You have probably noticed the Apply With LinkedIn button on job boards and careers websites such as as Netflix or Living Social. Its a convenient way to submit your digital resume to companies. But what does the Apply with LinkedIn Button mean for candidates? A candidate’s Linkedin profile is now more important than a resume. If candidates are actively seeking jobs, a full, complete and updated Linkedin profile is essential. Job boards and corporations are integrating LinkedIn into their application process. Soon, its possible that the connections that a candidate has are transferred along with their LinkedIn profile (online resume) and are used for assessment purposes. If a candidate is connected to a person(s) working at the firm, that information would be included without having to add a separate field for “how did you hear about this job”.

The Apply With LinkedIn button is driving the job application process to be a simple statement of preference. If a LinkedIn profile does the work, all that is left is for the candidate is to say that they want to work for a particular company. When conducting a job search, there would be no reason to ever leave the LinkedIn website.

Using Apply With LinkedIn saves a lot of hassle, but will do you no good if your profile is incomplete. Take some time before you apply to make a profile that ensures all your skills, experience, education, references, etc. are complete and have a professional profile look. If you are conducting a job search, its critical to make a profile LinkedIn considers complete in order to rank high when job recruiters are searching LinkedIn.

Click the “Apply With LinkedIn” button to get started

Make tweaks to your profile, add a phone number or add a cover letter

After you apply to a job, LinkedIn looks at your connections to see if you know anyone in the company. If you want to make a personal greeting, you can send one of your contacts a LinkedIn message asking more about the position you just applied to.

Personalize your LinkedIn email message when you Apply Via LinkedIn

Learn more about how to make a profile or examples of great LinkedIn profiles using our LinkedIn Profile Service.