Options & Logic
Add options:
- Type option text (e.g., “Yes”, “No”, “Remote”, “Hybrid”)
- Click + Add Another Option for more choices
Configure logic (optional):
- Mark correct answers for screening
- Set knockout options (auto-reject if selected)
Click Save Logic

Example for Radio Button:

Question: "What is your preferred work arrangement?"
Options:
- Remote
- Hybrid (2-3 days in office)
- On-site (5 days in office)

Set Required Status

Check Required to make the question mandatory.

Required questions must be answered before candidates can submit their application.

Save Question

Click Add Question to add it to your application form.

Managing Existing Questions

Reordering Questions

Questions appear on the application form in the order you set:

Drag questions by the ⋮⋮ handle icon
Drop them in the desired position
The order updates automatically

Put the most important screening questions first to save candidates time if they don’t qualify.

Editing Questions

Click the edit (pencil) icon on any question
Modify the question text, type, or options
Click Save Changes

Changing a question type will delete existing answers from candidates who already applied.

Deleting Questions

Click the delete (trash) icon on any question
Confirm the deletion

Deleting a question removes all candidate responses. This action cannot be undone.

Question Examples by Job Type

Software Engineering

Short Answer:

What is your expected salary range?
How many years of experience do you have with [Technology]?
What is your GitHub username?

Long Answer:

Describe a challenging technical problem you solved recently
Explain your experience with microservices architecture
What interests you about this role?

Checkbox:

Which programming languages are you proficient in?
- ☐ Java
- ☐ Python
- ☐ JavaScript
- ☐ Go
- ☐ C++

Radio:

What is your preferred development environment?
- ○ Linux
- ○ macOS
- ○ Windows

Boolean:

Do you have experience leading engineering teams? (Yes/No)

Sales & Marketing

Short Answer:

What CRM platforms have you used?
What is your typical sales cycle length?
What industries have you sold to?

Long Answer:

Describe your most successful sales campaign
How do you approach cold outreach?
What strategies do you use to close enterprise deals?

Checkbox:

Which marketing channels have you managed?
- ☐ Email Marketing
- ☐ Social Media
- ☐ Content Marketing
- ☐ Paid Advertising
- ☐ SEO/SEM

Radio:

What is your preferred sales methodology?
- ○ SPIN Selling
- ○ Challenger Sale
- ○ Solution Selling
- ○ Other

Boolean:

Do you have experience with B2B SaaS sales? (Yes/No)

Customer Support

Short Answer:

What help desk software have you used?
What languages do you speak fluently?
What are your available working hours?

Long Answer:

Describe how you handled a difficult customer situation
How do you prioritize multiple support tickets?

Checkbox:

Which support channels are you experienced with?
- ☐ Live Chat
- ☐ Email Support
- ☐ Phone Support
- ☐ Social Media

Boolean:

Are you comfortable working weekend shifts? (Yes/No)
Can you work in a 24/7 support rotation? (Yes/No)

Advanced: Knockout Questions

Knockout questions automatically reject candidates who don’t meet requirements:

Create a Boolean or Radio Question

Example: “Are you authorized to work in the United States?”

Configure as Knockout

In the options setup:

Mark which answers disqualify candidates
Set the auto-rejection email template
Enable Auto-reject on wrong answer

Test the Question

Submit a test application with the disqualifying answer to verify:

Candidate is moved to “Rejected” stage
Rejection email is sent automatically

Use knockout questions carefully. Ensure they’re truly mandatory requirements, not “nice to haves.”

Attaching Assessments to Application Forms

You can require candidates to complete technical assessments as part of their application:

Create an Assessment

First, create an assessment in Assessments section with your questions.

Attach to Job

From the Custom Questions tab:

Click Attach Assessment
Select the assessment from the dropdown
Choose when to trigger it:
- On Application - Immediately when they apply
- Screening Stage - When moved to screening
- Interview Stage - When moved to interview

Configure Assessment

Set:

Time limit (e.g., 60 minutes)
Pass threshold (e.g., 70%)
Auto-reject on fail (optional)

API Method for Attaching Assessments

POST /api/jobs/{jobId}/custom-questions/attach-assessment

{
  "assessmentId": 5,
  "triggerStageId": 2  // Stage that triggers the assessment
}

Viewing Candidate Responses

After candidates apply, view their answers:

Go to Candidates
Click on a candidate
Scroll to Custom Question Answers section
Responses appear with the question text

Use responses to pre-screen candidates before reviewing full resumes.

Best Practices

Keep Questions Focused

✅ Good questions:

“What is your expected salary range?”
“How many years of Python experience do you have?”
“Are you willing to travel up to 25%?”

❌ Poor questions:

“Tell us about yourself” (too broad)
“Why should we hire you?” (covered in cover letter)
“What’s your greatest weakness?” (not actionable)

Limit the Number of Questions

Keep application forms short:

3-5 questions for most roles
7-10 questions maximum for specialized roles
Every extra question reduces completion rates

Ask yourself: “Will this answer affect our hiring decision?”

Use Required Sparingly

Only mark questions as required if they’re truly mandatory:

Legal requirements (work authorization)
Deal-breakers (salary expectations too high)
Essential qualifications

Optional questions gather nice-to-have information without forcing candidates.

Test Your Application Form

Before publishing:

Submit a test application yourself
Check question clarity and ordering
Verify required validation works
Test on mobile devices
Time how long it takes to complete

Goal: Under 10 minutes for complete application

Be Transparent About Usage

Tell candidates how you’ll use their responses:

"We ask about salary expectations to ensure our 
compensation aligns with your requirements before 
proceeding with interviews."

Transparency increases completion rates and trust.

Question Schema Reference

When creating questions via API:

{
  "title": string,              // Question text (required, max 500 chars)
  "questionType": enum,         // "short_answer" | "long_answer" | "checkbox" | "radio"
  "isRequired": boolean,        // Default: false
  "position": number,           // Display order (1-based)
  "options": [                  // For checkbox/radio only
    {
      "label": string,          // Option text (required)
      "isCorrect": boolean,     // For screening questions
      "position": number        // Option order
    }
  ]
}

Validation Rules

title: 1-500 characters, required
questionType: Must be valid enum value
options: Required for checkbox/radio (minimum 2 options)
position: Must be unique within the job

Troubleshooting

Question Not Appearing on Application Form

Check:

Question is saved (not in draft mode)
Job is published/active
Question position is set
Browser cache cleared

Cannot Add Options to Question

Ensure:

Question type is checkbox, radio, or boolean
You clicked “Setup Options & Logic” button
Each option has text (cannot be empty)

Candidate Responses Not Saving

Verify:

Question exists before candidate applied
Required questions are answered
File upload size limits not exceeded
No special characters causing validation errors

API Reference

Get Custom Questions

GET /api/jobs/{jobId}/custom-questions

Create Custom Question

POST /api/jobs/{jobId}/custom-questions

Body:
{
  "title": "What is your salary expectation?",
  "questionType": "short_answer",
  "isRequired": true,
  "position": 1
}

Update Custom Question

PUT /api/jobs/{jobId}/custom-questions/{questionId}

Body:
{
  "title": "Updated question text",
  "isRequired": false
}

Delete Custom Question

DELETE /api/jobs/{jobId}/custom-questions/{questionId}

For complete API documentation, see Custom Questions API Reference.

Creating Jobs

Set up job postings with application forms

Managing Candidates

Review candidate responses and applications

Assessments

Create technical skills assessments

Email Templates

Configure automated responses

Get Started

Core Features

User Guides

Development

Creating Custom Application Questions

Overview

Question Types

Adding Custom Questions

Managing Existing Questions

Reordering Questions

Editing Questions

Deleting Questions

Question Examples by Job Type

Advanced: Knockout Questions

Attaching Assessments to Application Forms

API Method for Attaching Assessments

Viewing Candidate Responses

Best Practices

Question Schema Reference

Validation Rules

Troubleshooting

API Reference

Get Custom Questions

Create Custom Question

Update Custom Question

Delete Custom Question

Creating Jobs

Managing Candidates

Assessments

Email Templates

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get Started

Core Features

User Guides

Development

Documentation Index

​Overview

​Question Types

​Adding Custom Questions

​Managing Existing Questions

​Reordering Questions

​Editing Questions

​Deleting Questions

​Question Examples by Job Type

​Advanced: Knockout Questions

​Attaching Assessments to Application Forms

​API Method for Attaching Assessments

​Viewing Candidate Responses

​Best Practices

​Question Schema Reference

​Validation Rules

​Troubleshooting

​API Reference

​Get Custom Questions

​Create Custom Question

​Update Custom Question

​Delete Custom Question

​Related Guides

Creating Jobs

Managing Candidates

Assessments

Email Templates

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Overview

Question Types

Adding Custom Questions

Managing Existing Questions

Reordering Questions

Editing Questions

Deleting Questions

Question Examples by Job Type

Advanced: Knockout Questions

Attaching Assessments to Application Forms

API Method for Attaching Assessments

Viewing Candidate Responses

Best Practices

Question Schema Reference

Validation Rules

Troubleshooting

API Reference

Get Custom Questions

Create Custom Question

Update Custom Question

Delete Custom Question

Related Guides