LinkedIn 'Apply' Button: 1-Click Job Application

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Employers and job sites can now include an "Apply with LinkedIn" button in their job listings, encouraging applicants to submit their LinkedIn profiles in lieu of filling out an application form.

"This makes it extremely easy for companies get access to that rich, high-quality profile information," Adam Nash, vice president of product management, said in an interview. Previously, LinkedIn users could include their profile, and let employers see their references, when applying for jobs listed on LinkedIn, but now they will be able to do so on any site that includes this button.

By making it easier to apply using the structured information already present in a LinkedIn profile, companies ought to see applications from people who are better qualified, more in demand, and less likely to spend a lot of time filling in online job applications forms, Nash said. "Probably companies aren't getting as many of the right job applications as they should because they're making people copy and paste information into forms."

The process allows applicants to make any last minute updates to their profiles before submitting the application, "but assuming it's all good, it's just boom, and then you're done," Nash said. Job hunters also get the opportunity to tap any contacts in their social network who are employed at that company and can help make introductions, he said.

LinkedIn said the button already is launching on thousands of websites, including Netflix, LivingSocial, Photobucket, Concur subsidiary TripIt, Foodspotting, GazeHawk, Munch On Me, and Formative Labs.

This follows a flurry of recent developer upgrades, including the LinkedIn Groups API and the APIs and plugins for companies and job listings.

The Apply with LinkedIn button is being provided as a LinkedIn plugin, meaning that a Web-based tool at apply.linkedin.com makes it easy to generate the few lines of code needed to include the button on your own website. LinkedIn also has integrated the button with applicant tracking software from Peoplefluent, Jobvite, SmartRecruiters, Bullhorn, and Jobscience. Other vendors including Taleo,Lumesse, and Kenexa plan to add support by the end of the year.

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