Question: 1: Great post, the application is a necessary tool to find out who you want to bring in for an interview. Obviously as an employer you want to make sure that the applicant has the educational and skill level for the job. Another thing to look for is job history and what type of work the applicant has done in the past. It also allow the employer to run credit and background check. All these things are the first steps of the screening process in an attempt to find the best employees for the position.
2: In todays competitive workplace employers use many tools to find the right candidates for the job. From having job fairs(both traditional and virtual) to using recruiting agencies or offering internships the quest to find the right person is very complex. Employers are demanding the best employees in terms of education and skills and they use many different methods to find them. Some employees are internal employees that have been loyal to the company they just need to be trained in the new job classification. Once an employer decides on what method or methods to use to find employees, they then must decide on who to bring in for an interview and begin another screening process. It is not just employers screening for employees it is the employee or potential employee screening the company as well.
3: I agree internships are a great way of recruiting employees, however you can miss out on an older employee with more experience doing this. Web based job boards seem to be the way things are done now for the most part, this is certainly convenient for both candidate and employer. The only issue is that in my experience it is harder to obtain the interview with this method although I have a great job now, there have been many rejections experienced. Another method is college recruitment of recent college graduates this is a good way for employers to find candidates with the educational requirements, although again this would put finding a candidate with experience difficult.
4: One method is the application itself, this should give an employer information about a potential employee, such as educational background and employment history. Another thing an employer could do is to administer a test such as a cognitive test for those skills needed for the job as well as a personality test to determine if they would fit into the environment at the company. Are they a team player etc. The most common method would be the interview itself, this is where you get to ask those specific questions about the candidate like have you ever been in a leadership position.