NHS Jobs Application Download Guide
Table of Contents
Purpose 2
User Guide 2
Transfer Mechanism 6
Data Items 8
Table 1: Field definitions for LONG CSV and XML files for application forms 3012, 3238, 3254, 3314, 3374, 3375, 3238, 3378 9
Table 2: Field definitions for SHORT CSV files for application forms 3012, 3238, 3254, 3314, 3374, 3375, 3238, 3378 68
Appendix A: List of values for questions available on at least one of the standard application forms 81
Appendix B: List of values for additional application form questions that may be added to any application form as decided per vacancy 91
Appendix C: DTDs and XML/CSV example files for all application forms 95
Appendix D: Welsh Language Skills Self-Assessment Guide 97
Purpose
The purpose of this document is to describe the process and file content of downloading applications from NHS Jobs in CSV or XML format using the NHS Jobs Application Download interface. This document and the interface service are only for the use of NHS organisations enabled and authorised to use NHS Jobs.
User Guide
Exporting Job Application Details from NHS Jobs
Online applications made to your job adverts on NHS Jobs are accessible under ‘Vacancies – Applications’ on NHS Jobs.
Users with the relevant privileges are able to:
· view details of each completed application,
· view and track the status of each application,
· perform a sift of applications to produce a longlist,
· review, score and shortlist applications, and
· view and track pre-employment checks for successful applicants.
The end-point of this sift and selection process may be the transfer of application details from NHS Jobs into your local HR Management System. It is possible to download applications at any stage after applications have been submitted.
To download application details you should use the “download and print application” action listed against each application or group of applications.
How to Download Applications from NHS Jobs
Downloading applications involves selecting the applications and selecting to download them in a CSV format (either long or short) or XML format, resulting in one or more appropriate files being created.
On the list of applications for the vacancy, you select to download them using the “download and print applications” action on either the Actions button for each individual application or a number of applications on a page can be selected and the group action selected (see Figure 1 below). This action is available for all completed current applications and is not available for applications in states: Incomplete; Reset; Stopped; or Withdrawn. It is possible to download applications that are in different states but if you select group actions and include an application that cannot be downloaded you will not see the “download and print applications” action.
To be explicit, the application download feature can be used with applications in any of the following statuses, and in any combination: “New”, “In Review”, “Shortlisted”, “Shortlist Reserve” “Invited to interview”, “Interview booked”, “Awaiting interview outcome”, “Offer (Conditional)”, “Offer Accepted”, “Offer Reserve”, “Recruited”, “Rejection Pending”, “Rejected”, or “Offer Declined”.
The CSV or XML application download feature is not available for vacancies that originated in ESR and/or where it is indicated on the vacancy that applications are to be transferred back to ESR. The interface with ESR is defined elsewhere.
Figure 1 - The list of applications
The Download Process
Step 1a (group of applications): To download a number of applications, tick the boxes to the right of each application and select the ‘Group action’ button. In Figure 2, the top 2 applications have been chosen.
Step 1b (individual application): To download one application, select the ‘Action’ button for that application.
Figure 2 – Applications selected to download
Step 2 (both group and individual applications): On the resulting actions screen, choose the action “Download and print applications” and click the actions button.
Figure 3 – Select ‘Download and print applications’ action
Step 3 (both group and individual applications): A second page (Figure 3) will be displayed showing various options for printing and downloading the application. Click on “Download XML/CSV” in the list to the right of the screen. The “Download XML/CSV” section will be visible with a list of the selected application(s) and a selector for the download format. The options for file format include CSV or XML files with the full application data set, with the option to also download XML for the pre-employment check information. There is also a shorter CSV file that includes only key data fields from the applications (to support local mail-merge or to reduce the file size and support its opening in older versions of Excel).
Figure 4 - Confirm the applications to download
Step 4 (both group and individual applications): Click the “Download” button to begin the download. This should bring up a dialogue box which enables you to select to Open or Save the file, depending on your local computer/browser settings. Clicking ‘Save’ will save the CSV or XML file onto your local computer or network.
Figure 5 – Options to open or save
Transfer Mechanism
File type, file name and location
The user will select the file type they wish to download. As part of the download process, the user will identify the location to save the file locally and be able to change the filename (either at the point of download or any time after).
File contents
The contents of the CSV file will conform to the following rules:
· The file will contain a header record;
· There will be at least one application within the file;
· Each application will start on a new line;
· There will be NO lines without an application;
· Any field containing embedded line breaks will be enclosed in double quotes;
· All fields will be terminated by the delimiter character, except for the last field in each record, which will be delimited by a newline character;
· A field containing one or more comma delimiter characters will be enclosed in double quotes;
· A field containing double quote characters will be enclosed in double quotes and the double quote characters within the field will be doubled;
· An optional field may contain no text, but the required delimiters will still be included. This means that ALL records will have the same number of fields and ALL fields will be present.
The contents of the XML file will conform to the following rules:
· Each file starts with the statement <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>.
· There is at least one application within the file.
· Each application starts with the <application> tag and end with the </application> tag.
The contents of the XML file will conform to one of the XML document type definition files (DTDs), details of which can be found in Appendix C.
Data Items
Each file will contain the selected applications for one vacancy.
A number of application forms are in use on NHS Jobs. They fall into a number of ‘types’ some of which have more than one version. The later the version number, the newer the version of the form. Only the latest versions of each form are used on new vacancies. The forms and their form references are:
· Standard – 3254, 3375
· Medical & Dental – 3238, 3376
· Short – 3012, 3374
· CV application form – 3314, 3378
Note: There may be blank columns in any downloaded CSV file. This is to accommodate all the questions for all the application forms in a single CSV interface. Where a question is not used on a particular form, the column will exist but the question and the answers will not.
The following tables show the fields in the file that make up a single application.
Version 1.6 2
Table 1: Field definitions for LONG CSV and XML files for application forms 3012, 3238, 3254, 3314, 3374, 3375, 3238, 3378
Note: Where the format column is empty, it can be assumed to be Text.
Column Order / Field Name / Required? / Question on which form(s) / Description / Format / Max Size /1 / form_ref / Optional / All forms / Identifies the version of the application form being used for a vacancy (note that all online applications for a vacancy must use the same form). / 4
2 / vpd_code / Optional / All forms / The identifier used to identify the NHS employer within the ESR system or NHS Jobs system if ESR is not used. / 3
3 / employer_id / Mandatory / All forms / This field may be ignored unless the vpd_code is missing. This field contains the unique identifier for the employer used within the NHS Jobs system. It is included for error resolution purposes only. / 38
4 / display_ref / Mandatory / All forms / The reference used when displaying a job advert to an applicant or employer in NHS Jobs. This begins with the VPD code / 26
5 / orig_vacancy_name / Optional / All forms / The original reference or name used to identify the vacancy to the recruiter. This value is the value given to NHS Jobs which is then converted into the display_ref. / 26
6 / erec_vac_ref / Mandatory / All forms / This field may be ignored. This field contains the unique identifier for the job advert used within the NHS Jobs system. It is included for error resolution purposes only. / 26
7 / application_ref / Optional / All forms / This field contains the unique identifier for the job application used within the NHS Jobs system. This identifier is included on printed copies of the application form. It is therefore visible to both applicants and recruiters. / 15
8 / applicant_id / Optional / All forms / This field may be ignored. This field contains the unique identifier for the job applicant used within the NHS Jobs system. It is included for error resolution purposes only. / 38
9 / application_date_received / Mandatory / All forms / The date when the application was submitted for the vacancies via the job advert. / dd/mm/yyyy / 10
10 / applicant_email_address / Mandatory / All forms / The email address of the applicant. / Email address / 240
11 / application_status / Optional / All forms / The status the application has got to in the recruitment process (using the status visible to the organisation). / 30
12 / offline_application_reference / Optional / All offline forms / The reference to an application in the case where the application was not entered online by the applicant. In the case where an applicant sends an offline or hard copy application then the employer records the reference and location of the offline application. / 500
13 / offline_application_location / Optional / All offline forms / The location of an application in the case where the application was not entered online by the applicant. In the case where an applicant sends an offline or hard copy application then the employer records the reference and location of the offline application. / 500
14 / where_seen / Optional / All forms / A value indicating the applicant’s selection of where they saw the job advert. / 100
15 / Agree / Mandatory / All forms / The applicant's agreement to the systems Acceptable Use Policy / 3
16 / Title / Optional / All forms / The applicant’s title as selected from the list of values on the form. / List of values in Appendix A / 35
17 / surname_family_name / Mandatory / All forms / The applicant's surname / 150
18 / first_name / Mandatory / All forms / The applicant's first name / 150
19 / middle_names / Optional / All forms / The applicant's middle name(s) / Multiple forenames will be passed as given / 60
20 / name_in_which_you_are_registered_with_a_professional_body_if_applicable / Optional / All forms / The name used when completing your registration if different from your current name / 150
21 / uk_national_insurance_number / Optional / All forms / The applicant’s United Kingdom National Insurance Number. / 9
22 / address_line_1 / Optional / All forms / Line 1 of the applicant's address / 240
23 / address_line_2 / Optional / All forms / Line 2 of the applicant's address / 240
24 / address_line_3 / Optional / All forms / Line 3 of the applicant's address / 240
25 / town_city / Optional / All forms / The town or city of the applicant's address / 30
26 / county_state / Optional / All forms / The county or state of the applicant's address / 30
27 / country / Optional / All forms / The country of the applicant's address / List of values in Appendix A / 300
28 / postcode_zip_code / Optional / All forms / The postcode or zip code of the applicant’s address. / 20
29 / home_telephone / Optional / All forms / The applicant’s home telephone number. / 60
30 / work_telephone / Optional / All forms / The applicant’s work telephone number. / 60
31 / mobile_telephone / Optional / All forms / The applicant’s mobile telephone number. / 60
32 / do_you_wish_to_receive_updates_by_text_message / Mandatory / All forms / The applicant’s confirmation that they wish to receive updates by text message. / List of values in Appendix A / 30
33 / preferred_telephone_number_to_be_contacted_on / Optional / All forms / The applicant’s response to ‘Preferred telephone number’. / List of values in Appendix A / 6
34 / are_you_a_united_kingdom_uk_european_community_ec_or_european_economic_area_eea_national / Mandatory / All forms / The applicant’s response to ‘Are you a United Kingdom (UK), European Community (EC) or European Economic Area (EEA) National?’ / Answer either Yes or No / 3
35 / please_select_the_category_that_relates_to_your_current_immigration_status_this_status_will_be_subject_to_checking_before_interview / Optional / All forms / The applicant’s immigration status. / List of values in Appendix A / 44
36 / if_other_please_provide_details_below / Optional / All forms / The applicant's immigration status if not contained in the list of values / 500