As a rule, when hiring for a position, the applicant, in addition to copies of education documents and an identity card, also brings a resume that contains all the information that he considers necessary for the employer. Maybe that's why the questionnaire when applying for a job at enterprises is not very common.
Let's try to figure out what such a questionnaire is, is it really necessary and how it should be compiled.
What is a questionnaire?
The application form for employment is a questionnaire, which is usually compiled by the personnel department, containing a range of questions that are of interest to the employer.
Sample application form for employment
There is no single template for the questionnaire. At each enterprise, the questionnaire is developed under own needs and contains the information you need. For example, some use the questionnaire only as a paper on which all the employee's data necessary for establishing a personal file will be collected. Some use a questionnaire to determine if an applicant has the data necessary to fill the position for which he is applying - after all, even the most complete and well-written resume may not reflect all the information.
The main thing to remember is that Article 86 of the Labor Code prohibits the employer from collecting and processing such personal data of an employee that affects his political, religious and other beliefs. Data on private life can only be obtained with the written consent of the employee.
Disclosure of personal data (for example, transferring them to third parties, issuing this information to the public) already violates the criminal code (Article 137 “Violation of privacy”) and can lead to arrest for several months.
How to write a job application?
As mentioned above, the questionnaire at the enterprise must be drawn up based on a clearly defined goal: to collect all information about the employee in one place, to determine his stress resistance, and so on.
Most questionnaires consist of the following sections:
- general information about the employee: last name, first name, patronymic, date of birth, Family status, address of residence, citizenship, information about children and dependents, and so on;
- prospects for employment in this enterprise. For example, what position and what salary the applicant is applying for, why he wants to work in this particular company and in this position, where and by whom he worked before, what he achieved at his previous job;
- information about education: where, when and how much did you study, what specialty did you get, did you work in your specialty and why did you not work, if the answer is negative, what was the topic thesis and so on;
- information about professional skills - in this section you can list everything that the employer wants to receive from the employee in this position;
- applicant self-assessment: strong and weak sides, psychological testing;
- other information about the applicant. For example, about the state of his health, about his hobbies and the like.
Often, the questionnaire includes questions that help to assess also marketing policy companies, for example, the question of how the applicant found out about this vacancy.
Does the survey help when applying for a job?
Many believe that filling out the questionnaire will provide more information than the applicant's resume, and also that the information obtained from the questionnaire will be more reliable. But it should be borne in mind that in any case, the applicant will try to give an answer that, in his opinion, will suit the future employer, and not seek to tell what it really is, so no questionnaire will give you the most complete and reliable impression. In addition, by analyzing the questionnaire questions and their tone, the applicant himself can form an impression of the enterprise and its corporate ethics.
Ksenia Samotkan
Surveys are a very popular and convenient way to get feedback. How and why to conduct them on the site and in in social networks- read this article.
So let's go!
Why conduct surveys?
Surveys are an effective type of content that allows you to establish a strong connection between the brand and the audience and find out their opinion about the company's activities, which will further help to improve the product or service. That is, the survey provides real data that can be used to make better business decisions.
What tasks can be solved with the help of surveys?
Surveys allow you to solve the following tasks:
1. Real and free product reviews
Many companies face difficulties when trying to get consumers' opinions about a product. Clients are stubbornly silent, and in response to a direct request, they write a standard reply like “everyone is cool, thanks guys are the best.” There are two ways out of this situation: to carry out expensive volume marketing research or publish simple free surveys, getting a real response from the audience on the site or in social networks.
I think most of you would choose the second option. And for good reason - after all, conducting a survey allows you to get feedback on your products without spending a lot of effort, time and money.
2. Understanding the needs and motives of the audience's behavior
Surveys allow you to identify the expectations and needs of the audience. This can help in planning and developing new products, improving business processes. Knowing about the needs of customers, you protect yourself from serious punctures.
3. Creation and development of the community
Surveys increase engagement and stimulate discussion. By participating in them, each consumer understands that communication with the company is two-way. Thus, the group of subscribers turns into a living community, whose members interact with the brand and with each other.
To grow your community with polls, show that you are interested in the opinions of users. Share with participants the results of voting and decisions made.
4. Content creation
With surveys, you create three types of content. First, you talk about the prerequisites for holding a vote and describe its conditions. Secondly, you share the results with users. Third, consumers participate in discussions by creating user-generated content.
5. Increase attendance
Conducting surveys increases page traffic on the social network and on the website. For this rule to work, encourage users to share voting information. You can also use tools that automatically report that a user has taken a survey.
Types of polls
Consider what types of surveys are depending on the place of their distribution.
First of all, you need to know that there are mass and expert surveys. We will consider the classification of mass surveys.
There are oral and written surveys, and written surveys are most often conducted on the Internet.
Among them, depending on the place of distribution, the following types can be distinguished:
- Surveys on the site.
Posting to a website is a convenient option for posting a survey, but it won't be enough. If only because only those who visited the site and became interested in the poll will vote.
- Polls in social networks.
- Surveys sent by email.
This distribution method is good because the survey is sent to the client individually.
- Polls in messengers.
With the growing popularity of instant messengers, the popularity of using them to solve marketing problems is also growing. Thus, you can conduct a survey by creating a mailing list of messages in Viber, WhatsApp, Telegram and other instant messengers.
- SMS surveys.
This type of survey, on the one hand, can expand the reach of the audience - at the expense of people who do not have an Internet connection. But, on the other hand, if the response to the survey is paid, this may scare off potential respondents. Yes, in general this way surveys are ineffective.
If we consider oral surveys, then a survey conducted with the personal presence of the client is an extremely rare phenomenon. But the telephone survey is very popular in business. It is very effective in measuring customer satisfaction with a company's products or services—sales teams often use it to determine NPS.
Telephone surveys allow not only to find out the opinion of customers, but also to find out any details during the conversation, to follow the reaction of the interlocutor, his mood swings, etc.
A really good survey is able to completely capture the attention of users, forcing them to distract from their activities and immerse themselves in the process of filling out the questionnaire. To achieve this, it is important to take into account some nuances.
1. Choose a Good Poll Location
This nuance must be taken into account when publishing a survey on the site. It is very important to place it prominently on the main page so that users can immediately find it. Many sites place polls in the sidebar with spaces so that the poll is visible but not intrusive.
2. Choose a relevant topic that will arouse sincere interest among respondents
A well-designed survey should consist of questions that are interesting to respondents and generate various discussions. Therefore, it is important to choose a relevant topic for the survey that would hook your target audience. If this happens, you will be able to receive not only feedback, but also new observations and knowledge that can be applied in their work.
3. Give respondents a chance to be heard
So you chose interesting topic for your survey. Now is the time to make sure you give respondents the opportunity to answer exactly the way they want. Review your answer options and make sure you provide a wide choice - people prefer to choose answers that can clearly identify their thoughts.
4. Extend the process of respondent engagement
5. Don't ask questions about the future
As a rule, questions about what a person will do next do not lead to reliable answers - after all, everyone can talk, but not everyone can take and do it. It is much more reasonable to ask about what people have already done, what decision they have made. And you will know whether to expect any action from the respondent.
6. Don't ask too many open-ended questions
To ensure that surveys provide you with structured data, use closed questions. Use, for example, question types such as multiple choice or comparison questions that have multiple answers. So, instead of asking "What do you think of our products?" a better question is "Which statement most closely matches your impression of our products?". And provide answers.
Another advantage of closed surveys is that they allow you to quickly analyze (by obtaining structured data). Such a quick analysis will allow you to conduct regular surveys without making a Herculean effort. This is especially necessary for large brands or multi-brand companies.
By the way, completely exclude open questions also not worth it - although they are complex, they give more detailed answers.
7. Keep your survey short
If the survey is long, the respondents will quickly get tired of it and are unlikely to be able to complete it to the end.
8. Indicate that the survey is conducted by your company
Be sure to indicate that the survey is conducted by your company if you do not want to be mistaken for spam.
9. Avoid Leading Questions
It is highly likely that the respondent will answer leading questions not the way he thinks, but the way you want. So questions like “How did you like our latest article? better not to use.
10. Offer a Reward for Completing a Survey
To encourage customers to complete the survey, offer them some kind of reward. It could be a discount code or content, anything, and it doesn't cost that much.
With official employment in a state or private company, the employer is increasingly asking the candidate to fill out a questionnaire. Some confuse it with a resume that the applicant sends even before and on the basis of which the employer decides whether he is interested in a potential employee or not. The questionnaire, as a rule, is filled out already on the spot, immediately before hiring, to clarify the data about the applicant and other details.
It is a questionnaire containing a list of questions that will first of all help the employer understand what kind of specialist is in front of him and whether he needs his services. A set of questions is selected by employees of the personnel department of the enterprise and confirmed by the authorities.
What is this document and what is it for?
The questionnaire is primarily needed for the employer. If a resume when looking for a job is usually compiled by the applicant himself and enters as much information as possible in order to present himself as a promising employee necessary for the company as much as possible, then the questionnaire contains more specific data. The employer himself determines what questions he is interested in, and lists only them in order to immediately separate unnecessary information and clarify exactly those points that are of priority to him.
By comparing the profiles of two or three applicants for the same vacancy, you can quickly weed out the least suitable candidates and choose exactly the person whose characteristics best meet the requirements.
It is not always necessary to get acquainted with the data and professional skills of the applicant. Sometimes filling out a questionnaire is purely formal, it is needed only as an information sheet that will be filed in the personal file of a future employee of the company.
Filling out the questionnaire is also useful for the applicant himself. Sometimes it happens that only after filling out all the columns of the questionnaire it becomes clear whether a person really came to the company where he would like to work. The nature of the questions makes it possible to form a clear opinion about ethical standards organization, requirements for employees, conditions that will be offered. It often happens that the applicant himself is convinced at this stage that the position does not suit him, and refuses the proposed vacancy. Therefore, neglecting to familiarize yourself with the questionnaire and filling it out is not recommended for both parties.
Legal aspects
The applicant may refuse to complete the questionnaire if the questions to be answered affect his personal political, religious or other personal beliefs - according to article 86 of the current Labor Code
. He can also refuse to fill in if he is against the collection and processing of his data.
Although all this is not against the law and protects the rights of the candidate, it is worth noting that refusal to fill out the questionnaire often becomes the reason for denial of employment. On the other hand, the collection of personal data about the private life of a potential employee without his written consent, certified by a signature, and even more so the disclosure of the information received, is a violation provided for in the Criminal Code and may result in arrest for several months.
Is there a standardized document form
There are no clear standards for the form of the questionnaire and the rules for filling it out established by law. Special mention can only be made of form 4- this is a document printed on a sheet or several sheets of A4 format, includes several main blocks listed above.
Fundamentally, it does not matter on the sheets of what format and in what form the application form for employment is drawn up. It is much more important that it be informative, have a clear structure and give maximum useful information about a candidate for an open vacancy.
What does it usually contain?
The questionnaire consists of three main parts:
- personal data- surname, name and patronymic, date of birth, place of residence and registration, marital status, citizenship, contact details;
- professional curriculum vitae– education, place of previous work, qualifications, etc.;
- Additional Information- personal characteristics, wishes for the position, duties and salary, interests, hobbies, health status, etc.
The presence of specific questions depends on the specialization of the company, the main directions of its activities. There is not and cannot be a single standard here, therefore questionnaires can vary greatly.
What is undesirable to include in the list of questions
The selection of questions depends on the characteristics of the company. What exactly to include in the questionnaire, which points require really detailed coverage, and which ones can be neglected, is decided by each employer individually. However, you need to understand: many candidates consider filling out the questionnaire a meaningless, even stupid exercise, preferring a personal conversation.
Therefore, it is not recommended to make the list of questions too extensive - perhaps the applicant has several interviews scheduled at once that day, and he is simply already tired of answering in writing to endless lists of questions. A person will be annoyed, angry and may give fundamentally wrong data about himself. As a result, the company will not get a new, possibly very promising and responsible employee who could bring a lot of benefits in his workplace, and the applicant will be left without a job.
As practice shows, most people react with resentment to questions affecting their personal lives and interests.
Deep down two out of three job seekers people consider filling out the questionnaire a waste of time, the desire of the employer to keep up with Western colleagues and throw dust in the eyes of the candidate. Because it is recommended do not overload the form those issues that are not directly related to the activities of the future employee and his professional qualities.
You can learn how to pass an interview in the following video:
Who is processing the data
Almost every candidate for a certain position who had to fill out a questionnaire is interested in where the received information will be transferred, who else will get acquainted with it and how they will do with it later. If the questionnaire is offered to be filled out at home and sent or brought in person to the organization, most likely, it will first go to the personnel department, where the employee responsible for recruiting will get acquainted with it. At this stage, most of the applicants for open vacancies are usually eliminated. Questionnaires of past primary selection get on the table directly to the boss, and he already makes the final decision in favor of one or another applicant.
Sometimes the questionnaire is offered to fill out at the interview or immediately after it. Then confidant boss or he himself will get acquainted with it immediately, compare what he read with the results of a personal interview and draw conclusions whether he is satisfied with this candidacy or not.
If filling out is purely formal, and the questionnaire is needed only in order to personal file If an employee has saved all his personal data, it will be immediately transferred to the personnel department, where it will simply be filed to the case.
All questionnaires are checked periodically - this is usually required if the company's staff is expanded or reduced, it becomes necessary to reorganize it. A carelessly completed form, incorrect or incomplete data in it can lead to dismissal if it loses when compared with the questionnaires of other employees. Therefore, you should still not refuse to fill in all the columns and talk about yourself and your professional skills as openly and truthfully as possible.
In conclusion, we can say: filling out the questionnaire is indeed still not considered mandatory in our country and is perceived in most cases as an unnecessary formality that takes the time of the applicant. Most would prefer a personal interview and an internship, after which it will be clear whether a person is suitable for this vacancy or not. However, it is not worth refusing to fill out if it is offered by the employer - in the future, written data can play a decisive role in career growth.
Since people spend most of their time on the Internet, the most popular type is Online - questionnaires. Very attractive design, user-friendly interface, efficient and timely collection of information, which saves respondents time.
Of course, it has its drawbacks, but this is an effective way to get information about your potential customers in a short time.
Questioning is the basis for a marketing survey, and provides an opportunity to analyze the market and understand the needs of the buyer.
The task of a marketer is to create a social document with a specific list of questions in order to get the maximum answers for the survey under study. Conclusion: using a survey, you, as a “psychologist”, collect material in order to get to know your client better, and, accordingly, use this information to increase profits.
Objectives of the survey.
The main purpose of the survey is to interview as many people as possible in as soon as possible. After all, this is the most effective method analyze the demand for the product and understand your target audience. With the help of the right questions, you get truthful information about the product and about age category your customers, where they come from, their status and gender.
Questions during the survey
Survey questions are of several types. Open - give you the opportunity to offer your own answer, for example: ("What do you think about ...?"), associative questions, thematic drawings. Or closed - where you are given a choice of answer options, the ability to answer yes or no, or accept an unlimited number of options. Questions should be simple, without abstruse terms, without forcing the respondent to strain his head.
Types of Questionnaires for conducting surveys
Questionnaire types are divided into several types.
1. By the number of respondents:
- Personal (one-on-one survey with the respondent);
- mass (participate from hundreds of people);
- group survey (questionnaire takes place in the presence of several respondents.
2. By completeness of coverage:
- continuous survey (the main goal is to reach as many people as possible);
- selective (there is a certain the target audience for the survey).
3. By type of contact with the consumer:
- face-to-face (with personal contact);
remote survey:
- by mail (very often, surveys are sent by mail personally to the addressee or at the place of work);
- by phone (mobile surveys);
- through the Internet.
Nowadays, innovations are spreading to all areas of life. Including the hiring of a new employee takes on new forms. The initial interview can take place online for convenience and time saving. And also, along with the resume, employers request additional information of interest to them regarding the candidate for a free vacancy and receive it in the form of a questionnaire.
What is a job application
A document that reflects certain information about the applicant applying for a free vacancy is a job application form. In the future, this paper will become the main one in the employee's personal file. It's a bit like a resume, but it tends to go a little deeper into the candidate's personality. It has questions about habits, personal qualities, family and children.
How to fill out the application form when applying for a job? Each company provides a sample of it to its applicants individually. You need to indicate in it: personal data, place and date of birth, contacts (registration address, place of actual residence, home and cell phones), citizenship, information about education, work experience, marital status, detailed information about family members, favorite activities. You may need to provide links to social media accounts, a photo, recommendations from previous jobs, list the pros and cons of your character, indicate the level wages, which would suit the worker, and much more.
Purpose of the document
It is quite difficult for employers to choose a specialist from a whole pile of resumes, especially if the enterprise is large. Even if the document is filled out according to all the rules, it is difficult to single out one person. Moreover, in the legislation of the Russian Federation there is no accepted resume sample, and often filling it out is not enough for the employer to make a choice. The questionnaire will immediately weed out unsuitable candidates, leaving the most deserving ones who can be invited for an interview with management.
Document tricks
In addition to its main purpose, a job application form gives the employer not only what the candidate wanted to tell about himself, but also reveals a psychological picture of a person’s characteristics, as well as hidden opportunities and addictions. In most organizations, psychologists are involved in the preparation of the document. They analyze the hidden potential of a person. The questions that help them in this are usually related to their favorite activities, musical and literary passions, pets and friends. Perhaps there will be a question about what a person is afraid of, or situations in the genre of “What would you do if ...?” are presented. There are no criteria for the correctness of the answers, but each position has its own specifics, which means that the information about the economist should differ from the data of the artist.
Legal points
Only at the request of the employer, a questionnaire is drawn up when applying for a job. Its form is usually issued by the personnel department. All information that the employer's company receives about its applicants may not be disclosed, published or used for any purpose. This moment is strictly controlled by law. Russian Federation. Private life person is inviolable. The applicant, filling out the questionnaire, has the right to indicate to the employer that he does not have the right to collect and process personal data. An exception is when the data obtained is relevant to the question of employment.
That is, the head of the enterprise has no right to require the applicant to indicate in the questionnaire his religious, political beliefs, information about whether he is a member of a club or other association. Otherwise, the employer may be held liable under the law.
