Here are some of the best questions for a senior student survey about career expectations, plus tips to create the most insightful survey. You can use Specific to effortlessly build tailored surveys in seconds, optimizing every question for actionable insights.

Best open-ended questions for senior student survey about career expectations

Open-ended questions give us rich, nuanced insights that often go far beyond yes-or-no checkboxes. They're perfect for uncovering individual motivations, barriers, and aspirations. When seniors answer in their own words, we get to hear the “why” and “how,” not just the “what.” That said, open-ended questions can increase cognitive burden and result in higher nonresponse rates[1], so they’re best used thoughtfully—usually at the start, for context, or for wrapping up to gather honest thoughts.

1. What are your career goals after graduation, and how did you arrive at them?

2. Which experiences during your education most influenced your career expectations?

3. Can you describe your ideal job or career path and why it appeals to you?

4. What concerns or uncertainties do you have about starting your career?

5. How prepared do you feel to enter the workforce, and what would help you feel more ready?

6. Do you see any challenges in achieving your career goals? Please elaborate.

7. Which skills have you developed that you believe will be most useful in your future career?

8. What kind of support or resources would be most valuable as you prepare for your career?

9. How relevant do you find your coursework to your career expectations, and why?

10. Describe an experience with your school’s career services that shaped your career plans.

According to Strada Education Foundation, 71% of seniors feel they have a clear idea of their career plans, yet many still face uncertainty or seek further guidance. Open-ended questions help capture this nuanced landscape and highlight where support is still needed[3].

Best single-select multiple-choice questions for senior student survey about career expectations

Single-select multiple-choice questions are a cornerstone when you need structured, quantifiable data. They’re perfect for surveys where you want a snapshot—how many feel confident, which industries interest them, or how many have used career resources. Multiple-choice options reduce cognitive effort, making participation easy and often boosting response rates for more complex surveys.

Here are three solid examples:

Question: How confident do you feel about your current career plans?

• Very confident

• Somewhat confident

• Neutral

• Somewhat unsure

• Not at all confident

Question: How many times have you interacted with your college or university career center?

• Never

• Once

• 2–5 times

• 6 or more times

Question: Which industry are you most interested in pursuing a career in?

• Technology

• Healthcare

• Education

• Finance

• Other

When to follow up with "why?" A follow-up “why?” is powerful when respondents select an extreme or interesting option. For instance, if someone answers “Not at all confident” about their career plans, asking “Can you tell us more about what makes you feel that way?” unlocks context that numeric data can’t deliver. Use this in places where understanding the reasoning is just as important as the choice itself.

When and why to add the "Other" choice? “Other” matters when you don’t want to force people into categories that don’t fit. Allowing respondents to specify gives you a chance to catch insights you never anticipated—just make sure to follow up with “Please specify,” so you can dig into those unexpected answers.

NPS question for senior student survey about career expectations

NPS (Net Promoter Score) is often used in business, but it’s also remarkably effective for education surveys. For career expectations, an NPS-style question—“How likely are you to recommend your school’s career preparation to a friend or classmate?”—quickly reveals perceived program value. This single 0–10 scale question, followed by a “why?” and optional probe, makes it easy to segment feedback: promoters, passives, and detractors all have different experiences worth unpacking.

You can generate an NPS survey tailored to senior students quickly with Specific. NPS offers actionable benchmarking, showing you not only satisfaction but also engagement with career resources—an area where 31% of students never interact with career centers[2].

The power of follow-up questions

With conversational surveys, automated follow-up questions change everything. They transform flat survey answers into a dynamic dialogue, capturing why and how—not just what. What’s even better: tools like Specific’s AI-powered follow-up question feature ensure that each follow-up is smart, relevant, and context-aware.

Thanks to this, you aren’t left following up via email to clarify vague responses, and respondents stay engaged—just like in a real conversation. Consider this:

• Senior student: “I’m not sure about my career path.”

• AI follow-up: “What are some of the factors making it difficult for you to decide on a career direction?”

• Senior student: “I visited the career center once.”

• AI follow-up: “What was helpful or unhelpful about your experience with the career center?”

How many follow-ups to ask? In practice, 2–3 follow-ups are enough to get the context you need, without overwhelming the respondent. The best survey tools let you limit follow-up depth and skip to the next question once the insight is clear. Specific lets you customize this for any question, balancing rich insights with a smooth user experience.

This makes it a conversational survey: Instead of feeling like a form, your survey becomes a conversation. Respondents feel listened to, and you collect richer insights without friction.

AI analysis, response summaries, and insights: Even though you’ll collect a mix of structured and open-ended feedback, AI-driven platforms let you analyze open-ended responses at scale. You can spot themes, identify priorities, and chat with the data—something you can’t do easily with traditional tools.

These automated follow-ups are a new way to do feedback. Try generating a survey to experience the difference.

How to compose a prompt for GPTs to create great questions for senior student career expectation surveys

Prompting GPT-based AI to create your survey questions is straightforward, but you’ll always get better results by providing context. Start broad, then get specific:

To get the basics, try:

Suggest 10 open-ended questions for senior student survey about career expectations.

If you want nuanced, highly relevant questions, add details about your goals:

We want to understand senior students’ sense of preparation for their future jobs, including the role of the career center, confidence in their skills, and areas of uncertainty. Suggest 10 open-ended questions to explore these areas.

Next, have the AI group the questions for you:

Look at the questions and categorize them. Output categories with the questions under them.

Then go deep on any relevant areas:

Generate 10 questions for categories such as “confidence in career plans” and “experience with career resources.”

Your prompts become even more effective as you feed back additional context or previous responses.

What is a conversational survey?

A conversational survey mimics real dialogue, with the AI actively listening, clarifying, and probing deeper based on each response. Unlike traditional surveys, which can feel transactional or detached, a conversational approach feels personal and adaptive—respondents are more likely to share honest, insightful feedback.

Compared to building surveys manually, using an AI survey generator turbocharges the process. You describe your goal, and the tool drafts sharper, more relevant questions—instantly. The AI recommends logical follow-ups and ensures your questions are clear and targeted every time.

Why use AI for senior student surveys? With AI, you save hours building and analyzing your survey—and respondents engage because it feels familiar, just like messaging. You get richer, more complete data, and actionable feedback you can actually use. For more on setup, see our guide on how to create a senior student survey about career expectations.

Specific brings world-class user experience to conversational surveys for career expectations, making feedback smooth and engaging for everyone—survey creators and senior students alike.

See this career expectations survey example now

Get actionable insights and real context from your senior student audience. Generate a truly conversational, AI-powered career expectations survey with best-in-class follow-ups—in minutes.