5 Reasons Your Organization Needs a Formal Employment Application

In today’s competitive job market, many businesses rely heavily on resumes as their primary method for screening candidates. While resumes offer a snapshot of an applicant’s work history and skills, they often fall short of providing the comprehensive information needed for a thorough and legally sound hiring process. This is where the often-underappreciated employment application form comes into play.

Reasons to Use Employment Application Forms

Many organizations, regardless of industry, should make employment applications a mandatory part of the hiring process. It’s not about rejecting the value of resumes; it’s about using the right tool for the right job. Here’s a breakdown of why every organization should require a formal application, and what that application should contain.

1. The Power of Standardized Screening

Resumes are highly subjective. They vary drastically in format, content, and level of detail. One applicant might highlight specific projects, while another may focus on general responsibilities. This lack of standardization makes it difficult for employers to directly compare candidates objectively. An employment application, on the other hand, provides a uniform structure for capturing essential information. This standardization enables employers to:

• Compare Apples to Apples: By gathering the same key data points from each candidate (e.g., work history, skills, and availability), employers can make more accurate comparisons based on the criteria that are most crucial to their specific job requirements.
• Efficiently Identify Qualified Candidates: A well-designed application form guides applicants to provide the most relevant details upfront, saving employers time by filtering out those who clearly do not meet the basic requirements for the role.
• Establish Consistent Benchmarks: Using employment application forms ensures that all candidates are evaluated using the same standards, minimizing personal biases that can unconsciously influence a hiring decision.
  
  

2. Legal Protection and Compliance

Employment application forms serve as essential legal documents, protecting both the employer and the applicant. In the legal arena, it’s important to ensure a structured process of information collection. The standardized nature of the form helps establish a clear record of the hiring process. Key benefits include:

• Documenting Applicant Information: An application provides a written record of the applicant’s statements, confirming their work eligibility, education, and background. This documentation can be crucial in case of later disputes or misunderstandings.
• Establishing Legitimate, Non-Discriminatory Reasons for Hiring Decisions: Having the same information from each candidate allows employers to make choices based on objective facts and required criteria.
• Supporting Legal Defenses: In the unfortunate event of a discrimination claim, the application process can serve as a crucial line of defense. The consistent, objective approach using applications can demonstrate that hiring decisions were based on merit and legitimate business needs.
• Ensuring ADA Compliance: Application forms can include questions related to reasonable accommodations needed, in order to ensure that the hiring process remains accessible for individuals with disabilities.
  
  

3. Mitigating the Risk of Discrimination

Discrimination in the workplace remains a significant concern. Properly structured employment application forms can help minimize the potential for discriminatory hiring practices, by ensuring that the hiring team is not making choices based on protected attributes. The consistent approach allows for:

• Focusing on Job-Related Information: By asking about work history, skills, and qualifications, employers focus on factors that are directly relevant to job performance, minimizing reliance on potentially biased information from subjective resumes or unstructured interviews.
• Avoiding Inappropriate Questions: A well-designed application will not ask for information that is discriminatory or otherwise illegal under federal or state law, such as the applicant’s marital status, religion, or age.
• Demonstrating Fair Treatment: If there are concerns of bias in hiring, the consistency of an application form can be used as evidence that all applicants were evaluated under the same criteria.
  
  

4. Organization and Streamlined Information

Resumes can vary significantly in format, making it hard to compare candidates side-by-side. An employment application imposes structure and facilitates easy review. Benefits include:

• Easy Data Extraction: Standardized fields make it straightforward to extract key information for the screening and selection process. It streamlines the process for data entry and helps maintain organization.
• Clear Data Points for Reference: The standardized fields make it easy to extract information from all candidates using the same format, and the information can be quickly pulled up for reference at any time.
• Creating Applicant Databases: The consistent data collected can be more easily compiled into organized databases, making it easier to search for candidates and track candidates within the hiring process.
  
  

5. Compliance and Audit Trails

Beyond legal reasons, employment application forms help with compliance standards. By using applications, organizations can demonstrate diligence in the following areas:

• Maintaining Hiring Records: Application forms help create and maintain clear, auditable hiring records that prove compliance with labor laws and internal policies.
• Complying with Background Checks: Application information will help to cross-reference information if a candidate is required to have a background check or drug screen.
• Meeting Industry Standards: Certain regulated industries often require that specific information be gathered from all applicants using a formal application. Using an application will help make sure these standards are always met.
  
  

Key Information to Request on your Employment Application Forms

While specific questions might vary depending on the industry and job role, most effective employment application forms should include the following:

• Personal Information:

• • Full name

• • Contact information (phone and email)

• • Address

• • Confirmation of work eligibility in the United States

• • If the applicant is under 18, confirmation of an employment or age certificate

• Legal Information:

• • If the applicant has a felony conviction in the last 5 years

• Position and Availability:

• • Position applied for

• • Days and hours available

• • Earliest start date

• Education:

• • Names and addresses of schools attended

• • Degrees obtained

• • Dates of graduation

• Skills:

• • Licenses, skills, training and awards

• Work History:

• • Names of employers, addresses, supervisors, contact information, and job titles.

• • Start and end dates of employment

• • Detailed descriptions of responsibilities

• • Salary earned

• • Reasons for leaving

• • Whether the company can contact the employer for a reference

• References:

• • Names, titles, addresses, and phone numbers of professional references (optional, but recommended)

• Applicant’s Certification:

• • A statement that all information provided is true and complete

• • Applicant’s signature and date
    
    

The Essium Advantage

Essium understands the importance of a comprehensive yet candidate-friendly application process. That’s why our onboarding software, Xenqu, includes ready-to-use employment application forms designed to capture all the recommended information, as detailed above, in a mobile-optimized, wizard-like flow. These forms can be seamlessly added to your onboarding packet along with any additional content you create with our built-in electronic forms builder.  This ensures a smooth and engaging experience for your candidates, reducing fall-off rates while also enabling your staffing firm to gather crucial details like work history, skills, and legal information. By using Xenqu, you’re not only improving candidate satisfaction but also establishing a legally sound, standardized screening process.

Conclusion

The resume has its place in the hiring process, but for a well-organized, legally compliant, and fair process, a formal employment application is essential. By standardizing the information you gather from all candidates, you can make more informed hiring decisions, mitigate legal risks, and ensure an equitable process. It’s an essential component in your new hire checklist that can make a big difference in the success of your hiring practices and the overall health of your organization.