What is Easy Apply?

Easy Apply is a job board feature that lets you submit an application without leaving the board, using your saved profile and resume. LinkedIn’s Easy Apply is the version most people mean, and other job boards offer similar quick-apply buttons. It is the opposite of how Tolta’s auto-apply works: Tolta applies on the employer’s own form and never automates LinkedIn.

How does LinkedIn Easy Apply work?

LinkedIn Easy Apply opens a short series of screens inside LinkedIn, pre-filled with your profile and a resume you’ve uploaded, plus any screening questions the employer added. You review and submit, and LinkedIn sends the application to the job poster. You never visit the company’s website.

A few details from LinkedIn’s help center:

• The Easy Apply button only appears when the employer enables it. A plain Apply button routes you to the company’s website or another job board instead.
• Skills from your LinkedIn profile may be included with the application.
• If a recruiting agency posted the job, your application may be shared with its other clients.
• LinkedIn can save your resume and answers to reuse on future applications.

What is an example of Easy Apply?

Say you see a “Product Designer” role on LinkedIn with an Easy Apply button. You click it, confirm your contact details, pick a saved resume, answer two yes-or-no screening questions and submit in about a minute. The same role on the company’s own careers page might ask for a portfolio link, a cover letter and five more questions.

Why does Easy Apply matter for job seekers?

Easy Apply trades depth for speed, and that trade affects how your application is read. Because sending is so quick, popular postings can collect a large pile of near-identical applications, and a generic resume is easy to overlook. You also can’t edit or withdraw an application once it’s sent through LinkedIn.

Automation adds a second risk. LinkedIn’s User Agreement prohibits bots and other unauthorized automated methods, and LinkedIn has introduced daily and speed limits on Easy Apply submissions to discourage them. Tools that mass-apply through Easy Apply can put your account at risk; see AI job application bots and is auto-apply safe.

When a role is also posted on the employer’s own applicant tracking system, applying there usually shows you every question the employer cares about and puts you on the original posting rather than a copy that may be a ghost job. Our guide on applying on the company website vs LinkedIn compares the two in detail.