Screening questions

Overview

Screening questions help recruiters quickly assess whether an applicant meets the minimum criteria for a position, and serve as a critical filter for low quality applications. By integrating screening questions into your application flow, you can:

Improve the quality of candidate submissions by ensuring only qualified applicants move forward.
Boost overall job board revenue by enhancing employer satisfaction and encouraging repeat postings.

Why are screening questions important?

Screening questions play a crucial role in the talent acquisition space in providing additional information to the recruiter about an applicant. They are utilized to increase quality of applications. Many jobs will require screening questions to filter applicants. To ensure that your application is received and reviewed, it may be necessary to implement screening questions.

Screening Question Object

{
  "id": "26vafvWSRmbhNcxJYqjCzuJg",
  "remote_id": "48b4d36a-1d4b-4c50-ada7-9519078e65b4",
  "title": "Which is your primary programming language?",
  "description": "Please enter the language you are most comfortable with.",
  "format": {
    "display_type": "SINGLE_LINE",
    "max_length": 100,
    "type": "TEXT"
  },
  "index": 0,
  "required": true
}

Format Attributes

display_type: SINGLE_LINE | MULTI_LINE | EMAIL | URL | null
- Specifies how the text input should be displayed
max_length: Maximum characters allowed (null for unlimited)

{
  "id": "7bKxnPd4LCdq86GDp2JkR8js",
  "title": "How many years of experience do you have?",
  "description": "Please indicate your total years of relevant experience.",
  "format": {
    "display_type": "SLIDER",
    "min": 0,
    "max": 20,
    "type": "NUMBER"
  },
  "index": 1,
  "required": true
}

Format Attributes

display_type: SLIDER | FIELD | null
- Controls how the number input is presented
min: Minimum allowed value (null for no minimum)
max: Maximum allowed value (null for no maximum)

{
  "id": "9cLynQe5MDer97HEq3KlS9kt",
  "title": "Please upload your portfolio",
  "description": "PDF or ZIP files only, maximum size 10MB",
  "format": {
    "type": "FILE",
    "accepted_mime_types": ["application/pdf", "application/zip"],
    "max_file_size_bytes": 10485760
  },
  "index": 2,
  "required": false
}

Format Attributes

accepted_mime_types: Array of allowed MIME types
max_file_size_bytes: Maximum file size in bytes

{
  "id": "3mNzpRf6NEfs08IFq4LmT0lu",
  "title": "What is your preferred work location?",
  "description": "Please select your preferred office location",
  "format": {
    "type": "SINGLE_SELECT",
    "display_type": "DROPDOWN",
    "options": [
      {
        "id": "loc_nyc",
        "remote_id": "NYC123",
        "name": "New York"
      },
      {
        "id": "loc_sf",
        "remote_id": "SF456",
        "name": "San Francisco"
      }
    ]
  },
  "index": 3,
  "required": true
}

Format Attributes

display_type: DROPDOWN | RADIO | null
- Controls how the options are displayed
options: Array of selection options:
- id: Unique Kombo ID for the option
- name: Display text
- remote_id: ATS-specific ID (optional)

{
  "id": "4pQzqSg7OFgt19JGr5MnU1mv",
  "title": "Are you willing to relocate?",
  "description": "Please indicate your willingness to relocate for this position",
  "format": {
    "type": "BOOLEAN"
  },
  "index": 4,
  "required": true,
  "precondition_question_id": "3mNzpRf6NEfs08IFq4LmT0lu",
  "precondition_options": ["loc_nyc", "loc_sf"]
}

Format Attributes

No additional attributes required for boolean questions. Represents a simple yes/no or true/false input.

{
  "id": "5rRArTh8PGhu20KHs6NoV2nw",
  "title": "What is your expected start date?",
  "description": "When would you be available to start?",
  "format": {
    "type": "DATE"
  },
  "index": 5,
  "required": true
}

Format Attributes

No additional attributes required for date questions. Accepts standard date input.

{
  "id": "6sSBsUi9QHiv31LIt7OpW3ox",
  "title": "Which programming languages are you proficient in?",
  "description": "Select all that apply",
  "format": {
    "type": "MULTI_SELECT",
    "options": [
      {
        "id": "lang_js",
        "remote_id": "JS123",
        "name": "JavaScript"
      },
      {
        "id": "lang_py",
        "remote_id": "PY456",
        "name": "Python"
      }
    ]
  },
  "index": 6,
  "required": false
}

Format Attributes

options: Array of selection options:
- id: Unique Kombo ID for the option
- name: Display text
- remote_id: ATS-specific ID (optional)

{
  "id": "7tTCtVj0RIjw42MJu8PqX4py",
  "title": "Important Information",
  "description": "This position requires occasional weekend work and on-call rotations.",
  "format": {
    "type": "INFORMATION"
  },
  "index": 7,
  "required": false
}

Format Attributes

No additional attributes required. Used for displaying information only, no input expected.

Common Attributes

id string: The globally unique ID of this object generated by Kombo.
remote_id string | null: The raw ID of the object in the remote system.
title string | null: The question that you need to display.
description string | null: Additional information provided alongside the title.
index integer | null: Specifies the order in which the question should be displayed.
required boolean | null: Indicates whether the question is mandatory.
precondition_question_id string | null: The Kombo ID of another screening question that acts as a precondition.
precondition_options array: Array of valid responses that trigger the display of this question.

How to Implement Screening Questions with Kombo

There are 4 main steps to implement screening questions:

Fetching Screening Questions
Displaying Screening Questions in Your UI
Capturing and Validating Answers
Submitting Screening Question Answers

Additionally, we recommend considering our advanced features + edge cases.

1. Fetching Screening Questions

Before you can display any screening questions in your UI or submit answers, you will need to ensure that a job with screening questions has been created and published in your customer’s ATS. You can then start fetching this info by having the “screening questions” scope enabled in your scope config.

Screening questions are included as part of the job data, and can be fetched from the GET jobs endpoint.

Sample API Request

curl --request GET \
  --url https://api.kombo.dev/v1/ats/jobs \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer <API_KEY>' \
  --header 'X-Integration-Id: <INTEGRATION_ID>'

Example Response Snippet

{
  "status": "success",
  "data": {
    "next": "eyJwYWdlIjoxMiwibm90ZSI6InRoaXMgaXMganVzdCBhbiBleGFtcGxlIGFuZCBub3QgcmVwcmVzZW50YXRpdmUgZm9yIGEgcmVhbCBjdXJzb3IhIn0=",
    "results": [
      {
        "id": "26vafvWSRmbhNcxJYqjCzuJg",
        "remote_id": "32",
        "name": "Backend Engineer",
        ...
        "screening_questions": [
          {
            "id": "26vafvWSRmbhNcxJYqjCzuJg",
            "remote_id": "48b4d36a-1d4b-4c50-ada7-9519078e65b4",
            "title": "Which is your primary programming language?",
            "description": "Please enter the language you are most comfortable with.",
            "format": {
              "display_type": "SINGLE_LINE",
              "max_length": null,
              "type": "TEXT"
            },
            "index": 0,
            "required": true
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

Note: Each job’s screening_questions field can contain one or more questions. The order of these questions (defined by the index field) is recommended for display but not mandatory.

2. Displaying Screening Questions in Your UI

Guidelines

Render a Field per Question: Display a corresponding input element within your job application form for each screening question in the screening_questions array. Depending on your product’s goal, you might consider only displaying required screening questions to minimize the candidate’s input.

Match Field Type to Question Format: The type of input you display should correspond to the format.type and format.display_type provided. For example:

Type	Recommended Format
`TEXT / SINGLE_LINE`	Text input
`TEXT / MULTI_LINE`	Text area
`NUMBER`	Numeric input field or slider
`SINGLE_SELECT / MULTI_SELECT`	Radio buttons, dropdown menus, or checkboxes
`BOOLEAN`	Toggle, checkbox, yes/no dropdown, or radio buttons
`DATE`	Date picker or input field with format validation
`FILE`	File upload control
`INFORMATION`	Display a static text
`UNKNOWN`	Handle custom logic as needed

Indicate Required Fields: Clearly mark questions that are mandatory. For instance, add an asterisk “*” next to the question title when the required field is true.
Display the description: Show the description below the question when present. It is often a short sentence but can be a long block. It may include HTML for formatting and Kombo returns it unchanged, so render HTML appropriately in your UI.
Follow the Recommended Order: It’s recommended (though not required) to display the screening questions in the order they are provided in the API response to preserve any intentional flow.

Sample HTML Snippet

Below is an example snippet for displaying a single-line text question and a multi-select question:

Example HTML Snippet

<form id="application-form">
  <!-- Text Question -->
  <div class="question">
    <label for="question-1">
      Which is your primary programming language?
      <span class="required">*</span>
    </label>
    <input
      type="text"
      id="question-1"
      name="screening_question_answers[26vafvWSRmbhNcxJYqjCzuJg]"
      placeholder="Type your answer here"
    />
  </div>

  <!-- Multi-select Question -->
  <div class="question">
    <label for="question-2">
      Which frameworks are you experienced with? <span class="required">*</span>
    </label>
    <div id="question-2">
      <label>
        <input
          type="checkbox"
          name="screening_question_answers[WA6SZ7R7YSo2C3WDLE5zmAJ][]"
          value="option1"
        />
        React
      </label>
      <label>
        <input
          type="checkbox"
          name="screening_question_answers[WA6SZ7R7YSo2C3WDLE5zmAJ][]"
          value="option2"
        />
        Angular
      </label>
      <label>
        <input
          type="checkbox"
          name="screening_question_answers[WA6SZ7R7YSo2C3WDLE5zmAJ][]"
          value="option3"
        />
        Vue
      </label>
    </div>
  </div>
</form>

Tip: Adapt these examples to match your styling guidelines and frontend framework. Use real data from the API to populate questions dynamically.

3. Capturing and Validating Answers

Data Collection

Gather Answers: Ensure that each candidate’s response is collected in a way that corresponds to the question’s expected format. For example, if a question is a multi-select, capture the answer as an array of option IDs. If the question is a text input, capture the answer as a string.
Implement Data Validation: Validate user input on the client side:
- Check that required fields are not left empty.
- Ensure that input types match the expected format (e.g., numeric inputs for NUMBER questions).
- Enforce constraints like max_length for text fields.

Example JavaScript Validation

document
  .getElementById('application-form')
  .addEventListener('submit', function (event) {
    const textInput = document.getElementById('question-1')
    if (!textInput.value.trim()) {
      alert('Please answer all required questions.')
      event.preventDefault()
      return
    }
    // Additional validations can be implemented here.
  })

4. Submitting Screening Question Answers

Once all candidate responses are captured and validated, include them in the payload when creating an application using Kombo’s create application endpoint.

Sample Screening Questions Array

{
  ...
  "screening_question_answers": [
    {
      // For a text question
      "question_id": "26vafvWSRmbhNcxJYqjCzuJg",
      "answer": "TypeScript and a little bit of SQL"
    },
    {
      // For a single-select question
      "question_id" :"WA6SZ7R7YSo2C3WDLE5zmAJ",
      "answer": "3WA6SZ7R7YSo2C3WDLE5zmAJ", // ID of the answer-option
    },
    {
      // For a multi-select question
      "question_id" :"WA6SZ7R7YSo2C3WDLE5zmAJ",
      "answer": [
        "3WA6SZ7R7YSo2C3WDLE5zmAJ", // IDs of the answer-options
        "21KvMGS9Yhsbbsxfwqyb5dkF"
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Sample API Request

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.kombo.dev/v1/ats/jobs/{job_id}/applications \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer <API_KEY>' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --header 'X-Integration-Id: <INTEGRATION_ID>' \
  --data '{
  "candidate": {
    "first_name": "Frank",
    "last_name": "Doe",
    "company": "Acme Inc.",
    "title": "Head of Integrations",
    "email_address": "frank.doe@example.com",
    "phone_number": "+1-541-754-3010",
    "gender": "MALE",
    "salary_expectations": {
      "amount": 100000,
      "period": "YEAR"
    },
    "availability_date": "2021-01-01",
    "location": {
      "city": "New York",
      "country": "US"
    }
  },
  "stage_id": "8x3YKRDcuRnwShdh96ShBNn1",
  "attachments": [
    {
      "name": "Frank Doe CV.txt",
      "data": "SGkgdGhlcmUsIEtvbWJvIGlzIGN1cnJlbnRseSBoaXJpbmcgZW5naW5lZXJzIHRoYXQgbG92ZSB0byB3b3JrIG9uIGRldmVsb3BlciBwcm9kdWN0cy4=",
      "type": "CV",
      "content_type": "text/plain"
    }
  ],
  "screening_question_answers": [
    {
      "question_id": "3phFBNXRweGnDmsU9o2vdPuQ",
      "answer": "Yes"
    },
    {
      "question_id": "EYJjhMQT3LtVKXnTbnRT8s6U",
      "answer": [
        "GUzE666zfyjeoCJX6A8n7wh6",
        "5WPHzzKAv8cx97KtHRUV96U8",
        "7yZfKGzWigXxxRTygqAfHvyE"
      ]
    }
  ]
}'

Error Handling: Implement robust error handling in your integration. For instance:

400 Errors: Likely indicate validation issues. Alert the candidate or log the error for review.

500 Errors: Signal server-side issues. In these cases, prompt users to try again later and contact Kombo support if the issue persists.

5. Consider Advanced Features + Edge Cases

While less common, there are some edge cases and additional features that you should consider.

Auto-answering required screening questions

Please reach out to Kombo support if you would like to use this feature – and it is not already enabled for you.

If, by design, your product does not support screening questions, we provide you with the option to automatically answer these questions. This is necessary as some tools will validate and reject applications that do not have answers to the required questions. When a candidate applies for a job, we will automatically answer any required screening questions that were not answered with default values. These default values are based on the question type and are as follows:

Type	Answer
`TEXT`	`-`
`NUMBER`	`0` (unless min and/or max are described, in which case we take the minimum number in the range)
`BOOLEAN`	true
`SINGLE_SELECT`	The first option
`MULTI_SELECT`	The first option
`DATE`	The current date
`FILE`	An empty file

Handling ATS-specific logic

Some ATS will include a score or disqualification value to a question. If these values can be read via API, we will ensure that the submitted answer does not disqualify the created candidate. Kombo will never try to manipulate or maximize a score.

Display type

The display_type for screening questions contain information about the display and validation. For example a screening question of type TEXT can have an these display_type properties: SINGLE_LINE, MULTI_LINE, EMAIL and URL. EMAIL and URL have additional validation rules.

Conditional screening questions

A conditional screening question is a question that should only appear based on the answer to another question. You will want to implement logic that only displays the conditional screening question to the applicant if this precondition is met. Answers to conditional screening questions may be required, although this requirement is only true if the precondition is met. An example of this could be: Question 1: Do you have a valid driver’s license?

Yes
No

Question 2: How many years of driving experience do you have?

Less than 1 year
1-2 years

For this example, you would only want to show the second question if the applicant answered Yes to the first question.

Use Kombo’s sandbox integration in your development environment to test conditional screening questions and build your user interface.

Kombo would return these questions on the GET jobs endpoint as shown below. On the second question, the value of precondition_question_id is the id of the first question, and precondition_options includes the id of the Yes option of the first question.

Example Screening Questions With Preconditions

"screening_questions": [
  {
    "id": "26vafvWSRmbhNcxJYqjCzuJg",
    "remote_id": "48b4d36a-1d4b-4c50-ada7-9519078e65b4",
    "title": "Do you have a valid driver's license?",
    "description": "Please state if you have a valid driver's license.",
    "format": {
      "display_type": "DROPDOWN",
      "type": "SINGLE_SELECT",
      "options": [
        {
          "id": "5KMj443ZBfzBkqFhDuvdoZJP",
          "remote_id": "59c5d36a-1d4b-4c50-ada7-9519078e65b4",
          "name": "Yes"
        },
        {
          "id": "H5benHrFr66wh9wU3RQegRRN",
          "remote_id": "61d6d36a-1d4b-4c50-ada7-9519078e65b4",
          "name": "No"
        }
      ]
    },
    "index": 0,
    "required": true,
    "precondition_question_id": null,
    "precondition_options": null
  },
  {
    "id": "9SmkUABUZnQdoPGeK83CdGnH",
    "remote_id": "21b4d36a-1d4b-4c50-ada7-9519078e65b4",
    "title": "How many years of driving experience do you have?",
    "description": "Please state how many years of driving experience you have.",
    "format": {
      "display_type": "DROPDOWN",
      "type": "SINGLE_SELECT",
      "options": [
        {
          "id": "AFN58qWqutLt4ZMZgykD483W",
          "remote_id": "11c5d36a-1d4b-4c50-ada7-9519078e65b4",
          "name": "Less than 1 year"
        },
        {
          "id": "6MHzLUCEaNmccbf6bP18466J",
          "remote_id": "66d6d36a-1d4b-4c50-ada7-9519078e65b4",
          "name": "1-2 years"
        }
      ]
    },
    "index": 1,
    "required": true,
    "precondition_question_id": "26vafvWSRmbhNcxJYqjCzuJg",
    "precondition_options": ["5KMj443ZBfzBkqFhDuvdoZJP"]
  }
],

​Overview

​Why are screening questions important?

​Screening Question Object

​Format Attributes

​Format Attributes

​Format Attributes

​Format Attributes

​Format Attributes

​Format Attributes

​Format Attributes

​Format Attributes

​Common Attributes

​How to Implement Screening Questions with Kombo

​1. Fetching Screening Questions

​Sample API Request

​Example Response Snippet

​2. Displaying Screening Questions in Your UI

​Guidelines

​Sample HTML Snippet

​3. Capturing and Validating Answers

​Data Collection

​Example JavaScript Validation

​4. Submitting Screening Question Answers

​Sample Screening Questions Array

​Sample API Request

​5. Consider Advanced Features + Edge Cases

​Auto-answering required screening questions

​Handling ATS-specific logic

​Display type

​Conditional screening questions

Overview

Why are screening questions important?

Screening Question Object

Format Attributes

Format Attributes

Format Attributes

Format Attributes

Format Attributes

Format Attributes

Format Attributes

Format Attributes

Common Attributes

How to Implement Screening Questions with Kombo

1. Fetching Screening Questions

Sample API Request

Example Response Snippet

2. Displaying Screening Questions in Your UI

Guidelines

Sample HTML Snippet

3. Capturing and Validating Answers

Data Collection

Example JavaScript Validation

4. Submitting Screening Question Answers

Sample Screening Questions Array

Sample API Request

5. Consider Advanced Features + Edge Cases

Auto-answering required screening questions

Handling ATS-specific logic

Display type

Conditional screening questions