Sifting through a multi-colored pile of CVs with headache-inducing layouts is a gruesome task for any recruiter, but one great way to make the hiring process smoother is to use a job application form template. One of the main reasons for this is because it gives your recruitment process a benchmark framework, making it easier than ever to compare applicants.
Here’s a sample Job Application Form template that can be easily customized and adapted to meet your requirements. It’s free to download and use.
How do Job Application Forms Work?
The job application form is an official document that has been gaining more popularity in the world of recruitment. Unlike the CV, where the layout and the content are decided by job seekers, the job application form puts recruitment back in the hand of employers by asking all their applicants the same set of questions.
If you choose to use a job application form in your recruitment process, you simply wait until all your applicants have filled-out their forms. Afterward, you can then go through each document, selecting the candidates that filled certain sections desirably. This can drastically speed up hiring because it introduces a direct way to compare candidates.
This document is not only beneficial to recruiters. Applicants can also benefit from the use of a job application form because it is a more content-specific document than a CV.
Why Use a Job Application Form Template?
A job application form template takes an extra step by ensuring that every applicant is filling out the same sections regardless of the medium they applied through or when they applied. As a recruiter, already being aware of what sections to look at makes filtering out undesirable candidates a near-effortless operation. For Example, if you are hiring for a web design company, you may not want to interview any candidates who did not include being able to use and understand JavaScript as a major skill.
Here are some of the main sections which are included in a Job Application Form Template:
1. Personal Details
While this is the most basic part of the job application form template, you could debate that it is the most important. Without this information, it becomes impossible to contact a potential hire should they satisfy your criteria. Several templates collect different types of personal information and, likely, the level of information you choose to collect about your applicants will be up to your recruitment team.
2. Work Experience
This part of the form is used to collect information about an applicant’s previous working years. The candidate should be expected to mention the companies that they have worked for in the past, how long they worked in that institution, and why they left. Some templates may also ask applicants to include their salary at each of their previous jobs, however, the sample job application form template provided does not include this.
3. Previous Education
The job application template can also be used to collect information about the applicants’ educational history. Most organizations often use the job application form to determine how long an applicant was in school, where they got educated, and if they are graduated or not.
4. References
This section is used to collect information about the referees of the applicant. The form is an excellent method of quickly being able to determine the relationship the applicant has with their referees, while also being able to capture their contact information if there is any need for additional correspondence.
A job application form template could also have the following sections:
- Military Service
- Major Skills
There are often varying templates available to use but you must be careful when you are using a template as you want to ensure that each job application form has the detail that you need to make the recruitment process easier for your team. For Example, if you want to filter out candidates that have at least five years of work experience, you must ensure that the template you select has a work experience section.
The job application form template provided here is simple to understand and easy to download, allowing you to quickly craft the experience that would make you understand your applicants better than ever.
