Common job application questions, and how to answer them once

Work authorization and sponsorship

"Are you legally authorized to work in [country]?" and "Will you now or in the future require sponsorship?" are screening questions: a wrong answer can drop you automatically. Answer for each country you apply in, and answer the question asked. Being authorized today but needing sponsorship when a visa ends is "yes" to both.

Salary expectations

"What are your salary expectations?" Give a range, in the posting's currency, based on the role's level and location; the top of your range should be a number you'd be happy with, the bottom one you'd accept. If a field only takes a number, use the middle of your range. If the posting lists a band, stay inside it.

• Research the range for the title and city before you answer (published salary bands, levels sites, people in the role).
• Say whether it's base pay or total compensation when there's room to.
• Keep a range per currency if you apply abroad: it reads strangely when a London role gets a US-dollar answer.

Notice period and start date

"What is your notice period?" or "When can you start?" Give the notice in your current contract ("4 weeks", "Immediately") rather than a date, which goes stale. If you can negotiate an earlier exit, say so in a short note.

Location, relocation and remote work

• "Where are you located?" Your city and country, as the form's list writes it.
• "Are you willing to relocate?" Answer honestly per role; if it depends, say what it depends on.
• "Are you able to work in our office X days a week?" Check the posting; this one is often a hard requirement.

Years of experience

"How many years of experience do you have?" usually means relevant professional experience. "Do you have at least 5 years of experience with X?" is a yes or no about that one skill, not your total career. Answering the second with your total is the most common way applications get filtered out by mistake.

"How did you hear about this job?"

Be specific: the job board, a referral (with the person's name when the form asks), the company's site. Referrals matter to recruiters, so never leave out the name of someone who referred you.

Open questions: "Why do you want to work here?"

This is the question that gets read. A good answer is short (three to five sentences) and specific to the company:

1. 1One thing about them: the product, the problem they solve, something in the posting.
2. 2One thing about you that fits it: a project, a result, a skill they asked for.
3. 3What you'd do there: the first thing you'd like to work on.

Don't reuse it word for word. Save a strong base answer, then change the first sentence for each company. Smart fill in the KittyHome extension drafts these from the posting on the page and your profile, which gives you a specific first draft to edit, not a finished answer.

Questions only you should answer

Voluntary self-identification (gender, ethnicity, disability, veteran status) is optional, and declining is always one of the choices. Answer or decline as you prefer, each time. Citizenship, criminal record and background check questions are yours to answer too. A good autofill tool leaves all of these for you; the KittyHome extension does.

Save them once, use them everywhere

The extension's profile page has a section called "Questions sites ask" with the most common ones, a box for each, and a count of how many you've answered. Its Fill uses your profile first, then these answers, then your résumé, and leaves the rest for you. See how filling works.