Killer questions – sounds scary?
There is nothing to be afraid of! Killer questions in recruiting are special questions asked to candidates early in the selection process, designed to quickly eliminate those who do not meet the key requirements of the position and make it easier for the recruitment team to select candidates.
They are a time-saving tool for both recruiters and candidates, focusing on those most likely to meet the expectations of the role.
When should you use killer questions?
They can be used during the application phase or during the interview process.
As part of the application phase, killer questions can be included as a mandatory part of the application or sent after the application has been submitted as an addition to the candidate’s recruitment file. Their answers can also be used as a way to filter applications in an applicant tracking system (ATS).
How do you select killer questions for your process?
These questions should be designed to quickly filter out candidates who do not fit the key criteria of the position.
They can relate to:
- qualifications,
- knowledge of tools,
- language skills,
- experience,
- technical skills,
- availability (e.g., willingness to work certain hours or relocate).
Killer questions allow for a significant reduction in the time needed for resume pre-selection and initial interviews, as they enable the rapid elimination of candidates who do not meet fundamental requirements
Often these are closed questions, for example:
“Do you have at least 5 year experience as a team leader?”
“Do you speak English at A2 level or higher?”
“Do you live in Warsaw or you’re ready to relocate?”
Any examples?
Here is an example of a filter in the ATS system. The application form included the question “Are you willing to relocate to the city where the headquarters are placed?”.
The filter allows you to see a list of people who did not check this box:
Recruiting team can easily filter out all the people who do not meet this requirement – which was stated asa must-have in the job post, and reject them.
Is there any risk?
While effective, killer questions carry some risk – if not well thought out or used arbitrarily, they can reject candidates who could be valuable to the company but did not answer one such question “correctly.”
Therefore, their implementation requires careful planning and application to effectively support the recruitment process without unfairly eliminating potentially good candidates.
