4 Reasons Why Job Application Forms are Vital
Building a company is a serious and challenging task. Surely, you will need to invest a lot of money, and not to mention, the efforts and sacrifices you endured along the way. However, it is important to understand that it is not only you who holds the company together. A good employeeship is what you need to support your business and take it down a notch higher to the successful entrepreneurship. No matter how much money you have invested in your company, without your employees, it would be difficult for you to reach your goals. That is why you need to be hands-on in choosing the right employees to work for your company. One of the most important tools that you will need is application forms.
Purpose of an Application Form for Employment
According to an article in Wikipedia, “a job application form usually includes a form or collection of forms that an individual seeking employment, called applicant, must fill out as part of the process of informing an employer of the applicant’s availability and desire to be employed, and persuading the employer to offer the applicant employment”. It is important to understand that application forms are a crucial document in the whole job recruitment process.
Whenever an applicant responds to your job hiring advertisement, it is always necessary to ask essential information from the applicant using the application forms. You can ask the applicants to fill in your company’s application form or send it via email if they applied online. Considered to be a recruitment strategy, this initial information provided by the applicants will help determine whether they are qualified and fit for the position.
In this section, we will provide you with a rundown of the different purposes of job application forms.
1. Used in Initial Applicant Pre-Screening
Although the applicants will submit a copy of their resume, a lot of times employer would prefer to examine and evaluate the information written by the applicants on the application forms. This is because the information on the resume, especially on the employment history section, can sometimes be exaggerated, while the information on the application forms is direct and concise. Just by looking at the employment application form, the employer can effortlessly determine potential employment issues, such as job hopping, termination, criminal records, and ineligibility to work.
2. Verified Information
An application form is considered to be a legal document because the applicant signs on it to verify that all the information provided on the form is true and accurate. Unlike a resume, which the applicant can alter and exaggerate the information to impress the employer, writing false information on the employment application form can get the applicant in trouble and can lose their chances of getting hired.
3. Record Keeping
When a company opens its door to job applicants, there will surely hundreds of applicants lining up for a shot to earn the position offered in your company. Although there will only be a few lucky applicants who are chosen to fill the positions, there are also potential employees whom you are willing to give another chance for your next job hiring. Keeping their application forms lets you connect with them in the future should you need to employ them in your company.
4. Interview Preparation
If you do not have enough time to prepare the question to ask during the interview with the applicant, you can just use the information written in the application forms. If there are information that you think are unclear, you can ask the applicant to explain them further. You do not need to go page by page searching information on the applicant’s resume.
Sample Job Application Templates that You Can Use
Printable Blank Job Application Form
Sample Job Application Form for Restaurants
Job Employment Application Form Template
Printable Job Application Form Template
Job Application Template PDF Format Free Download
Job Application Form Template Free Download
Free Sample Application for Employment Template Download
How to Judge the Application Forms
With hundreds or probably thousand of application forms to be evaluated, it would be impossible to complete the task at the end of the day. It is normal for employers to just discard the applicants whom they think do not meet their standards and requirements. To make the job easier for you, here are a few tips to help you judge the application forms on the pre-screening stage.
1. Messy presentation of information
No employer wants to deal messy application forms full of crossed-out information. Applicants should exert effort in making their handwriting as clear and clean as they can. No manager is going to waste their time trying to figure out the information written on the form. Spelling and grammatical errors are also a recipe for failure.
2. Failure to Follow Instructions
Some application forms provide instructions on how to fill it out with information. A lot of times, employers use this instruction to gauge the ability of the applicant to follow instructions.
3. Ability to provide brief and clear information
Although there is application forms have no limit on its word count, employers would be happy to read information that is brief and concise.
Now that we have reached the end part of this article, make sure to use application forms which you think is appropriate for your company. Make sure to check out our collection of HR application form templates.