7. We gave up along the way
Sometimes people get really close, but at the end of the day, it’s just not worth the effort.
Shorten your form: Time yourself and try to make sure no application takes longer than five hours. Make all your questions visible before starting the application process, and give an estimate of how much time people should spend on the application at the top of the application or before clicking apply (just like read times on some articles.)
Beware of vagueness and redundancy: Make sure all your questions are specific.
Be open to change: If you are asking for what someone will do in the future, specify that you know plans and ideas will change once on-site
Limit additional documents: Avoid asking for letters of recommendation or references since those require a certain level of existing access (and extra time) to acquire
Respect Privacy: Don’t ask for information you don’t need. Not everyone feels comfortable or safe revealing certain personal details like date of birth, phone numbers, addresses, or citizenship status. Be respectful of people’s chosen identities — allow pseudonyms, anonymous collectives, and gender identities that go beyond binaries.
Send reminders: Send deadline reminders one week or even 24 hours before the deadline. Maybe people got started on the form then forgot to finish or hit send!
