Sample Online Job Application

An increasing number of businesses are requiring job seekers to apply for positions “online.” If you have never completed an online job application, it can be an intimidating and scary process. While the overwhelming majority of the questions asked are the same ones you would have to answer if you were completing a paper application, the experience of completing these online applications can seem quite different.

In addition, many of these applications include “personality assessment” questions. These questions are designed to help companies figure out if you would work well in their organization and if you have the right temperament and attitudes for the particular job(s) for which you are applying.

If you have never completed an online job application, or if you have but want more practice doing it, you can use a basic practice application developed by The Boston Private Industry Council, Inc. and Boston’s One Stop Career Centers (Boston Career Link, JobNet and TheWork Place). You’ll see the names of the three Boston One Stop Career Centers at the top of the practice application. They are included just as examples. No Boston One Stop Career Center currently uses online job applications.

Please note that you can’t save the completed application electronically – it doesn’t actually “save” your answers. If you want to print a copy of the application with your answers, you have to print out each page individually as you complete it. Click here for Practice Application.

In addition to the Practice Application we have provided links to several articles about online job applications.

Articles

1. Can Your Personality Get You Hired or Fired - ABC News.com
2. Cultivate a New Appreciation for Online Screening Tools - Wall Street Journal
3. Job Applications Online - Victoria University of Wellington
4. For Further Information - contains several websites referenced in the presentation

For those who assist job seekers, students and program participants in the job search process, an entire workshop has been developed that you can deliver to the people using your services. Along with the practice application described above, this workshop includes a slide (PowerPoint) presentation with detailed explanations about many aspects of online job applications, including how personality assessments are constructed and used. You can learn more about the workshop and how to download and use all of its components in Notes for Trainers.