Employee Applications for Small Businesses: What to Include
Having prospective employees fill out employment applications will typically save you time gathering background information. While a resume will include some of their work history, you can obtain more information from presenting your own application.
Parts of the employment application
Basic information about the applicant
Applications should provide spaces for basic information such as name, address, phone number and Social Security number. While you cannot ask a person’s age, you can ask if he or she is over the age of 18. You may also want to ask where the applicant heard about the position or who referred them to your business.
Job experience and schooling
Past job history, including job title, key responsibilities, salary history and reasons for leaving the previous positions should be included for at least the applicant’s last three jobs.
Education should include high school, college, post graduate work plus special schooling the applicant may have had that would be applicable to the position.
References and signature
Finally, you need to have a paragraph (review this with your attorney) proclaiming that all statements made by the individual are true and that this application does not signify that any hiring agreement has been entered into. Also, have the applicant answer whether or not it is okay to contact his or her current or previous employer. The employment application should then be signed by the applicant and dated.
What you cannot ask
As is the case with the interview, you cannot ask a variety of personal questions on the Employment Application. Once you have hired someone for the position, you should hold onto the application and the employee’s resume. This is the information on which you based your hiring decision, should it ever be questioned in the future.
Click here to view a sample Employment Application.
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