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Selecting people
Recruit and select staff

Job application form

Prior to the interview, applicants may be asked to complete a job application form. The application form is a useful screening tool.

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There’s an example of a Job Application Form in the ValleyView Intranet.

Job application forms are often available electronically. Many recruitment agencies and government departments provide the facility to allow applicants to apply for positions online. A job application form and the way it is interpreted must adhere to current equal employment opportunity legislation.

Search the Internet for job application forms. Examine at least three. Explain two ways in which a standard application form may be applied as a screening tool. Discuss how equal opportunity legislation must be factored into such screening.

Post your response to the ValleyView Meeting room, using the topic Screening job applicants, and respond to at least one other posting.

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The following are examples of information that might be obtained using a job application form as a screening tool.

  • Candidates may be asked to list their last three employers. An unexplained gap in the sequence of dates could mean a candidate is hiding a job or the reason for unemployment.
  • Candidates may be asked to state their formal qualifications. Some candidates may want to imply they have a particular formal qualification without stating the qualification. Some applicants may do this by entering ‘yes’ to ‘formal qualifications’.
  • A candidate may decline to list previous employers as referees. The candidate may not have a previous employer who could speak well of their performance.

There is also a growing trend in the use of a Competency Questionnaire or Application Questionnaire (written or by phone), where job-related questions are asked and the answers are used in screening applicants.

In all cases it is critical to ensure equal opportunity guidelines are not breached.

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Selecting people
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