Knockout question
Definition
A question in an application that automatically disqualifies someone based on their answer, like 'Do you have a valid driver's license?' for a delivery job.
Aron VeraartUpdated A knockout question is a yes-or-no gate in your apply flow. Answer it the wrong way and the application gets rejected or filtered out automatically, often by the applicant tracking system. Do you have the legal right to work here? Do you have the required license? Can you work night shifts?
Used well, they save everyone time. If a job truly needs a forklift license, there's no point in a candidate filling in the rest of the form without one, and no point in a recruiter reading it. One clear question up front is actually kinder than a rejection three weeks later.
Used badly, they quietly throw away good people. The classic mistake is turning nice-to-haves into knockouts: "five years of experience," "a degree," "experience with our exact software." Those aren't hard requirements, so you end up rejecting people the hiring manager would have hired. And because it's automatic, nobody ever sees who got knocked out. The rule I'd use: only make it a knockout if you'd really reject a great candidate who doesn't have it.
Example
A delivery company's form had six knockout questions, including "at least 3 years delivery experience." When they reviewed who got filtered out, they found plenty of people with the right license and lots of driving experience, just not in delivery. They kept two knockouts, the license and the right to work, and turned the rest into normal questions.