On the surface, it may appear that the longer someone waits before returning the completed application (questionnaire), the less interested or qualified they become for the position.

In some cases that very well may be true.  However, I wouldn’t say it’s always that cut and dry.  A perfectly fitted candidate may have some unrelated business that she needs to take care of first before she could sit down and commit the proper time to the questions.

I would suggest taking each submission as it comes.  If I took a while to return your questions, I would be certain to begin the note with an explanation, and to assure you that the delay was in no way a reflection of my interest in the position.  Look for those kind of clues.

Also, see how valuable the question’s answers are.  If I reply in a month with no mention of the delay and my answers are ‘blah’ then I’ve just ruled myself out anyway.

Does that make sense?  The bottom line is that people will submit on their own schedule.  You keep trying to attract as many qualified applicants to begin with and it will all work itself out.

On the surface, it may appear that the longer someone waits before
returning the completed application (questionnaire), the less interested
or qualified they become for the position.

In some cases that very well may be true.  However, I wouldn’t say
it’s always that cut and dry.  A perfectly fitted candidate may have
some unrelated business that she needs to take care of first before she
could sit down and commit the proper time to the questions.

I would suggest taking each submission as it comes.  If I took a
while to return your questions, I would be certain to begin the note
with an explanation, and to assure you that the delay was in no way a
reflection of my interest in the position.  Look for those kind of
clues.

Also, see how valuable the question’s answers are.  If I reply in a
month with no mention of the delay and my answers are ‘blah’ then I’ve
just ruled myself out anyway.

Does that make sense?  The bottom line is that people will submit on
their own schedule.  You keep trying to attract as many qualified
applicants to begin with and it will all work itself out.

I agree that these questions may not be the most suitable during a face-to-face interview. As noted, we do use them as an initial screening out process. Since we operate out of New York City, we’d be flooded with submissions if we didn’t have something in place to help us see who might be a good fit.

For example, take this real email submission we received: [not edited at all, including the name. The keyword before the answer helps us identify the question]

name: J

funniest: I’m 20 years old..i’m a student..i need a part time job…i like animal..i had take care my uncle’s dog during summer vocation…

tricks: yes, i think…

sunday: sleep…

LikeAnimal: dog,cat….

catMouse: yes…

Goldfish: feel free…swimming…because i can’t swim…

favoriteWord: lucky…

leastfavoriteWord: free…

otherProfession:

notProfession:

goal: be free…do,buy what i want to…

anythingElse:

J might have a great looking resume with plenty of experience, but the answers suggest he/she is not in line with our ideal candidate – one that we want representing our business.

We just use these questions as an initial screen.

And you’re right, I’ve spoken to plenty of those creative people on my follow-up phone call and realize they don’t know the first thing about anything!

Thanks for your comment, Ambrosia.

I agree that these questions may not be the most suitable during a face-to-face interview. As noted, we do use them as an initial screening out process. Since we operate out of New York City, we’d be flooded with submissions if we didn’t have something in place to help us see who might be a good fit.

For example, take this real email submission we received: [not edited at all, including the name. The keyword before the answer helps us identify the question]

name: J

funniest: I’m 20 years old..i’m a student..i need a part time job…i like animal..i had take care my uncle’s dog during summer vocation…

tricks: yes, i think…

sunday: sleep…

LikeAnimal: dog,cat….

catMouse: yes…

Goldfish: feel free…swimming…because i can’t swim…

favoriteWord: lucky…

leastfavoriteWord: free…

otherProfession:

notProfession:

goal: be free…do,buy what i want to…

anythingElse:

J might have a great looking resume with plenty of experience, but the answers suggest he/she is not in line with our ideal candidate – one that we want representing our business.

We just use these questions as an initial screen.

And you’re right, I’ve spoken to plenty of those creative people on my follow-up phone call and realize they don’t know the first thing about anything!

Thanks for your comment, Ambrosia.