Guide
How to Answer Application Screening Questions
Answer screening questions with short, true statements: your actual work authorization, a pay range you can defend, a start date you can keep, and one specific reason you want this company. Salvo is a free-to-start AI app that applies to jobs for you, using answers you set once.
Why these questions exist
Most applications end with a short block of questions. They look like paperwork, but a person or a filter reads them. A wrong or blank answer can end your application before anyone sees your resume.
The same four questions turn up again and again: work authorization, pay, start date, and why this company. Get your answers right once, write them down, and reuse them. That saves time and keeps you consistent, and recruiters compare what you typed with what you say later.
One rule covers all four. Tell the truth, and keep it short.
Work authorization
The question usually comes in two parts. Are you legally authorized to work in this country for any employer? Will you now or in the future need sponsorship for a work visa?
Answer both exactly as they apply to you. Don't guess and don't round up. If you're a citizen or permanent resident, the answers are simple. If you're on a visa that lets you work, say so, and answer the sponsorship question based on your timeline. Some student and work permits expire, so you could need sponsorship later even if you don't now. Say yes in that case.
Why honesty pays: employers verify work authorization before day one. A wrong answer found then can end the offer, and in some cases it can end the employment later. Answering "yes, I'd need sponsorship" costs you some jobs. It saves you from the wrong ones.
If a form gives no room to explain, answer the box and add a line in your cover note or first email: "I'm authorized to work in the US on an H-4 EAD and don't need sponsorship at this time." For specific legal questions, ask an immigration attorney or your school's international office. This guide gives no legal advice.
Salary expectations
Employers ask for pay so they can drop candidates who are far apart on cost. Treat it as a fact to research. Guessing costs you.
- Find the pay for the same level, in your city or remote band. Use the pay range in the posting when there is one, since several US states and cities require employers to list it. Check the posting first.
- Use two or three sources: salary pages from the government labor department, industry surveys, and people you know in the field.
- Set a range with a floor you'd accept. Your floor is your answer. Your hope stays private.
On the form, give a range, such as "$85,000 to $95,000". If the field takes one amount, enter the middle of your range. If the field takes only digits and a range is blocked, enter your floor-plus amount and say more in the interview.
Don't leave it at 0 or 1. Some systems filter those out. Don't lie about your last salary either. In some places employers aren't allowed to ask about pay history, so skip it if the form allows, and if not, say what's true.
When a recruiter asks live, say: "Based on the level and the market, I'm looking at $85,000 to $95,000. I'm flexible depending on the full package." Then stop talking.
Start date
Give the earliest date you could honestly start. If you're unemployed, "immediately" or "within two weeks" fits. If you have a job, your notice period sets the date, and two weeks is common in the US, though some contracts say longer. Name it: "Two weeks after offer."
Don't say "immediately" to look keen and then ask for a month. Recruiters plan around the date you gave. A date you keep builds trust before you've started.
If you need time for a move, a contract end or a trip already booked, say that in the interview. Forms need a date. People can handle the rest.
Why do you want to work here?
This is the one question where you write full sentences, and it's where most people copy and paste. A generic answer stands out as generic.
A short formula that works in three or four sentences:
- One specific thing about the company: a product, a customer group, a recent project, a stated value you agree with.
- One specific thing from your history that connects to it.
- What you'd want to do in this job.
Example: "Your team builds scheduling software for clinics, and I spent four years managing front-desk teams who used software like yours daily. I know where the pain is. I'd like to bring that to your support team."
Keep it true and keep it specific. Spend ten minutes on the company's site, its job posting and its news, and take one specific detail. If you can't find one, the job may not be a fit, and that's useful to know.
Other questions you'll see
- Relocation or commute: say yes only if you would go. "Open to remote or hybrid" is a fair answer when it's true.
- Years of experience: count the years you used that skill, and skip the years in the wider career.
- Referrals: name the person only if they agreed.
- Background check, felony or drug test: answer truthfully and use the comment box if there's context, because an unexplained gap looks worse than an explained one.
- Demographic questions: these are voluntary in most US forms, and you can choose not to say.
Keep an answer sheet
Open a plain document called "My answers" and write:
- Work authorization, both parts, one line each.
- Salary range and floor, with your sources.
- Start date and notice period.
- Three reasons you'd want certain kinds of company, ready to adapt.
- Your address, phone, links, and references.
Go through it before every batch of applications. When something changes, update the sheet first.
Letting an app apply with your answers
Filling the same fields on every form is the dull part of a search. Salvo is one example of how people save that time. You give Salvo your resume and your written rules, and it finds jobs that fit, writes a new resume for each job from your real history, and submits the application itself. It does this on Greenhouse, Workable and Ashby today, with more job sites being added. Each application saves a submission receipt.
Your answer sheet is what makes that safe. An app can only repeat what you give it, so make the sheet true first. Salvo also gives each user their own applicant email, and says it doesn't sell your data. See the security page and how Salvo applies.
Free to start, no card. Your first 2 interview requests are free, then a Turbo plan keeps replies unlocked at $14 weekly, $39 monthly, $89 every 3 months, or $299 yearly, with 7 days free to try.
What to do next
Write your answer sheet today, starting with work authorization and your pay floor. Then use it on your next five applications. If you want the form filling and submitting handled, start with Salvo and spend your time on interview practice.
Frequently asked questions
What should I put for salary on an application?
Give a range you can defend, based on pay for the same level and city. If the box needs one amount, use the middle of your range. Research it first, and state it plainly.
How do I answer the work authorization question?
Answer it truthfully, every time. Say if you can work for the employer today and if you will need sponsorship now or later. A wrong answer can cost you the offer.
What start date should I give?
Give the earliest date you could really start, counting any notice period. "Immediately" is fine if it's true. If you have a notice period, name it.
Can Salvo fill in these questions for me?
Yes. Salvo applies for you using the answers and rules you give it, and it saves a receipt for each application. You can set your answers once. It submits on Greenhouse, Workable and Ashby today.
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