Describe the role, the knowledge candidates need, and how you want answers scored. Makeform turns that brief into an interview quiz with focused questions, answer choices, explanations, and candidate details so your team can review the same evidence before deciding who advances.
Send candidate responses to Slack, Google Sheets, and Zapier.
Sample prompts for the builder
Choose a role-specific prompt, edit it above, or send it into the Makeform builder. The question structure shown here is an example, not a live AI result.
Audience
Applicants for a customer support specialist role
Format
Ten-question scenario quiz with candidate details
Prompt size
465 chars
Example quiz structure
Ten-question scenario quiz with candidate details
Candidate name, email, and application ID
Which ticket should you handle first?
Choose the clearest reply to an upset customer
When should this issue be escalated?
Which scenario was hardest, and why?
Suggested routing tags
Review first
Meets benchmark
Needs follow-up
Ask about decisions candidates would make on the job, not obscure trivia. A short scenario often reveals more useful knowledge than a definition question.
Step 1
Define
role outcomes, must-know topics, and level
Step 2
Generate
questions, choices, keys, and explanations
Step 3
Invite
send one consistent quiz before interviews
Step 4
Review
compare responses and choose follow-ups
A sharper first screen
A resume tells you what a candidate says they have done. A focused interview quiz lets every applicant respond to the same job-relevant situations before calendar time is committed.
Organize the quiz around essential knowledge, routine decisions, and common mistakes for the role instead of recycling generic interview trivia.
Give candidates the same core questions and answer format, then carry their responses into the interview as specific topics to explore.
Use missed items and written reasoning to prepare targeted follow-up questions rather than spending the interview repeating basic knowledge checks.
Screening patterns
A useful pre-interview assessment is not one long exam. Combine a few formats so candidates can show recall, judgment, and communication without turning screening into unpaid project work.
Use clear multiple-choice items for terminology, procedures, product concepts, safety steps, or technical fundamentals that are genuinely required on day one.
Present a realistic customer, workflow, or troubleshooting moment and ask for the best next action among plausible alternatives.
Add one or two concise responses when the role depends on explanation, prioritization, or tone, and give reviewers an explicit rubric.
Ask candidates to interpret a small code block, record, message, or schedule. Keep it bounded enough to complete inside the quiz.
Quiz workflow
Start with the hiring signal you need, then edit the generated quiz until every question has a clear purpose and a defensible expected answer.
List the few capabilities that should be visible before an interview: required knowledge, judgment calls, communication habits, or technical fundamentals. Separate true requirements from skills that can be learned after hiring.
Tell Makeform the seniority, topics, question count, formats, and situations candidates face. Ask for answer keys, plausible distractors, and explanations so the first draft is reviewable.
Remove ambiguity, internal jargon, and irrelevant trivia. Confirm that one answer is clearly strongest, written-response rubrics are concrete, and the quiz can be completed in a reasonable sitting.
Share the same quiz link at the same stage of the process. Review submissions with your hiring criteria, then turn uncertain or interesting answers into structured interview follow-ups.
Pick the right screening method
The quiz is a focused knowledge and judgment screen. It complements application review and conversation; it does not replace a complete evaluation of experience, skills, and role fit.
Field guide
Six parts turn a list of questions into a screening instrument your recruiting team can understand, review, and reuse for candidates applying to the same role.
Candidate identity
Begin with only the identifiers your recruiting workflow needs. A name, email, and application or requisition reference usually make matching simple without distracting candidates from the assessment itself.
Competency map
Map questions to a short set of job requirements before drafting. This prevents one easy topic from dominating the score and makes it clearer what a strong or weak response actually means for the next stage.
Answer design
Multiple-choice questions work when alternatives reflect realistic mistakes. Avoid trick wording, double negatives, and options that differ only in grammar. For scenarios, identify the best action and why it is preferable.
Scoring plan
A raw total can hide an important miss. Define expected answers and note which topics warrant follow-up. Written questions need a small rubric that names the evidence reviewers should look for instead of relying on general impressions.
Candidate context
Tell candidates what the quiz covers, how responses will be used, and the expected amount of time. Explain whether they may use references. Clear instructions reduce avoidable confusion and make the experience easier to compare.
Review routing
Plan what happens after submission. Route responses to the recruiter or hiring manager, keep reviewer notes separate from candidate answers, and bring the same competency labels into the interview guide.
Related tools
Use a general quiz for broader assessments, collect applications and candidate details, then structure interviews and feedback with these live Makeform tools.
Create a general-purpose quiz when the topic is not specifically tied to candidate screening.
Open toolCollect a broader mix of self-reported skills, evidence, and assessment responses.
Open toolGive reviewers a structured place to record candidate assessment notes and criteria.
Open toolCollect candidate details and role-specific application questions before screening.
Open toolCapture interviewer observations and evidence after a live conversation.
Open toolCollect and route requests when teams need to arrange or approve interviews.
Open toolFAQ
Practical answers for recruiters and hiring managers building a role-specific screen before interviews.
An interview quiz is a short, job-related assessment candidates complete before or around an interview. It can check required knowledge, present realistic situations, and collect brief reasoning. Recruiters use the responses as one source of evidence and as a guide for follow-up questions; the quiz should not be treated as a complete hiring decision by itself.
Start with candidate identifiers, clear instructions, and a concise set of questions mapped to the role's essential capabilities. Include an answer key for closed questions, a simple rubric for written responses, and explanations that help reviewers check the draft. Favor common on-the-job decisions and foundational knowledge over obscure facts.
Use the fewest questions that cover your essential topics without repeatedly testing the same idea. Ten focused items may be enough for an initial screen, while a technical role may need a few more. Tell candidates the expected time, test the quiz internally, and remove questions that do not change what you ask or decide next.
Yes. Describe each role's level, responsibilities, core knowledge, and typical scenarios in a separate prompt. A customer support quiz might emphasize prioritization and written tone, while a developer quiz might use code-reading and debugging questions. Keep one reviewed version for candidates applying to the same opening.
Yes. Multiple choice is useful for focused knowledge and situational judgment items. Short written questions can show reasoning or communication when those matter to the job. Limit open responses, state the expected scope, and give reviewers concrete criteria so writing style alone does not become the hidden measure.
Create an answer key for closed questions and a small evidence-based rubric for written responses. Review important topics as well as the total rather than relying on one cutoff. Before using the quiz, have someone familiar with the role inspect every answer and explanation for ambiguity, outdated assumptions, or company-specific context candidates would not know.
Yes. Makeform is unlimited free, so you can generate, edit, publish, and collect submissions without a form or response cap. The paid tier removes the Makeform badge. You can revise the generated questions and answer choices before sharing the quiz with candidates.
Review responses before the conversation and note where the candidate's reasoning is especially strong, unclear, or unexpected. Ask the same planned core questions across candidates, then use quiz answers for relevant follow-ups such as how they reached a decision or what information would change it. Combine that discussion with the rest of your hiring evidence.
Make the first screen worth answering.
