Within Natural HR it is now possible to build an entirely custom Application Form for use in the Recruitment module.  This can be used to replace the system's default application form.  It has the unique ability to map the fields on the form to the fields in the candidate file, so that when you build a field for the Candidate's first name, for example, that data will be populated in the first name field on the candidate's file. 

You can even create different application forms for different roles!

It's important to note that when you choose to use a custom application form for a requisition, any Custom Questions entered in the template or Role Specific Questions entered in the requisition will not be displayed to the candidate.  You'll need to include these in your custom application form!

Building an Application Form

The form is built in much the same way as any other form, using our Form Builder tool, which can be accessed by an Admin or HR user at:

Administration > HR > Form Builder

Within Form Builder, create a new form by clicking on the "Add" button at the bottom of the page.

When building your form, be sure to choose "Application form" from the available options in the Form type drop-down:

Another important field to consider on this page is "User groups access".  By default, completed application forms are available to Administrators, HR users and Recruiters.  In this field, you can also choose to make the form available to the Hiring Manager:

The process of building the form itself is much the same as any other form type, and is covered in our training video on the topic of forms, which is available here, but there is a key difference to be aware of:

The fields in an application form can be mapped to a field on the candidate file.  This will pre-populate the candidate file with the information entered into the form and is in fact important as, when using this type of form, this is how we populate the candidate file.

For example, if we want to capture the candidate's first name (which we surely do!) then we will need to add a field called "First Name" (the label is of your choice so if you'd prefer for example "Forename" you can do so) and map it to the candidate field "Firstname".  In form builder, it looks like this:

It's this mapping, using the "Candidate field" parameter, that causes the Candidate File to be populated with the entered information.  It's important to choose an appropriate "Field type" here too.  "Text box - single line" field type is a good choice for a First name.  A checkbox or a yes/no field wouldn't really be appropriate...

In some cases, when you choose a "Candidate field" to map to, the "Field type" option will not be shown.  A good example of this is "Email".  The system will automatically use the "Email" field type so that it can be validated as a valid email address format, and it will look like this:

Contrary to other form types, there is no requirement to include either an "Assigned Employee" field (as this form refers to a candidate) or a "Completed" field in this type of form.  Include only the fields that you need the candidate to complete.

Using a Custom Application Form for a Requisition

Once you have built your custom application form, you can then use it for newly added requisitions.  To do this, you will need to add a requisition at:

Recruitment > Requisitions

Click on the Add button to add a new requisition.

On this page there is a drop-down for "Custom Application Form"

Choose "System default" to use the built in application form, or choose the name of your custom form from the drop-down to use the custom form. 

When your candidates for this requisition click on the "Apply Now" button on the recruitment portal, they will be provided with the default form or your custom form according to the choice made here.

More general information on the topic of adding requisitions can be found here.

Viewing Completed Custom Application Forms

When an application form is completed, a candidate record will be created.  The content of the completed form can be viewed by navigating to the candidate at:

Recruitment > Candidates 

On the right hand side of the candidate card you will see an icon for Forms:

(Depending on your access level, not all of these icons might be displayed)

Click on the "Forms" icon to view any forms associated with the candidate.  This will include the Application Form, and any Recruitment Forms associated with this candidate.

This will be available to any Admin, HR or Recruiter user, as well as the Hiring Manager for the requisition, if you have chosen to give them access to the application form.