With recruitment, as with most things, there are different processes that have to be untaken within each industry. Some job roles may require a much more extensive recruitment process to take place prior to you being offered a job. Other roles tend to follow a pattern of what you can expect to happen if you apply for a role. Below are the usual steps you can be expected to take in applying for a job.
1) You see a job advertised in a local paper / online or are contacted by a recruitment agency.
2) The advert will probably detail how you can apply or may ask you to call someone to discuss the role.
3) Some companies will send you out their own job application pack that you must complete and may ask for forms of ID or copies of qualifications, where as others will ask you to send in your own CV and cover letter.
4) Once you have completed the application form or CV you send it back to the employer to review.
5) Generally the employer will then short list the applications they have received and ask a select number of people to attend an interview.
6) If you pass this initially interview you may be asked to attend a second one or asked to come on a trail day to see how you get on. Some companies do not have a second interview process and you may well find that you are offered the job immediately.