Greenhouse, Lever and Ashby application forms all start with the same basics: your name and contact details, a resume and usually a few profile links. Almost everything after that, from work authorization to salary expectations and screening questions, is chosen by each employer. As of October 31, 2026, the job boards we track list 20,923 open roles on Greenhouse (63%), 7,398 on Ashby (22%) and 4,970 on Lever (15%), so if you apply to tech companies, you'll meet each of them. Prepare your answers once, and each form goes much faster.
The basics every form asks for
Every form starts with who you are and how to reach you. A Greenhouse application form has separate first and last name fields, then email and phone; Lever and Ashby forms use a single full name field. Many forms add a location field, and Lever's standard form also asks for your current company.
The resume upload appears on every form, usually accepting PDF or Word files. Lever puts it at the top of the form, and many forms try to fill in your details from the file you upload, which works better when your resume is cleanly formatted. Greenhouse and Ashby can also have a cover letter upload, which is often optional.
Profile links come next. Many forms ask for your LinkedIn URL, and some add a website, GitHub or portfolio field. Lever's form has a links section for these. Use full URLs and check that each one opens.
Cover letters vary the most among the basics. Some postings require one, many make it optional, and Lever's form ends with an "Additional information" box where you can add a cover letter or anything else you want to share. If you write one, keep it short and specific to the role.
Work authorization and sponsorship questions
Work authorization questions are added by each employer, so their wording and position vary even on the same system. The most common pair asks whether you are legally authorized to work in the country of the role, and whether you will now or in the future require visa sponsorship. Some employers ask country by country, or ask which visa you hold.
Answer them truthfully for the country of the role. Employers check work authorization before you start, so a wrong answer only delays the problem. For remote roles, read the location carefully: a remote role can still require you to be able to work in one country, as in a posting listed as Remote - US. Of the 4,838 roles marked remote in our index, only 68 are open to any country.
Screening questions and the demographic survey
The rest of the form is whatever the employer adds. Common examples include years of experience with a specific tool, salary expectations, notice period or earliest start date, whether you can relocate or work from an office, how you heard about the role, and a short answer on why you are interested. They come as text boxes, dropdowns, checkboxes or yes/no buttons, and they differ between companies on the same system.
You can't write one answer for all of them, but you can keep a bank of short, factual answers to the common ones and adjust the details for each posting.
Many US postings end with voluntary self-identification questions about gender, race or ethnicity, veteran status and sometimes disability. The forms state that answering is voluntary and that declining won't be held against you, and most offer a way to decline. Greenhouse postings can also include separate demographic questions, and postings in some countries add a consent checkbox about how your data is stored. Some forms show a quick human check, a captcha, before they submit.
How Greenhouse, Lever and Ashby differ
| Greenhouse | Lever | Ashby | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | First and last name fields | One full name field | One full name field |
| Resume | Upload, often with a cover letter upload | Upload at the top of the form | Upload, sometimes with a cover letter upload |
| Links | Fields the employer adds, often LinkedIn and website | A links section for LinkedIn, GitHub, portfolio and more | Fields the employer adds |
| Extra text | Questions the employer adds | An "Additional information" box | Questions the employer adds |
| Open roles in our index | 20,923 | 4,970 | 7,398 |
The differences are mostly in layout. What changes the work for you is each employer's own questions, which is why a prepared set of answers matters more than knowing the system. Our companies page shows which system each company uses.
Preparing your information once
To move through these forms quickly, keep one document with your standard application data:
- Your legal name, preferred name, email, phone number with country code, and city
- Your LinkedIn, GitHub, portfolio or website URLs
- Your work authorization and sponsorship answer for each country you'd work in
- Your salary expectations for each location, your notice period and your earliest start date
- Your education with dates, and the years of experience you have with your main tools
- A few sentences on why you want this kind of role, to adapt for each company
Keep that document open while you apply. It saves you from recalling details mid-form and cuts down on typos.
ApplyJobs reads each Greenhouse, Lever or Ashby form and fills it from your resume, profile and saved answers. When a question needs an answer it doesn't have, such as a company-specific question, it asks you rather than guessing. If you apply to many roles in a family like software engineering or sales, that leaves you with only the questions that need your own words.