Your best applicant just took a competing offer, and you may never learn which part of your process pushed them out. A candidate experience survey collects feedback from job seekers at each hiring stage, so you can fix the steps that drive good applicants away. These nine templates cover every stage, from application to offer or rejection.
On SurveyMonkey, you send a short survey the moment a stage ends, while the experience is fresh. Anonymity settings let candidates answer honestly. AI-assisted design suggests questions and flags confusing ones before launch. Filter results by role, department, or location to locate the drop-off.
Candidate surveys average a 98.4% completion rate at 13 questions. Short surveys of 1-10 questions finish at 99.6%; those past 21 drop to 89.5%. Results flow into Workday, BambooHR, Slack, and Microsoft Teams. For 20 questions worth asking, see our candidate experience survey guide.
How to create a candidate experience survey
Choose one of the nine templates on this page, or start from the employee satisfaction survey template.
Pick the stage you are measuring: application, interview, offer, rejection, or onboarding.
Keep it short and stage-specific, a handful of questions plus one open-ended comment.
Turn on anonymity so candidates answer honestly, and let AI-assisted design check the questions before launch.
Send by email, web link, or QR code the moment the stage closes.
Review results, filter by role, department, or location, and read the open-ended comments for the why.
When to use candidate experience surveys
After application or screening: Ask whether the application was clear and quick, and find where most drop-off happens.
After an interview: Capture how the phone screen or final round felt while it is fresh in mind.
After a rejection or withdrawal: Survey the people who did not advance, where the sharpest friction usually hides.
After an offer is accepted: Learn what won the candidate over, so you can repeat it next time.
After onboarding: Check whether the new hire's first weeks matched the promise of the hiring process.
Who runs candidate experience surveys
Recruiters and talent acquisition managers: They own the funnel end to end and use stage feedback to lift offer-acceptance rates and protect the employer brand.
HR directors and VPs: They want aggregate data across roles and departments to shape hiring strategy and justify headcount.
Small-business owners and office managers: They hire without a dedicated recruiting team and need a ready survey rather than a custom build.
Tips for creating a candidate experience survey
Send while it is fresh: Memory fades fast, so field the survey the moment a stage ends, not weeks later.
Keep it short: Surveys of 1-10 questions complete at 99.6% against 89.5% past 21, so ask only what each stage needs.
Do not skip rejected candidates: Rejections hold the sharpest friction, and surveying everyone gives the full funnel picture.
Filter to find the leak: Cut results by role, department, or location to see exactly where good applicants drop out.
Frequently asked questions about candidate experience surveys
What questions should a candidate experience survey ask?
Keep it to the stage you just finished. After an application, ask whether it was clear and quick. After an interview, ask how informed and respected the candidate felt. After a decision, ask about communication and timeline. Add one open-ended comment for the why. The candidate experience survey guide lists 20 questions worth asking, and anonymity settings keep the answers honest.
When should I send a candidate experience survey?
Send each survey the moment a stage closes, while the experience is fresh. That means right after the application, after each interview round, and right after the offer or rejection goes out. Waiting weeks costs you detail and lowers response. A short survey per stage beats one long survey at the end, and you can schedule sends by email, link, or QR code.
Should I survey candidates we rejected?
Yes, and they are often your most valuable respondents. Rejected and withdrawn candidates feel the friction that accepted hires never see, from slow replies to unclear next steps. Keep the survey brief and respectful, focused on the process rather than the decision. Anonymity helps people answer candidly. Patterns in their comments usually point straight at what is costing you talent.
How long should a candidate experience survey be?
Short. Candidate surveys of 1-10 questions complete at 99.6% on this platform, while those past 21 questions drop to 89.5%. Because you are surveying at several stages, each one only needs a few targeted questions plus one open-ended comment. A focused survey per stage gives cleaner, more complete data than a single long questionnaire at the end.
How do I act on candidate experience survey results?
Filter first. Cut results by role, department, or location to find where the funnel leaks, then read the open-ended comments for the cause. Sentiment analysis groups the themes, and dashboards track whether a fix moves the score over time. Share the patterns with hiring managers, change one stage, and re-survey to confirm the friction is gone.
