Using application forms

Application forms enable you to invite candidates to fill out a form, such as a formal application, after their initial application to CareerPlug.

In this article:

• Creating application forms
• Adding an application form to a job
• Inviting applicants to complete a form
• How to get more applicants to complete your formal application form
  • Edit the Thank You - Applicant Confirmation email
  • Manually send a reminder email
  • View applicants who have completed their application form
  • Alternatives to formal application forms

Creating application forms

1. Navigate to Settings > Hiring Tools > Forms.

2. Click the Create New Form button.

3. Select which type of form you would like to create.

• If you choose the Download/Upload type form, please name the form, give instructions for the applicant on how to complete it, and upload a Word document or PDF document that you would like the applicant to download, complete, and upload.
• If you choose to use the Question and Answer Editor, please name the form and add as many questions and/or comments as you would like. You may add a question by clicking the Add Question button, and you may add comments by clicking the Add Comment button.
• If you choose the PDF Form Builder, please name your form, choose a PDF on your computer to upload, and click the Create Required Form button. Then, add any instructions for the applicant. On the PDF you uploaded, use the Add Form Field button to map out the fields on your form that you would like the applicant to complete. You can re-size and move the field as needed; however, field height adjustment affects form field order (an applicant is prompted to complete higher fields first). Click the Edit icon to edit the field. Here's more help with adding fields to your PDF forms.

4. Once you have created a form and filled out any fields, scroll down to the Form Options section and select the step in your hiring process with which this form should be associated from the checkbox menu.

Forms can be added to the application process for all existing jobs and/or made part of the application process for new jobs by checking the appropriate checkboxes.

5. Click the Update Required Form button.

Your new form is ready to use! You can begin adding this form to existing and future job postings.

Adding an application form to a job

Once you've created an application form, you can start adding it as a requirement to your job postings.

To add a form to a job:

1. Navigate to your Jobs page.
2. Click the title of the job you would like to add the form to (or create a new job).
3. Click the Hiring Settings tab.
4. Scroll to the Forms area.
5. Turn on the toggle for the form you want to assign to your job.
6. Click the Update Job Post button to save your changes.

You can now invite applicants for your job to complete this form!

Inviting applicants to complete a form

Once you add a form (or a formal application) to your job, you can invite an applicant to complete it during whichever step in your hiring process it was assigned.

To invite an applicant to complete a form:

1. Navigate to your Applicants page.

2. Click the applicant’s name to view the applicant's full hiring process.

3. Click the arrow icon (^) to expand the hiring step to which the form is assigned and click the Send Reminder button.

4. Configure the pre-written text and email messages inviting the applicant to complete the form. Please do not edit the auto-generated link in the email — that is how applicants access your form.

5. When you're done editing the message template, click the Send Email button and the applicant will be notified that they need to complete the form.

Once the applicant completes the form, you can access it from the Applicant Evaluation tab of the applicant’s profile page (under Forms).

Click the View button in the applicant’s hiring step with the form to view the applicant’s completed form.

You can resend an email to remind the applicant to complete the form by clicking Send Reminder in their hiring process.

How to get more applicants to complete your formal application form

When candidates apply to your CareerPlug job postings, they are not required to submit the formal application until after they submit their basic contact information and prescreen questions. This increases the number of applicants that you receive by making it faster and easier to apply to a job, especially from a mobile device. However, this does mean that you will need to remind some of your applicants to submit your formal application.

Below are some options to help ensure applicants are completing your formal application forms.

In this section:

• Edit the Thank You - Applicant Confirmation email
• Manually send a reminder email
• View applicants who have completed their application form
• Alternatives to formal application forms

Edit the Thank You - Applicant Confirmation email

With this option, you'll edit the email that is automatically sent to every applicant when CareerPlug receives their initial information. This option should only be used if you require a formal application for all of your jobs.

1. Navigate to Settings > Templates > General Messages.

2. Find the Applicant Confirmation - Thank You Email. Click the Edit button next to it. This will create a copy of the message template for you to edit.

3. When you edit the template, give it a new title, and perhaps even a new subject line that indicates that the applicant has one more step to complete before their application is complete. Use where you would like the URL for their form to be placed.

4. Add the following text in the body of the message: "If you haven’t already done so, please make sure that you complete our formal application: ."

5. Click the Save button when you are finished.

Manually send a reminder email

1. Navigate to your Applicants page.

2. Click the applicant’s name to view the applicant's full hiring process.

3. Click the arrow icon (^) to expand the hiring step to which the form is assigned and click the Send Reminder button to the right of the form name.

4. Configure the pre-written text and email messages inviting the applicant to complete the form. Do not edit the auto-generated link in the email — that is how applicants access your form.

5. When you're done editing the message template, click the Send Email button and the applicant will be notified that they need to complete the form.

Editing the reminder email

1. If you wish to edit this message template, navigate to Settings > Templates > General Messages.

2. Click the Edit button to the right of the Required Form Instructions invite to create a copy of the system template that you can customize.

3. Configure the email message template. Do not edit or delete the APP_FORM_LINK dynamic field in the body of the email — that is how applicants access your form.

View applicants who have completed their application form

Unless a filter is applied on your Applicants page, your view will include both applicants who have completed a required application form as well as those who have not.

To view either all applicants who have not completed a required application form or all those who have, use the Application Status filter at the left side of your Applicants page to view Application Complete or Application Incomplete.

Alternatives to formal application forms

Hiring trends show that more and more applicants prefer a shorter application process. Many applicants are applying on their phones, and it can be a frustrating experience to require applicants to complete a complex form immediately after they fill out their basic information and submit a resume.

In today's competitive job market, many applicants will bypass long, complex application processes in favor of simpler forms that capture vital information upfront and can easily be completed from any device. CareerPlug's founder, Clint Smith, wrote a blog about the benefits of shortening your time to apply: Would You Apply to Your Jobs?

Many CareerPlug clients have revamped their application process to provide a better, more compelling initial application experience by using one or both of the following actions:

1. Move formal application forms to the end of the hiring process. Is the information you’re collecting on a formal application not required until the applicant receives a formal employment offer? Then move this form to the end of your hiring process. This saves time on the initial application and improves the applicant’s initial experience with your brand while still collecting the formal application before a hire is made.
2. Collect more information with prescreen questions. If the information collected on the formal application is vital to making an initial decision about the applicant, move those questions to prescreen questions. This ensures that you have these questions answered for every applicant. You'll get the information you need in a more consistent and useful format rather than from a long, complex application form.