# Knockout Questions

A knockout question is a hard requirement — something a candidate either meets
or does not.

Good examples: being able to lift a certain weight, holding a particular
licence, being able to work nights, having the right to work somewhere.

## It flags people. It does not reject them.

Worth saying first, because the name sounds harsher than it is.

When somebody fails a knockout question, HRMLESS puts them in **Needs Review**
with a yellow marker and waits for you.

It does this on purpose. Somebody might be a month away from meeting a
requirement, be willing to get a licence, or have a reason the question could
not capture. A person should read that, not a score.

## How to set one up

Knockout questions are set on the position, alongside your normal questions.

![A knockout question](/imgs/guides/02-position-knockout.png?v=2)

1. Open the position and go to **Interview Questions**.
2. Write the question as you would ask it out loud — *"The candidate should be
   able to lift 50 lbs"*.
3. Tick **Knockout Question?** underneath it.
4. Fill in **Expected Answer to Pass Knockout Question** — what a passing answer
   sounds like, e.g. *"Yes I can lift 50 pounds or more"*.
5. Choose **Create Position**, or save if you are editing an existing one.

Write the expected answer the way a candidate would actually say it, not as a
rule. It is compared against what they said in conversation, so *"Yes I can lift
50 pounds or more"* works better than *"must lift 50lb"*.

Questions without the knockout box ticked are scored normally, so you can mix
both in one interview — which is the usual arrangement.

## What you see afterwards

![Needs Review](/imgs/guides/06-candidates-needs-review.png?v=2)

Anyone who fails lands in **Needs Review**. Open them and read what they
actually said.

![A flagged candidate](/imgs/guides/07-knockout-candidate.png?v=2)

From there you either reject them, or carry on with them anyway. Both are
normal.

## Use them sparingly

One or two per role. Only for things that are genuinely non-negotiable.

A knockout on something you would actually flex on turns into a pile of flagged
candidates nobody has time to read — which defeats the point of having the
queue.

## Common questions

**What is the difference between a knockout question and a low score?**
A knockout is pass or fail on one specific requirement. A score is a judgement
across the whole conversation. Both end up in front of you; they just tell you
different things.

**Can I add a knockout question to a position people have already interviewed
for?**
Yes, but it only applies to people invited after you save it. Anyone already
interviewed was not asked.

**Does the candidate know they failed one?**
No. Nothing is said to them, and no decision has been made.

## What next

- [Create a position](/docs/create_a_position)
- [Candidate statuses](/docs/candidate_statuses)