How to Create a Job Application Form in WordPress

Hiring new personnel can seem like an overwhelming task. This is especially true if you have your position posted in several places across the internet. It can be challenging to find the best candidate when your inbox is filled with an intimidating number of resumes.

To simplify the process, you may want to add a job application form to your WordPress website. This ensures that most of your applications will come from the same source. You’ll also have a better chance of collecting all the information you need, since you can add whatever fields you need.

This post will provide you with a complete guide to creating a job application form in WordPress. Then we’ll show you how to view application submissions and manage notifications from your job form. Let’s go!

Create a Job Application Form in WordPress (In 7 Steps)

Throughout the following seven steps, we’re going to show you how to create an online application form in WordPress. There are many tools you can use to accomplish this. For this walkthrough, we’ll be using the WPForms plugin, as it’s both easy to get started with and flexible.

Step 1: Download WPForms

First, you’ll want to purchase and download the WPForms plugin. You’ll need to select at least the Pro tier to access all of the templates and options we’ll show you in this guide:

Once you’ve purchased WPForms, you can download the .zip file containing the plugin. To install the tool, go to the WordPress admin dashboard and navigate to Plugins > Add New. Click on the Upload Plugin button, then select Choose File and locate the .zip file you just downloaded:

Next, click on Install Now. Once the installation is complete, hit Activate Plugin:

Finally, you’ll need to enter your license key and click on Verify Key:

With WPForms installed and activated, let’s move on to selecting the addons you’ll use.

Step 2: Select Your Addons

While you can build a job application form from scratch, it’s much easier to use an existing template. The template we’ll use is included in the Form Templates Pack Addon. To activate this tool, navigate to WPForms > Addons:

Then click on the Install Addon button. The Status should change to “Active”.

Step 3: Select a Job Application Template

Now it’s time to start building your WordPress job application form. From the dashboard, go to WPForms > Add New. Give your form a descriptive name:

Then scroll down to the Additional Templates section, and select the Job Application Upload Form:

Click on this template, and you’ll see the form customization page.

Step 4: Configure the General Form Settings

First, let’s have a look at some of the form’s basic settings. To access the general options, click on Settings to the left and then on the General tab:

On this screen, you can change your form’s name and include additional information about the application in the Form Description field.

This screen is also where you can enter text for your form’s Submit button. Finally, if you’d like to personalize the message applicants will see while their forms are processing, you can do that in the Submit Button Processing Text field.

Step 5: Customize the Form Fields

Now you can begin working on the form itself. First, click on the Fields tab on the left side of your screen. The template already includes several relevant fields. You can edit any one of them by clicking on it to bring up the Field Options panel:

The specific options you have access to will differ depending on the field you’ve selected. However, this is always where you can change the field’s label, appearance, and behavior, as well as indicate whether it will be required or not.

To change the order of the fields on the form, you can simply drag and drop them. If you’d like to delete an existing option, hover over it and click on the red garbage can icon:

To add a new field, select the Add Fields tab. Click on the field you’d like to include, and it will appear at the bottom of your form:

Then you can edit the new field as desired. Once you’ve finished, don’t forget to hit Save.

Step 6: Set Up Your Form Confirmations

Once an applicant has submitted their form, you can show them a confirmation message or redirect them to another page. You can use this opportunity to include any appropriate next steps, or just thank them for applying.

To set up this message, start by navigating to Settings > Confirmations. The default confirmation is a message that displays when the form is submitted. You can customize the text to say whatever you’d like:

If you have more extensive next steps for applicants, you may want to set up a landing page and direct them there. To do that, simply select Show Page from the Confirmation Type drop-down menu, and then choose the relevant page:

Finally, you can send applicants to a completely different website by selecting Go to URL (Redirect) as your Confirmation Type.

Step 7: Add Your Form to Your WordPress Site

Finally, it’s time to add your job application to your WordPress website. First, hit Save to be sure your changes are up to date. Then click on the X to return to the WordPress dashboard.

You can embed your form in a new post or page, or an existing one. Once in the page editor, click on the plus sign and choose the WPForms block:

Select your job application from the drop-down menu in that block:

In the Block Settings menu, you can choose if you’d like to display the name and description of the form. As with any block, you can drag and drop the form anywhere you’d like on the page. Then save the page, and users can start submitting applications!

How to View Submitted Applications

Now that you have your job application form up and running, the next step is to view the submissions. From the admin dashboard, navigate to WPForms > All Forms. Hover over the form you’d like to view and click on Entries:

This page will display all of the entries for a particular form. From there, you can export the entries, delete any you no longer need, or mark especially promising candidates with a star:

Click the View link on a specific response to go to the Individual Entry Page. This page displays all of the information submitted in the form. You’ll also see details about when the entry was submitted and by whom:

If you’d like, you can add notes to the entry. You can also print or export the submission as needed.

Modifying Notifications for Your Job Form

Once you begin receiving submissions from your form, you may want to adjust how you’re notified. To get started, navigate to WPForms > All Forms in the WordPress dashboard. Hover over your job application form, and click on Edit to open the form builder:

On the left side of your screen, click on Settings and then the Notifications tab. You’ll see that notifications are turned on by default, but you can turn them off if you’d prefer:

First, you’ll want to be sure the right people are receiving messages. Alerts will automatically go to the WordPress admin email, but you can change this in the Send to Email Address field. You can also include additional email addresses by separating them with commas.

You may also want to make changes to who these emails are sent from. For example, you can use the Name smart tag to pull the applicant’s name from the form:

You can also change the From Email and Reply-To fields if necessary. If you leave the Reply-To field blank, any replies will automatically be sent to the address in the From Email field.

Be sure that the text in the Email Subject field will be clear to anyone receiving notifications. Finally, the Message is set up to display all of the fields in the form by default. You can place additional text here, or use smart tags to include only the information you want.

You might also want to send out different messages in response to a single form entry. This can be useful if you’d like to send a confirmation to the applicant and one to yourself. To do that, add a notification by clicking on the Add New Notification button. Give it a name and click on OK:

You’ll now be able to tweak this new notification to suit your needs.

The Final Word on WordPress Job Forms

While sifting through resumes is a lot of work, you can make it easier on yourself by creating your own job application. Placing a form on your website can go a long way towards streamlining your hiring process.

Using a WordPress application form plugin like WPForms can save you a lot of time when building your form. You’ll also be able to view submissions and modify your notification preferences easily.

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