20+ Samples of Employment Questionnaires

Check out the following samples to gain insight on what to expect from an employment questionnaire.

What Is an Employment Questionnaire?

Employment questionnaires are used by employers to obtain valuable information about a job applicant prior to an interview. This is an essential stage of the screening process because it allows a company to identify candidates who closely qualify for the job role available. This will also help narrow down a large pool of applicants into a selected few by determining leading candidates effectively. It’s a convenient way to test and evaluate the behavior and skills of an applicant and to assess how well these attributes will benefit the needs of the company.

While some candidates may feel as if the system unfairly excludes them from the opportunity to really prove themselves, this is a testing tool that the organization can use to help minimize turnover and boost productivity with its recruitment efforts.

Tips for Answering an Employment Questionnaire

Good companies don’t make it easy for anyone to join their workforce. Employers are well aware that their hiring decisions are crucial to the current and future state of the company in more ways than one. Thus, they make sure that the people they hire, train, and manage are qualified enough to fulfill their job duties effectively. One way to do so is by designing different types of employment questionnaires for applicants and existing employees to answer. Although these questionnaires may seem intimidating at first, answering them would be a breeze with the help of the right techniques.

Be consistent with your answers. Job questionnaires often contain similar questions to catch any inconsistencies in one’s response. It’s a trick that many employers use to pinpoint any signs of a person that is either sloppy or lying. The differences between these questions are easily noticed by the way the questions are constructed. This could be in terms of word choice or sentence construction.Decide carefully. Some questions might force you to choose the safest response. However, being neutral can sometimes depict your inability to think critically or decide firmly. Some multiple-choice questions might even have the right answer hidden among the wrong ones, even if you think these questions are subjective in nature. The only time you should allow yourself to pick the neutral option is when you think the right answer is impossible to figure out.Avoid offering unnecessary information. While sharing a lot about yourself says a thing or two about your bubbly personality, it also gives a prospective employer the chance to use your words against you. This is why it’s important to provide answers that are specific and direct to the questions being asked. Also, try not to think too much about the questions that do not relate to the job itself and the qualifications required for the role; otherwise, you could be digging an even deeper hole that you won’t be able to get yourself out of.Don’t object to the questions. Answer every question that you possibly can. Unless the questions are derogatory by legal standards, avoid skipping anything that’s there. You’d want to present yourself as stubborn and defiant in the eyes of prospective employers. Feel free to ask the facilitator to clarify questions that aren’t quite clear to you. It won’t hurt to envision real-life scenarios that may relate to the questions as well.Stay alert for underlying meanings. Don’t be fooled by the brittle and simplistic surface of a questionnaire. Some questions will require you to think critically enough for employers to gain the information they need to offer you the job. Take the time to understand what each question truly means and how each answer may affect your opportunity for the role you are applying for.