Chapter 4
Screening questions, and what really rejects you
The hard filter in most application systems is not your CV. It is the short list of yes or no questions you answer when you apply, or that a recruiter or chatbot asks you afterwards.
What vendors document as automatic rejection
Every automatic rejection we found in vendor documentation is triggered by answers to questions:
- Greenhouse: auto-reject is a rule on a yes/no, single-choice or multi-choice question; it can set a rejection reason and send an email. No CV-based trigger is described FP2.
- Workable: a "No" to a disqualifying yes/no question disqualifies you, and you still receive the normal confirmation email FP7.
- SmartRecruiters: yes/no or dropdown questions, with the rejection delayed by 1 hour by default, or 2 or 5 days FP11. A slow "no" can still be automatic.
- Recruitee: knockout questions with a scheduled rejection email FP17. Oracle Taleo: a disqualification question ends the application at once FP15.
- idibu, a multiposter UK agencies use: application pages can auto-reject on answers, and the applicant is not shown the trigger FP20. Jobtrain auto-rejects below a minimum score on its screening questions JT1; Tribepad sells "killer questions" TP1.
- Bullhorn Amplify Screener asks qualification questions by chat or voice B6.
The questions UK roles ask
Which questions a given agency uses is not visible from the advert Not documented per advert. These are the ones UK adverts raise most, with how often our board's adverts mention them Our measurement (22,518 adverts, posted to 13 September 2026) CUK4 CUK3:
| Question | Background | Adverts mentioning |
|---|---|---|
| Right to work in the UK | Employers must check that an applicant is allowed to work in the UK before employing them GOV2. Totaljobs lets recruiters filter the database on it CV1. | 1,707 |
| Security clearance (BPSS, CTC, SC, DV) | UK vetting levels include Counter Terrorist Check, Security Check and Developed Vetting; CTC and above also need the Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) GOV3. | 240 (SC or DV) |
| DBS check | Most common in education, care and anything with children or vulnerable adults. The DBS Update Service keeps a certificate up to date and lets employers check it online GOV4. | 4,259 |
| Driving licence | Across every sector, not only driving jobs. | 2,088 |
| Availability and start date | "Immediate start" in 2,073 adverts, "ASAP" in 2,589 (text matches). | see left |
| IR35 (contracts) | Whether you accept a role inside or outside IR35 (chapter 5). | 2,744 (text) |
| Cards, tickets, registrations | CSCS, QTS, HGV/C+E, NMC, ACCA and the rest (chapter 8). | chapter 8 |
Answer every screening question truthfully. An honest "no" to a knockout costs you an application you would not have got. A false "yes" is found at the compliance check, after you have spent time on interviews. Where a question is borderline (a clearance that lapsed last year, a card being renewed), say so in the free-text box or to the recruiter Our view.
Do systems reject CVs on keywords?
What the evidence says, strongest first:
- Vendor documentation: no CV-keyword auto-reject documented in any system we read (above).
- UK regulator: the ICO's audit of AI recruitment tools (6 November 2024) found the tools were built to support human decisions and mostly gave indicative grades or fit scores; the ICO tells recruiters not to reject on those scores alone. It also found some tools let recruiters filter out protected characteristics or guessed gender and ethnicity from names FP28.
- Employer survey: Harvard Business School and Accenture's "Hidden Workers" (2021; survey of employers in May-June 2020) found 58% of UK employers used a recruitment management system, over 90% of users used it to filter or rank candidates at first, and almost half automatically screened out CVs with a gap of more than six months FP27.
- Small vendor survey: of 25 US recruiters interviewed by Enhancv, a CV-tool company, 2 had systems set to reject on content or match score and all used knockout questions FP29. Small, American and from a seller: directional only.
Unsourced claim "75% of CVs are rejected by applicant tracking systems before a human sees them." This figure is traced to Preptel, a CV-software vendor, around 2012. No study, data or method was ever published, and the firm closed in 2013 FP30. Fitread does not use it, and you should not believe any tool that does.
The gap finding matters for contractors and temps
Gaps between contracts or assignments are normal. Because some employers' systems screen on gaps FP27, list back-to-back contracts under one heading with their dates, and give any real gap a one-line, true reason (for example "Sept 2025 - Jan 2026: career break, caring for a family member" or "between contracts: completed PRINCE2 Practitioner") Our view.