How to Use SEEK Screening Questions to Streamline Your Hiring Process

Ever felt like you were literally drowning in resumes? Recruiting the right people for your business can be both time-consuming and overwhelming.

With hundreds—sometimes thousands—of applications flooding in for a single job posting, filtering through resumes can quickly become a full-time job.

One of my favourite tools to use to make this process not only more efficient, but also more effective, is SEEK’s screening question functionality.

If you’re hiring staff and using SEEK to advertise roles, leveraging its built-in screening tools can help you save time, reduce hiring overwhelm, and identify the best candidates faster. In this post, we’ll explore how to use SEEK’s screening questions effectively and share some insider tips to optimise your recruitment process.

Why SEEK is Still Australia’s Top Job Board

SEEK remains the most dominant job board in Australia, with over 160,000 job ads live at any given time and more than 32.8 million site visits in January 2025 alone. While other platforms like Indeed, Jora, and LinkedIn are also popular, SEEK continues to be the go-to platform for both employers and job seekers.

Despite its effectiveness, SEEK comes at a cost. With recent changes to its pricing and advertising features, some employers hesitate to invest in it. However, because most active job seekers search on SEEK, advertising there ensures your job reaches a large audience. The key is using SEEK’s built-in tools efficiently to make the most of your investment—especially the screening questions feature.

What Are SEEK Screening Questions?

SEEK allows employers to add up to eight screening questions to a job ad. These questions help filter applicants before they even submit a resume, allowing you to quickly assess whether they meet your must-have criteria.

You can choose from a pre-set list of questions (rather than creating custom ones), and SEEK will automatically flag responses that indicate a poor match. This can save hours of manual resume screening, making your hiring process much smoother.

Where Do You Add Screening Questions?

When posting a job, SEEK will prompt you to select screening questions before finalising the ad.

SEEK will suggest some based on your job description, but you can also search and select other options that better fit your needs.

Once selected, you cannot change these questions after posting, so it’s important to choose wisely.

The Benefits of Using SEEK Screening Questions

Depending on your experience in hiring, screening and shortlisting applications for roles in your business, you’ll likely find different benefits in leveraging this feature. Here are the top four benefits as I see them:

1. Reduce the Number of Unsuitable Applications
• Many job seekers apply to roles they’re not qualified for. Screening questions immediately filter out those who don’t meet your key criteria.
2. Save Time on Resume Screening
• Instead of reviewing hundreds of resumes, you can quickly scan responses to see who meets your must-have qualifications.
3. Ensure a Better Candidate Match
• By setting deal-breaker questions, you’ll avoid interviewing candidates who are not the right fit from the start.
4. Improve Hiring Efficiency
• Faster filtering = quicker shortlisting = faster hiring = less stress for you.

How to Choose the Right Screening Questions

This is the single most important thing to consider when using this feature. If you don’t select the right questions,  using this can be a complete waste of time. Conversely, get it right and you are guaranteed to save yourself a huge amount of time and remove the resume overwhelm.

 To make the most of this feature, focus on deal-breakers—the things that immediately tell you whether a candidate is worth considering.

Start With Your Must-Have Criteria

I always start by thinking about what are the non-negotiable skills, qualifications, or experiences for this role? This can help inform questions you may select.

I also consider what the working conditions for this role require. For example, is the role hybrid or remote, does the successful applicant require a drivers licence or a car to access the workplace?

Identify Deal-Breakers

After the non-negotiable or must have requirements, I consider anything that would automatically disqualify someone from the role. I call these ‘deal breakers’.

A great example here is whether there are visa or work rights requirements. For example, if someone needs sponsorship from their employer, and you’re not in a position to offer that – that’s a deal breaker.

These help you rule out applicants who don’t meet your fundamental needs before even reviewing their resumes.

Use Salary Expectation Questions

Many employers feel awkward discussing salary early on, but knowing a candidate’s salary expectations upfront can save everyone time.

If you’re offering $80K and the candidate is expecting $120K, there’s no point continuing the process. This question quickly eliminates mismatched expectations before interviews.

Limit Your Questions to 3-5 for Best Results

SEEK allows up to eight questions, but too many can make applying cumbersome.

Three to five well-chosen questions strike the right balance between gathering insights and keeping applications easy.

Real-World Example: Using Screening Questions to Save Time

Let’s say you’re hiring a customer service representative. Here’s how you could use screening questions to refine your applicant pool:

✅ Must-Have Criteria:

• Minimum 2 years of customer service experience
• Must be available for weekend shifts
• Salary budget of $60,000 max

🚀 Recommended SEEK Screening Questions:

1. How many years of customer service experience do you have?
• If someone has 0 years, they’re not a match.
2. Are you available to work weekends?
• If they say no, they’re out.
3. What is your expected salary?
• If they want $80K but you’re offering $60K, this avoids wasting time.

💡 Instantly, you’ve filtered out applicants who don’t meet your core criteria—without even opening a resume!

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Choosing Too Many Questions: Keep it to 3-5 key questions—too many may discourage applications.

Not Checking the Search Function for Better Questions: SEEK suggests some screening questions, but use the search bar to find more relevant ones.

Forgetting That Screening Questions Can’t Be Changed Later: Once posted, you cannot edit these questions, so double-check before finalising your ad.

Using Screening Questions for "Nice-to-Have" Qualities: Only use them for must-haves. Resume review is where you assess "nice-to-have" qualities.

In Conclusion

Using SEEK screening questions smartly can transform your hiring process—saving you hours of time, reducing recruitment overwhelm, and ensuring you only interview the best-fit candidates.

When crafting your next job ad, take five extra minutes to strategically select screening questions that will:
✔ Cut down your resume screening time
✔ Eliminate unsuitable applicants upfront
✔ Help you identify the right people faster

Hiring doesn’t have to be a slow, frustrating process. With the right tools and strategies, you can attract better candidates, make better hiring decisions, and build a stronger team with less effort.

An Invitation

If you’d like to connect with other business owners, leaders and managers, I’d love for you to join us inside our free Facebook Group where you can connect with like-minded business owners, leaders and managers to discuss all things HR: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hrsupportaustralia