Cookies on this site

Strictly necessary cookies keep the site working. Our analytics and advertising tags — Microsoft Clarity and Google Tag Manager — stay switched off, and write no cookie, until you accept them. Privacy Policy

Free template Β· Planning

Job Application Form Template

A job application form is the document an employer asks every applicant to complete instead of accepting free-form CVs alone. It collects the same details from everyone: contact information, right to work, experience against the role's stated requirements, education, any required licence, references and a signed declaration, so applications arrive in one comparable shape and screening decisions can be explained afterwards.

Use this form when a role attracts more applicants than one person can read carefully, or when several people share the shortlisting. Free-form CVs arrive in every possible order and format, so two comparable candidates can look very different on paper. A structured application form asks everyone the same questions in the same order, which makes shortlisting faster and makes the reasoning behind a decision easier to explain later. Have the finished form reviewed by an employment lawyer in the jurisdiction you are hiring in before you publish it.

Copy & adapt β€” replace every [placeholder]

Role applied for and source of application

Position applied for: [JOB TITLE]

Requisition or reference number: [REQ NUMBER]

Location of the role: [LOCATION]

Where did you see this role advertised? [JOB BOARD / CAREERS PAGE / REFERRAL / EVENT / OTHER - PLEASE STATE]

If referred, name of the employee who referred you: [FULL NAME]

Date of application: [DATE]

Applicant contact details and right to work

Full name: [FULL NAME]

Preferred name, if different: [PREFERRED NAME]

Email address: [EMAIL]

Contact number: [PHONE NUMBER]

Current city and country of residence: [CITY], [COUNTRY]

Do you have the right to work in [LOCATION OF THE ROLE]? [YES / NO]

Would you need this employer to arrange or sponsor permission for you to work there? [YES / NO]

Experience against the stated requirements

Requirement one, copied from the job posting: [REQUIREMENT]. Do you meet it? [YES / NO]. Where and when did you do this? [EVIDENCE]

Requirement two, copied from the job posting: [REQUIREMENT]. Do you meet it? [YES / NO]. Where and when did you do this? [EVIDENCE]

Requirement three, copied from the job posting: [REQUIREMENT]. Do you meet it? [YES / NO]. Where and when did you do this? [EVIDENCE]

Most recent employer: [EMPLOYER NAME] - [JOB TITLE] - [START DATE] to [END DATE]

Previous employer: [EMPLOYER NAME] - [JOB TITLE] - [START DATE] to [END DATE]

Anything relevant the fields above do not capture: [FREE TEXT]

Education, certification and licence

Highest qualification held: [QUALIFICATION] - [INSTITUTION] - [YEAR AWARDED]

Qualification this role requires, if any: [QUALIFICATION]. Do you hold it? [YES / NO]

Licence or professional registration this role requires: [LICENCE OR REGISTRATION NAME]

Registration number: [NUMBER] | Issued by: [ISSUING BODY] | Valid until: [DATE]

Are you able to produce the original certificate or registration if asked? [YES / NO]

Note to the employer: ask for a qualification or licence only where the role genuinely requires one, and record which stated requirement it maps to.

Screening questions agreed in advance

Screening question one: [QUESTION AS AGREED WITH THE HIRING MANAGER] Answer: [YES / NO]

Screening question two: [QUESTION AS AGREED WITH THE HIRING MANAGER] Answer: [YES / NO]

Screening question three: [QUESTION AS AGREED WITH THE HIRING MANAGER] Answer: [YES / NO]

Earliest date you could start: [DATE]

Note to the employer: agree these questions before the role is advertised, mark which answer takes an application out of the running, and ask them of every applicant. Do not add a question once applications have opened.

References, declaration and consent

Referee one: [FULL NAME] - [JOB TITLE] - [ORGANISATION] - [EMAIL] - [PHONE NUMBER] - relationship to you: [MANAGER / COLLEAGUE / CLIENT]

Referee two: [FULL NAME] - [JOB TITLE] - [ORGANISATION] - [EMAIL] - [PHONE NUMBER] - relationship to you: [MANAGER / COLLEAGUE / CLIENT]

May we approach your referees before an offer is made? [YES / NO]

Declaration: I confirm that the information given in this form is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge. Signed: [FULL NAME] Date: [DATE]

How your information is used: [EMPLOYER NAME] will use what you enter here to assess this application. Who can see it, where it is held and how long it is kept are set out in our privacy notice at [LINK TO YOUR PRIVACY NOTICE].

Consent: [YES / NO] - I have read the privacy notice at [LINK TO YOUR PRIVACY NOTICE].

Get the editable template pack emailed to you

We'll send the full, editable recruiting template pack β€” plus the occasional hiring tip. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.

No spam β€” just the resource and the occasional hiring tip. Unsubscribe anytime.

How to use this template

  1. 1 Copy the role's real requirements into the experience block before you publish the form, so applicants answer against this job rather than a generic one.
  2. 2 Agree the screening questions with the hiring manager before applications open, and write down which answer takes an application out of the running.
  3. 3 Ask every applicant the same questions in the same order, including internal and referred candidates, so the pool stays comparable.
  4. 4 Have an employment lawyer in the jurisdiction you are hiring in review the finished form, paying particular attention to the eligibility, screening and consent wording.
  5. 5 Point the consent line at your own published privacy notice, and keep completed forms where only the people making the decision can open them.

Tips

  • β–ΈAsk nothing you could not justify against a written requirement in the job posting - every extra field lowers completion and adds something you then have to store and protect.
  • β–ΈKeep questions about age, marital status, family plans, pregnancy, health, disability, religion and other protected characteristics off the form; what counts as protected, and what an employer may lawfully ask, differs by jurisdiction and changes, so treat the whole area as one to take advice on.
  • β–ΈIf you collect diversity information, keep it in a separate voluntary section that the people shortlisting never see, and say plainly that it plays no part in the decision.
  • β–ΈGive applicants one free-text box for anything the fixed fields miss, so a strong but unusual background is not lost to a form built around a single career shape.
  • β–ΈRestrict who can open completed forms, and decide deliberately, with advice, how long you keep applications from people you did not hire and in what form.

Turn templates into a real hiring workflow

FAQ

Job Application Form Template β€” FAQs

What is a job application form? +
It is a document the employer supplies and the applicant completes, capturing contact details, right to work, experience against the role's stated requirements, education, references and a signed declaration. Because everyone answers the same fields in the same order, applications can be compared side by side. It also gives you one consistent record of what each person claimed at the point of applying.
How is an application form different from a screening questionnaire? +
The application form is the applicant's full submission and becomes the record you keep on file: identity, history, references and a declaration they have signed. A screening questionnaire is the shorter filter your recruiters run over that pool, built around the few answers that decide whether a conversation happens at all. Many employers use both, with the questionnaire attached to the front of the application form.
What should an employer avoid asking on a job application form? +
Anything touching a protected characteristic - age, marital status, family plans, pregnancy, health, disability, religion and similar categories - is high risk, and several jurisdictions also restrict questions about salary history or criminal record at the application stage. The specifics differ by country and state and they change. Decide what to include with an employment lawyer in the jurisdiction you are hiring in rather than copying another employer's form.
Should applicants still send a CV as well? +
Most employers accept both: the CV as an attachment and the form as the structured record. The CV shows how someone chooses to present themselves, which is worth reading, but it is not comparable across candidates. Use the form for shortlisting and the CV as supporting detail once someone has cleared it.
Pitch N Hire ATS

Send this from your ATS instead of an email thread

Pitch N Hire is an applicant tracking system. Offers, interview invitations, feedback requests, and rejections go out from the candidate record β€” so nothing is retyped and nothing is lost in someone's inbox.

  • Send offers and candidate emails from the candidate record
  • Every message and document stays attached to the candidate
  • Templates your whole team reuses, so the process stays consistent

Free for 1 user Β· No credit card Β· Talk to a real hiring expert

Built for recruiters & hiring teams

Hire faster with structured, AI-assisted recruiting

Pitch N Hire unifies sourcing, screening, and async AI interviews on one platform. Start free with the 1-user plan, or book a demo on your real roles.

Prefer to talk? Book a demo Β· Talk to sales Β· View pricing

Free 1-user plan Β· No credit card Β· Talk to a real hiring expert

One Hiring Infrastructure.
Zero Tool Chaos.

Demos are consultative. We respect privacy and enterprise
governance. No lock-ins.

Start free Book demo