Created by:
Sabrinthia Donnelly
A great hiring process doesn’t just fill roles, it builds your reputation as an employer. This candidate experience survey template helps you collect honest, actionable feedback from job applicants so you can refine your recruitment process and strengthen your employer brand.
Whether a candidate was hired, turned down, or withdrew from the process, their perspective can highlight what’s working and what needs improvement.
What is a candidate experience survey template?
A candidate experience survey is a short questionnaire that captures how applicants feel about your hiring process, from application to final decision.
Our candidate experience survey questions cover five key areas:
- Overall experience
- Communication and clarity
- Interview experience
- Efficiency and timeliness
- Outcome and closure
This candidate experience survey sample is ready to use in email, online forms, or within your ATS. You can adapt the wording to fit your company’s tone, values, and unique hiring process while keeping the core questions intact for consistent feedback.
Who is it for?
This candidate experience survey template is designed for HR professionals, talent acquisition teams, and chief people officers who want to improve hiring experiences and protect their employer brand.
If you’re committed to attracting top talent, this candidate experience survey will help you identify strengths, uncover pain points, and make targeted improvements that matter to candidates.
How to use the template
Using this candidate experience survey template is straightforward:
- Choose the right moment: Send your survey within one to three days of a final interview or decision so experiences are fresh in the candidate’s mind.
- Select your questions: Use six to ten questions from the template that best fit your process to keep it short and engaging.
- Reassure respondents: Let candidates know if their feedback is anonymous and explain how you’ll use it to improve your hiring process.
- Customize the wording: Adjust tone and phrasing so it matches your employer brand.
- Distribute and track: Share the survey via your preferred tool, email, or directly through your ATS.
Why use a candidate experience survey template?
Starting from scratch can be time-consuming and inconsistent. A well-crafted candidate experience survey gives you a proven structure that captures meaningful feedback without overburdening respondents. It ensures you’re asking the right questions, in the right way, so you can compare results over time and spot trends that help you hire better.
By consistently using this candidate experience survey, you’ll create a more transparent, respectful, and efficient process - one that leaves candidates with a positive impression of your organization, whether they get the job or not.
Download your candidate experience survey template
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