Should you apply on the company website or LinkedIn?
If you can apply on the company website instead of LinkedIn, do. Most tech companies run hiring through an applicant tracking system (ATS) such as Greenhouse, Lever or Ashby, and applying there puts your application straight into the recruiter's queue, complete with the employer's own questions.
LinkedIn Easy Apply is faster for you, which is exactly why so many people use it. Find jobs anywhere, but apply at the source. If the LinkedIn button sends you to the company site anyway, it makes no difference.
By PickedJobs · Updated · Live figures from 62,231 open jobs, as of (method)
What happens to your application on each route
| Where you apply | Where it ends up |
|---|---|
| Company careers page | Directly in the employer's ATS, with your full resume and answers to their questions. |
| LinkedIn “Apply” (opens the company site) | The same as the careers page: LinkedIn only sent you there. |
| LinkedIn Easy Apply | Either synced into the ATS or reviewed inside LinkedIn, depending on the employer. Often a short form with fewer questions, among many one-click applicants. |
| Job board with its own form | Forwarded to the employer, sometimes as a reformatted profile. Reposted listings can stay up after the real job closes. |
| Referral from an employee | Usually flagged in the ATS as a referral, which gets a closer look. The strongest route when you have it. |
Why the source is usually better
- It's the real listing. Copies on aggregators can be out of date or missing the salary range and eligible locations.
- You answer their questions. Custom questions on the careers page are a chance to show you read the job. One-click applications skip them.
- Timing. Jobs fill fast. Of the listings that closed on PickedJobs in the last 30 days, the median had been open 12.1 days. Applying early, at the source, gets you seen before the shortlist forms.
How to find a company's careers page
Look for “Careers” or “Jobs” in the footer of the company website. Companies on the big applicant tracking systems also have public job boards at addresses like boards.greenhouse.io/company, jobs.lever.co/company or jobs.ashbyhq.com/company.
PickedJobs is built on exactly those pages: it reads the job boards of 4,733 companies directly, removes listings when the employer closes them, and every job links to the employer's own application form. PickedJobs never collects your application. Browse companies hiring now.
Make the direct application count
- Tailor the top of your resume to the listing; it takes about 20 minutes. See how to tailor your resume to a job description.
- Check your cover letter, if the form asks for one, with the cover letter checker.
- Message one person on the team or the recruiter after you apply. Keep it to two or three lines about why this role.
- Keep track of where and when you applied with the job application tracker, so you follow up on time.