Are Application Forms Fair?

Do you use application forms to recruit? If you do, have you ever thought about how fair they are? This may sound like a slightly strange question. After all, application forms have been a de facto method of applying for jobs since, well… forever. Many organisations have preferred CVs but many others have used application forms. It seems to have been just a matter of preference—the question of fairness has rarely arisen.

But since we’ve rightly become more concerned with equality, diversity and inclusion in the workplace, fairness, more broadly, has become a more prominent issue in recruitment. As a matter of policy, organisations are now committing to discovering and implementing more diversity-friendly policies in all areas, and especially in recruitment. So now is a great time to hold application forms up to the lens of fairness and assess whether they measure up.

Online and offline application forms

First, we need to acknowledge that there is at least some difference between online and offline application forms. Online forms are those that can be completed without the need to download a document, and offline forms need to be downloaded, completed (sometimes even printed and filled-in by hand!) and then uploaded or attached to an email. An offline application form is generally more cumbersome for the candidate to manage: the formatting can be a nightmare.

Application forms create a power dynamic

Our research suggests that jobs using application forms get only a third of the applications of ads requiring a CV. Some organisations actually think this is a benefit! They say, “We only want people who really want to work for us. If candidates aren’t willing to put the work in, we don’t want them to apply.” In the current market, this attitude will put them at a huge disadvantage: there is a serious shortage of candidates and that must mean that employers need to make it as easy as possible for candidates to apply.

This attitude really displays a power dynamic that puts the candidate below the recruiter. I experienced this power play myself many years ago when I applied for a job with a well-known management consultancy. After the interview the agent called me up and said, “I bet they kept you waiting for at least half an hour!” “How did you know?” I asked. “Oh, they do that with everyone! It lets people know who’s boss!” he said.

Application forms can do something similar. By forcing the candidate to reformat information that they already have on their CV, they put the needs of the recruiter above the needs of the candidate.

People can find it really difficult to apply for jobs. And they can struggle with application forms for many reasons: technically, they can struggle with filling them in and returning them. But it also takes a lot longer to complete an application form than to shoot off a CV and, if someone is applying for many jobs, the demands on their time can be enormous and the whole process disheartening and depressing. This is particularly likely to deter certain groups of potential applicants, such as parents or those with other caring responsibilities, who may be particularly time-poor.

Competing on equal terms?

One defence of the application form is that candidates are all measured by the same criteria and this means that they are competing on the same terms. This may be true. On the other hand, what is lost are the particular characteristics evident in the way candidates present themselves on a CV: the way they prioritise certain aspects—even the layout of the CV itself.

Some also emphasise the fact that application forms allow candidates to be anonymised; for example, the name can be separated from the rest of the information. This is a really valid point, but there are ways of ensuring anonymisation that don’t involve application forms. For example, on CharityJob we have an anonymisation tool that removes all personal details until first contact with shortlisted applicants.

Application forms require instant commitment

The application process is ideally like a kind of courtship: it starts without commitment on either side, but as the candidate and recruiter interact, the commitment of each to the other gradually grows. But application forms demand commitment from the candidate from the outset—before the recruiter has shown any commitment whatsoever to the candidate. Why expect a candidate to commit to completing a long application form when even a moment’s glance at their CV would tell you they’re completely unsuited to the job?

That dynamic is unfair, and for that reason, as well as others we’ve mentioned, I think we can conclude that the answer to the question ‘are application forms fair?’ is that general application forms are generally unfair.

A better alternative: screening questions

At best, an application form is not simply a rehashed version of a CV—it will also include a few key questions to help assess a candidate’s suitability for the job. These range from simple screening questions (such as ‘Do you have the right to work in the UK?’) to more complex work assessment questions (such as ‘Describe a time when you had to deal with conflict’ or ‘How do you reconcile accounts?’).

Asking one or two of these questions may well be appropriate when candidates apply (although they can often wait till interview). On CharityJob, you can now set up questions like this, of various formats—just look for our Screening Questions functionality when you post your job ad.

Carefully-crafted screening questions can help you to deliver the best parts of application forms, whilst avoiding the pitfalls they can bring; in short, they are fairer!

Ready to try out screening questions? Post a job ad now.