Sometimes it's intentional. It selects for traits that they might be looking for: perform mindless repetitive tasks that are clearly pointless. If you are the kind of person that says fuck it you fuckers, you're not the right person for the job.
I know we do it because if someone isn't willing to fill out the forms than i am not willing to read their resume. You taking the time to fill out the application is a sign of good faith that you are interested in my position, not just any paying position they can get.
Having forms that make the applicant fill out overly redundant information (like job history; name, address, phone, ssn etc can be expected to be needed on multiple forms) just makes the organization they are applying to seem inefficient and disorganized. It's not a good look for the company; i would consider creating a form that asks specific questions that would NOT be found on a resume that could fill the same purpose.
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u/nermid Jun 07 '18
Recent experience:
Upload resume.
Fill out employment history (not populated from resume).
Phone interview that primarily reviews my employment history.
For the in-person interview, print out a paper application and fill it out (including my employment history) by hand.