Application Form - Definition & Meaning
What is Application Form?
An application form is filled by an applicant seeking employment in a firm and generally contains basic personal information such as name, phone number, e-mail address and some open ended questions. From the employer’s perspective it is a standardized means of screening candidates based on the responses given in the form. Application forms can be in either a physical hard copy or an electronic/online version. The form must not contain questions regarding the candidate’s disabilities, past compensation, race/religion details or criminal record information.
An advantage of application forms is that it standardizes all information making it easier for the recruiter to objectively evaluate the applicant. For example education qualifications can be asked to be expressed in percentages in order to avoid confusion of converting letter grades and CGPAs. In addition application forms also ensure to capture information needed to make the selection decision. For instance an application for a blogger’s position may ask the candidate to write an article on a given topic.
However one drawback of the application form is that it does not allow the applicant to express himself freely. The candidate may have something he/she would like the employer to know but may not be able to express it on the form. Another disadvantage is that application forms are time consuming and many eligible candidates may not apply for the position since they have already invested their time in perfecting their CV.
An example of an application form.
Image: Slideshare
Hence, this concludes the definition of Application Form along with its overview.
This article has been researched & authored by the Business Concepts Team. It has been reviewed & published by the MBA Skool Team. The content on MBA Skool has been created for educational & academic purpose only.
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