Thanks to the #givethisgirlajob campaign, my job hunting has gained a great deal of momentum. People have been really helpful signposting opportunities my way and I’ve now accumulated a whole bunch of leads to follow up, some of which haven’t previously appeared on my search radar.

Which also means I have more job application forms to fill in.

There are those among you who already know how I feel about answering some of the questions in these forms. Until I’m officially paired up with the right job role, I will still continue to fill out job application forms that are mostly badly designed Word documents.

To make the application process a lot easier, here are 3 tips for charity HR personnel on how to design a job application form I’ll be happy to complete:

1. Get rid of useless ‘design’ features

There are better ways of differentiating answer fields and making the form less Word document like, such as the example below:

2. Use rows instead of columns for text heavy fields

If you must do columns, at least make sure the width is proportionate to the amount of text you want the applicant to provide. It wouldn’t hurt to also have the answer fields in a table format to align text alongside each column. Otherwise, having answer fields in rows is another option: 3. Make the form relevant to the role

If it’s a graduate role, don’t make it compulsory for the applicant to list GCSE results. If it’s an office job where the work attire is your own wardrobe, don’t include ‘free uniform’ as part of the job benefits. If the roles advertised are varied, a one size fits all application form may not be the best solution.

Here’s a gem that keeps occurring in the job application forms I’ve been filling in:

How many sick days a person takes from work in previous years, is not an accurate indicator of how many sick days he or she is expecting to take in the current year. A better question would be, “Do you have any medical conditions which might affect your ability to do the job?” I can’t imagine many people saying yes to that one, but it is a more relevant question in the Health section and makes it easier for a job offer to be recalled if the applicant has been caught out in a lie.

Update: @medavep pointed out that the suggested health question is now illegal under the Equality Act 2010. I thought so too, until a friend who did law said it only applies if used to discriminate against those with disabilities. Anyone who knows the answer to this for sure, please let me know.

One more thing...

The Equal Opportunities form is usually kept separate from the main application form, but I would like to show two contrasting examples of the Ethnic Origin field. Which one makes someone from an ethnic minority feel less special?

If you have any other tips on how to design a decent application form, please feel free to comment!

P/S: You can still help to #givethisgirlajob.