Create job application forms in seconds

Hey HR managers! We know how critical creating a job application form is to get to know your candidates better. And we are here for you. The better you follow best practices when creating your job application forms, the easier your process of evaluating applicants will be. Remember that creating a proper job application form will help you find the best employee for your company.

In this guide, we will share some tips and sample form templates on how you can create great job application forms in seconds with you. Let's dive deep into and start creating your awesome job application forms!

Table of contents

• What is a job application form?
• The structure of an effective job application form
• Job application form template
• Step by step guide to create your job application forms
• Faq

What is a job application form?

A job application form is a form given to candidates by an employer, which collects the candidate's personal information and job-related skills with a wide variety of questions.

Job application forms are a way for candidates to introduce themselves to employers. Nowadays, job application forms are mostly created through digital online form tools. This makes it easier to follow the answers and compare the candidates' answers with each other. Previously, these forms were created manually using paper. However, there are now more efficient and convenient methods available.

The structure of an effective job application form‍

When creating a job application form, remember that your main goal is to get to know your candidate in the easiest way possible. Additionally, your form should be understandable to get the right answers from your candidates. Making your questions and form structure clear will make things easier for your candidates. Creating your job application form digitally is easier than manual methods. We recommend that you use an online form creation tool to create your job application forms. Also, when preparing your questions, do not forget to include questions about the requirements of the relevant position. Preparing questions in a format that allows you to make comparisons or filters between your candidates will make things easier for you.

Here are some basic questions you should definitely include in your job application forms;

• Full name of the applicant
• Contact information (phone and email)
• Education degree
• Work experience
• Professional references
• Languages (if necessary)
• Cover letter
• Resume (if necessary)

In the section below, you can review the sample job application form we have prepared for you, easily customize it and start using it in seconds.

Job application form template

Retable's job application form template helps you easily organize all the information you want to know about your candidates in a single form. Moreover, thanks to this form, you can easily manage all form responses by viewing them in a single spreadsheet and assigning relevant applications to your teammates.

You can work on your job form responses more effectively by creating various new data views such as kanban, card, calendar, map, list, chart and grid in the table where the responses to your job application forms are stored.

Let's check the job application form template we have prepared for you and look at the details of each form question.

🔗 Preview  the job application form template in a new tab.

🔗 Copy Retable's job application form template to your own Retable dashboard by clicking the "Copy workspace" button at the top right of the screen.

Step by step guide to create your job application forms

1. Start with a template or start from stratch
2. Create your form view
3. Customize your form
4. Share it!

Start with a template or start from scratch

One of the best ways to create a job application form in Retable is to start with a template. For this, you can use the template we provide you in the section above. All you have to do is click on the "Copy to project" button located in the upper right corner of the template. So you can easily copy the template to your own Retable dashboard and customize it as you wish.

Another option is to start from scratch and create your own table and form. What you need to do for this is as follows, step by step;

• Go to your Retable dashboard and click to "Add project" button under a workspace
• Select "Start from scratch" option
• Give your project a name. For example "Job application form"
• Click the "Create" button

After following these steps, you will see an empty grid view. The only thing you need to do is to add all the fields that you want to include as a question in your job application form to this table as a column. If you need more information about Retable's column types, you can take a look at these video tutorials. This way, you can easily create the questions you want to include in your job application form and add them to your table as a column.

For example, if you want to add an e-mail question to your job application form, you can use our "E-mail" column type. Thus, people filling out the form cannot enter any data other than email into this field. Or if you need multiple choice questions, use the "Select" column. You can create multiple choice questions using select column type. If you want to ask the address information of your candidates, you can use our "Geolocation" column. Thus, people who fill out the form can easily select their address on the map or search their address.

Create your form view

If you have added all the questions you want to include in your job application form to your table as a column, you are now ready to convert your table into a form. All you need to do for this is to add a "Form View" from the "Views" panel on the left of your table. When you do this, Retable will automatically create a form for you and you will now be able to see the columns in your table as questions in the form. Now it's time to customize your form!

Customize your form

Here's the best part! You can now customize your job application form directly from the form view. Retable offers various options to customize your form. Some of them are as follows;

• Rename your form: You can customize the name of your form by clicking on the edit icon next to your form's name.
• Add form description: You can add a description for your form from the rich text field that opens by clicking on the edit icon in the description field of your form.  You can use all the elements allowed by the rich text editor . For example, you can create bullet points, add URLs, or format your text.
• Upload a form cover image: You can upload a cover image to your form using the drag-and-drop method or directly from your device.
• Resize your form cover: You can extend your form cover image by activating the "Extend cover image" toggle in the settings area on the right side of your form. When this toggle is off, your cover image will be set to fitted.
• Set required questions: You can make any form questions required with the "required" toggle located in the upper right corner of your form questions. Thus, people who do not fill out any of the required questions can submit your form.
• Change field's name: You can easily change your form questions from the "Field name" field below your form questions. As default, each form question takes its name from the column names. However, you can customize how these questions appear on the form without having to change your column names. For example, even if the name of the column in your table is "Name", you can name this field in the form as "What's your full name".
• Add field descriptions: You can provide directions to people by writing descriptions for your form questions.
  Add field value: You can add a field value for each form question. Thus, before entering their answers, peope will see the sample values ​in the question field.
• Create conditions: You can create conditions to create conditional form questions. So, your form question will bee visible if the condition you choose met. Otherwise, it becomes invisible to people who fill out the form. You can show different questions to different people by setting a condition based on the answers of the previous questions.
• Customize submit button: You can change the text in the submit button of your form. By default, this button says "Submit". However, you can change the text here as you wish.
• Change header color: You can change the color of your form header from the settings panel on the side of your form.
• Hide Retable logo: By activating the Hide Retable logo toggle, you can remove the "Made in Retable" watermark in the lower right corner of your form.
• Let users get a copy: By activating the "User get a copy toggle", you can allow users to receive a copy of their form responses via email.
• Set a redirect URL: In the settings panel on the right side of your form, you can add a redirect URL from the "Redirect URL" field. Thus, people who fill out your form will be redirected to the URL you specified 5 seconds after filling out the form.
• Enable editing responses: By activating the "Enable edit responses" toggle, you can allow people who fill out the form to later edit their form responses.
• Enable reusing previous form: By activating the "Enable reusing previous form" toggle, you can allow people who have completed the form to submit a new form response by reusing their previous form responses.
• Customize thank you message: You can customize the thank you message that people who submit the form see after sending the form,
• Show/hide form questions: You can easily hide the questions you do not want to appear in your form. Thus, even though these questions are included as a column in your table, they will not appear on your form. Thus, people cannot enter data into these columns.

Share it!

You are now ready to share your job application form. Retable offers 2 options for sharing your forms. First, you can create a public URL of your form, so that anyone with the link can access and fill out your form. Second, you can easily embed your form on your website. This way, people can fill out your form without leaving your website.

‍
To share the public link of your job application form;

• Go to your form view
• Click the "Share" button in the upper right corner of your form.
• Activate the "Enable public form" toggle
• Copy the link and share

To embed your job application form on your website;

• Go to your form view
• Click the "Share" button in the upper right corner of your form.
• Activate the "Enable public form" toggle
• Click on the embed icon located just to the right of your form link.
• Copy the iFrame code from the pop-up window and paste it to your website.

That's it!

Frequently asked questions about job application forms

How do I create a job application form?

Retable gives you the flexibility to convert all your sspreadsheets into an online form. The easiest way to create a job application form in Retable is to create a table and create a "Form view" for this table from the "views" panel on the left side of your table. Thus, with a single click, you can convert your Retable table into an online form and easily customize your form. You can also get help from Retable's comprehensive template archive to create your table.

How to embed a job application form to my website?

Retable allows you to easily embed all your tables and forms on your website with it's ready-to-use iFrame codes.
What you need to do to embed your job application form on your website is simple;

• Open your form
• Click the "Share" button at the top right of your form.
• Activate the "Enable public form" toggle
• Click on the embedding icon to the right of your form's public URL
• Copy the iFrame code in the window that opens
• And paste this code wherever you want on your website

That's it, now you can easily start collecting responses for your job application form from your website.

How to export job application form responses?

The responses to the job application forms you create in Retable are collected in the grid view associated with this form. The first thing you need to do to export your job application form responses is to visit your form response table. By following the steps below, you can easily export your job application form responses in .csv or .retable formats.

• Click on the 3 dots next to the name of your form response table
• Click on the "export table" option from the menu that opens
• Select the format you want to export from the pop-up window that opens.
• After making your selection, click the "export" button.

That's all!

How to share the job application form?

Sharing your job application form on Retable is just a few clicks away. It is a super easy process that you can handle. To share your job application form, click the "Share" button at the top right of your form. Then activate the "Enable public form" toggle. You can copy the link in this area to share your form. This way, anyone with the link can access and respond to your form.

How to share job application form responses?

To share your job application form response table, simply turn on the public sharing feature of your grid view. As another option, you can invite your collaborators to your project. To share your job application form response table publicly, click the "share" button at the top right of your table. Then activate the "Create link to view" toggle. If you share the URL, people who have the URL can view your form response table.

How to assign job application form responses to my teammates?

Retable offers various collaboration features so you can easily collaborate with your teammates. In order to assign the answers to your job application form to your teammates, the first thing you need to do is to invite your teammates to your project as collaborators. To do this, you can follow the steps below;

• Click on the 3 dots next to your project's name
• Select "Sharing settings" from the menu that opens
• Type the email address of the teammate you want to invite into the email field in the pop-up window. (Remember that your teammate must have a Retable account associated with this email address.)
• Before inviting, choose one of the roles viewer, editor or owner
• Click the Invite button.

That's it, your teammate can now access your project in line with the permissions you have granted.
Now all you have to do is add a "collaborator" column to your table and assign any of the answers in your job application form to the teammates you want.
After adding the "Collaborator" column to your table, do not forget to hide this column in your form. Thus, people filling out the form can never see this column and cannot enter data for this column. Thanks to this column, you can easily assign job applications to your teammates with whom you share your project.

How can I stop the job application form from receiving responses?

It is as easy to close your job application form as it is to share it. To close your job application form from receiving responses, simply click on the "Share" button at the top right of your form and close the "Enable public form" toggle.

How can I add a redirect URL to my job application form?

You can set a redirect URL for your form from the "Setting" area on the right panel of your Retable form view. After activating the Redirect URL toggle, you can type any URL you want in the text box that opens. Thus, people who fill out your job application form will be directed to this URL you specified 5 seconds after filling out your form.

How can I add a custom thank you messsage to my job application form?

You can easily set a custom thank you message from the settings panel on the right of your Retable form view. After clicking on the setting icon to the right of the "Thank you message" statement in this area, you can write and save a new thank you message. This way, people who fill out your job application form will see the special thank you message you created.