Tips for creating a successful application form

 Not sure how much information to collect in your application form? Or perhaps you need some advice on how to structure your questions so you can best analyze and process the data. Read on for some tips ...

• Keep it short: shorter application forms will have a higher completion rate. Consider only asking the minimum amount of questions you need to decide if you want to move forward with an application. You can request additional, more detailed information (or more sensitive information) via an Additional Questionnaire.
  

• Predefined options: consider how you might want to use filters to find specific types of applicants. Questions that use Option Sets (e.g with a predefined list of answers) are easier to filter than free text versions.

  • A good example is Region, e.g.: North west, North East, South East etc.
    This can help if you want to easily find applicants from specific areas.

  • Note: this will also help with any analytics you might wish to gather, as we can add this to the Dashboard to provide an overview of statistics, or you can export the data and create your own charts and sheets.
    

• Clear instructions: give clear instructions to applicants about what information you want to get from them, what is interesting, what you are looking for. 
  

• Add text character limits: If you have 1000s of applications and everyone is writing their whole life story, it can be slow to read your applicant profiles. So why not add a character limit to any 'free text' answers, and encourage your Applicants to get to the point succinctly!
  

• Get the important information up front: because it is possible to view application forms that are still in the process of being completed, think about what information is absolutely essential for you to be able to make a decision on whether to move an applicant forward - and place it early in the application form. This way, you can get an early view on if an applicant has potential. Do you want to see their photo? Make it one of the first questions you ask.
  

• Optional video: an application video can be a blocker to completion because it forces applicants to pause their application and record something - which can be difficult to do. Consider making any videos optional - you can always ask for one at a later date via an Additional Questionnaire.