Describe the role or office and the evidence you need. Makeform creates an editable candidate questionnaire form with qualification checks, position questions, and consistent response formats.
Send candidate responses to Slack, Google Sheets, and Zapier.
Sample prompts for the builder
Choose a prompt, adapt its criteria, or send it to the builder. Every example is editable.
Audience
Applicants completing a pre-interview screen
Format
Short questionnaire with required qualifications
Prompt size
339 chars
Example form structure
Short questionnaire with required qualifications
Contact details and location
Earliest start date
Relevant scheduling experience
Available for evening coverage?
Example of resolving a missed deadline
Suggested routing tags
Meets essentials
Needs review
Follow-up
Ask for one concrete example after every self-rating; evidence is easier to review than an unsupported score.
Step 1
Define
role, office, criteria, and review owners
Step 2
Ask
consistent questions and response formats
Step 3
Route
answers tagged for the right reviewers
Step 4
Compare
evidence reviewed against the same rubric
A clearer first screen
A candidate questionnaire form gives every person the same prompts and keeps qualifications, examples, and availability together.
Use yes or no, date, and multiple-choice fields for availability, credentials, location, and stated requirements.
Conditional follow-ups request a project, outcome, or source when an answer needs explanation.
Give candidates the same core questions, then review answers against stated criteria.
Four selection workflows
Hiring screens and voter guides need different questions but share structured answers and a clear review path.
Confirm experience, schedule, location, and role-specific examples before coordinating calls.
Pair skill levels with project evidence, portfolio links, and resume uploads.
Use equal issue prompts, word counts, source fields, and publication choices for a voter guide.
Collect mission interest, governance experience, availability, disclosures, and committee preferences.
Build the screening workflow
Define the decision, generate the structure, then refine wording and routing before inviting candidates.
Name the role or office, criteria, topics, audience, answer length, and reviewers.
Remove irrelevant questions, keep wording consistent, and review sensitive topics internally.
Show evidence prompts or role-specific sections only when relevant.
Share one link, notify reviewers, and export structured answers to the evaluation workspace.
Questionnaire vs email vs interview
A questionnaire is strongest for repeatable first-round facts. Use later conversations for follow-up, nuance, and mutual evaluation.
Field guide
These six sections create a focused response packet without turning the form into a second interview.
Identity and context
Collect only the identity and contact information needed: role and preferred contact for hiring, or office and campaign contact for politics.
Essential qualifications
Translate each prerequisite into a clear field. Ask about the specific experience, schedule, credential, or condition used in review.
Evidence and examples
Pair self-ratings with a concrete example covering the situation, the candidate's contribution, and the result.
Positions and priorities
Define each topic without arguing for an answer. Give everyone the same prompt, word count, and optional source field.
Review metadata
Use operational fields only when they control a next step, such as interview windows, committee interest, or candidate type.
Confirmation and permission
Close with accuracy confirmation, follow-up permission, and any publication choice. Explain who receives the answers.
Related tools
Use a focused form for applications, interview coordination, reviewer feedback, or broad surveys when the questionnaire is only one stage.
Collect the complete application packet before sending selected candidates a focused questionnaire.
Open toolGather core contact and candidate profile information in a dedicated structured form.
Open toolGive interviewers a consistent scorecard for evidence and notes after each conversation.
Open toolCollect time preferences and coordination details once a candidate advances.
Open toolCreate a general employment application with work history and role information.
Open toolBuild a broader survey when the goal is public opinion rather than candidate-by-candidate screening.
Open toolFAQ
Practical answers for recruiters, committees, and organizations collecting candidate responses.
It is a structured form for someone being considered for a job, office, board, or committee. It collects qualifications, examples, availability, positions, and follow-up details before review.
Ask for role-specific experience, one or two examples, availability, timing, portfolio or resume, and stated essential criteria. Save deeper discussion and candidate questions for the interview.
Yes. Describe the office, issues, response length, deadline, and publication plan. Use the same neutrally worded questions for each candidate, add optional source links, and ask whether submitted answers may be published verbatim. Your organization should review its own wording and process before distribution.
Use yes or no for prerequisites, dates for timing, multiple choice for ranges, and short text for evidence. Pair self-ratings with examples and define the review rubric before answers arrive.
Yes. Conditional logic can show a technical section for one role, a leadership section for another, or district-specific questions for a political candidate. Keep a shared core for criteria that truly apply to everyone in the same selection group.
Yes. Makeform supports unlimited free forms and responses, including generating, editing, and publishing your questionnaire. The paid tier removes the Makeform badge.
Responses arrive in the Makeform inbox and can be sent into tools such as Google Sheets, Slack, or Zapier. Use clear access rules in the destination so only the people involved in the selection process receive candidate information.
Usually it works best as a first step. The form gathers repeatable facts; an interview explores context, candidate questions, and points that need conversation.
Start with the evidence your review needs.
