How conditional logic works on application forms

Setting up "show when" and "require when" rules correctly.

Some fields should only appear, or only be required, depending on how a candidate answered an earlier question. For example, you might only want to ask for previous names if someone answers "Yes" to "Have you used any other names?" Recruit calls this conditional logic, and you configure it on the field that should be affected, not on the question that triggers it.

The rule to remember

Conditional logic always lives on the field you want to control, and points back at the field whose answer triggers it.

So to make a "Previous Names" field appear only when "Have you used any other names?" is answered "Yes":

Open the Previous Names field's editor (the field you want to control).
Turn on Show this field conditionally.
Under Show when field, choose Have you used any other names? as the trigger.
Choose an operator: equals, does not equal, contains, does not contain, is empty, or is not empty.
Choose the value to match, Yes.

A field only becomes available as a trigger if it appears earlier on the form. If a field is first on the page, its conditional toggles are disabled with a note explaining that you need to move it below another field first.

Requiring a field conditionally

Alongside Show this field conditionally, you can turn on Require this field conditionally. This controls whether an answer is mandatory, separately from whether the field is visible. While this is switched on, it overrides the field's static Required setting.

Combining multiple conditions

Select Add condition to add more than one rule to a field. Once you have more than one, choose how they combine:

All conditions (AND): every rule must be true.
Any condition (OR): any one rule being true is enough.

Select the X next to a rule to remove it.

Applying logic to a whole page

The same show-when logic can also be applied at the page level, hiding or showing an entire page based on an earlier answer, rather than a single field.

If you set up a condition and the field or page doesn't behave as expected, double-check which field you attached the rule to. It's a common mistake to add the condition to the trigger question instead of the field you actually want to control.