Why Do People Want An Application Form When They Already Have a CV?

Some employers ask that candidates complete an Application Form as well as providing a CV and a covering letter. Much of the information demanded by the form can be found on the CV and/or the application letter. So why do people bother with Application Forms – extra pieces of paper which cost money to produce (and, these days, post!)? Well – for several reasons:

A CV is a statement, which may or may not be entirely factual. A CV doesn’t demand that you verify that it is entirely factual; in fact it doesn’t demand that you verify anything at all.

On the other hand most Application Forms generally conclude with a clause that demands that a candidate confirm that the information given on the Form is entirely factual by signing and dating the Form in the space provided next to or below the clause – and some Application Forms positively state that if an employer discovers that any part of the Application is false, then the candidate can be dismissed for that reason.

Here are some of the points you can expect to have to deal with on a standard job Application Form:

1. Personal Details (excluding preferred working arrangements)

2. Education and Professional Qualifications
3. Present Employment (if any)

4. Previous Employment
5. Relevant Skills, Abilities, Knowledge and Experience

6. Other information (this will exclude reference to prior health record, and the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974)

7. References
8. Declaration

A job Application Form is a legal document. As such, it offers protection to potential employers. There are several things that you don’t need to reveal – but you do need to be careful about what you say. If you don’t feel able to swear to it, don’t say it. And remember – your CV needs to match your Application Form!

A CV is a pre-prepared statement – usually a very carefully crafted pre-prepared statement. Job Application Forms, on the other hand, are really a sort of questionnaire.

Questionnaires are designed to encourage people to reveal a great deal about themselves without being consciously aware that they’re doing so – which is why so many therapists use them.

Both the questionnaires that therapists use and many job Application Forms ask questions designed to reveal what people genuinely want, rather than what they would like to persuade the reader that they want. A therapist’s form, for example, might ask: ‘Where do you see yourself in five years time?’ The job Application Form version of that question is a request for a ‘Personal Profile’ or an ‘Objective Statement’ setting out an applicant’s hopes, plans, and objectives.

So where do you see yourself in five years time? You might as well spent some time thinking about that question now, because one way or another somewhere along the line somebody is going to ask you to answer it.

If possible, you need to spend as much time crafting and polishing your job Application Form as you spend on your CV. If someone springs an Application Form on you when you arrive for your interview TAKE YOUR TIME. Don’t get pushed into rushing through the form, because people can learn a lot about you from the way you complete it.

Ideally, if you get the form sent to you, you should take a photocopy of it and practice with it, or plan everything you want to say on a separate piece of paper. Practicing with a photocopy is best because you’ll be able to see exactly how much you can fit into each box without cramping your writing and decide what you want to say with space in mind. Don’t forget to ‘angle’ your answers to the Company – and don’t reply to any question with the words “See my CV”.

Obviously, you shouldn’t complete the real form until you’re completely satisfied with how your practice copy looks and reads. When you do, use a black pen so that it can be easily photocopied, use block capitals so that it is easily legible, and make it as neat and clear as possible.

Take a photocopy for yourself so that you can remember exactly what you said – and take the copy with you to the interview, so that you can refresh your memory while travelling or waiting.

Geoffrey, Bill, and Emily