Knock Out Questions are those questions that pop-up in the application just when you think you’re ready to submit. After all, you’ve added your resume, contact info, and maybe even answered a few demographic questions. What’s left? But, no, now the application asks you to fill out a few (or quite a few) extra questions, ranging from yes/no queries to short answers so the recruiter has even more information to assess your candidacy with.
They’re typically called knock out questions because they can be used to weed out candidates. If you apply to a teaching job that asks, “do you have k-12 teaching experience,” and you say, “no,” then your resume gets put in one bucket that likely isn’t going to be considered. If you say, “yes,” it gets pushed into another bucket, the one that gets reviewed first.
As companies are deluged with applicants for remote roles, we’re seeing an increase in knockout questions. And they’re no longer just yes/no questions (which seem straightforward though can often be quite tricky). Instead, we’re seeing additional short answer questions that add a lot of time to the application. Questions such as “why do you want to work here?” or situational questions that would normally be asked during an interview.
While these questions save companies time creating their initial yes/no pile, I hear from y’all that this is one of the more time consuming parts of the application process. From having to answer additional questions after uploading all your information to crafting compelling short answers, they add a huge burden to an already time-consuming process.
But they also provide you valuable info to tailor your application and can also help you stand out in a crowded field. In today’s newsletter, I want to share strategies for how to answer these questions effectively as well as how to streamline the work they require.
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