Apply on the company website when the same job is listed on the employer’s careers page and you have something to add that the Easy Apply form does not ask for, such as a cover letter, work samples or fuller answers. Use Easy Apply when it is the only way the job poster accepts applications, or when your LinkedIn profile is strong and current, because the poster receives your full profile along with your resume.
Whichever you choose, apply once. Do not send the same application through both.
Key takeaways
- The employer chooses the button. Easy Apply keeps the application on LinkedIn. A plain Apply button sends you to the company’s website or job board.
- With Easy Apply, the job poster gets your resume and answers plus your full LinkedIn profile and the primary email address on your account.
- On the company website, the employer gets what its own form asks for, which usually leaves more room to make your case.
- An application sent through LinkedIn cannot be edited or withdrawn. LinkedIn also limits how many Easy Apply applications you can send.
- Neither route is proven to win more interviews. What you control is what the employer receives.
01
What is the difference between Easy Apply and Apply on LinkedIn?
LinkedIn shows one of two buttons on a job, depending on the employer’s settings.
- Easy Apply lets you submit the application without leaving LinkedIn. You enter the required information in a few screens, review it and submit. LinkedIn says you need a desktop browser or the LinkedIn mobile app to use it.
- Apply routes you to the company’s website or job board, and you continue the application there.
So the choice is rarely between two buttons on one listing. It comes up when a job has Easy Apply on LinkedIn and is also posted on the employer’s own careers page.
02
What does the employer receive each way?
What the employer receives should drive the decision.
| What is sent | Easy Apply | Company website |
|---|---|---|
| Where it goes | LinkedIn sends the application to the job poster | Into the system behind the company’s website or job board |
| Resume | The file you select | The file you upload, often copied into form fields as well |
| Your LinkedIn profile | Your full profile is included | Only if you add the link or choose to share it |
| Contact details | What you enter, plus the primary email address on your LinkedIn account | What you type into the form |
| Questions | The job poster’s screening questions | The employer’s full set of application questions |
| Skills | Relevant skills from your profile may be included | Whatever your resume and answers show |
Two details from LinkedIn’s help pages deserve attention.
First, if the job was posted by a recruiting agency, your Easy Apply application may be shared with other clients of that agency when your profile matches other roles.
Second, the company-website route can still involve your profile. LinkedIn has a setting that shares your full profile with the job poster when you click Apply on a job that takes you off LinkedIn. You can switch it off, and you can undo the share from the job’s page after you click.
LinkedIn also offers to save your application information for next time. Saved answers and resumes are not sent automatically, and you can edit them before you submit. LinkedIn says it may use resumes and screening answers, with identifying information removed from the answers, to improve its products, including training generative AI models. You can opt out of saving job application data in your settings.
03
What are the trade-offs?
| Trade-off | Easy Apply | Company website |
|---|---|---|
| Time | Short, with saved answers and a pre-selected resume | Longer, and often needs an account with the employer |
| Room to make your case | Your resume, your profile, the poster’s questions and a cover letter if the form takes one | Often a cover letter, links, work samples and detailed questions |
| What the reviewer has | Your LinkedIn profile as well as your resume | The form and the documents you submit |
| Updates | LinkedIn can notify you when the poster views the application or downloads your resume | From the employer’s system, if it sends any |
| After you submit | No editing or withdrawing; you contact the poster by InMail | Depends on the employer’s system |
| Volume | Daily and speed limits apply | Set by each employer’s site, not by LinkedIn |
The limits are deliberate. LinkedIn says it introduced daily and speed limits on Easy Apply to encourage thoughtful, genuine applications and to curb automation and bots. It also does not permit third-party software that automates activity on its website.
The notifications are less than they seem. LinkedIn’s own wording is that an application view or a resume download does not guarantee a message, an interview or an offer. Our guide to what “Application viewed” means on LinkedIn covers how to read them.
04
When does each route make sense?
Easy Apply makes sense when:
- It is the only way to apply. Some employers and recruiters take applications only through LinkedIn.
- Your profile is complete and agrees with your resume, so the full profile helps you.
- The role is a clear match, and your resume already makes the case without a letter.
The company website makes sense when:
- The job is on the employer’s careers page. That page is the original posting and shows whether the role is still open.
- You want to add a cover letter, a portfolio or fuller answers, and the Easy Apply form has no place for them.
- Your LinkedIn profile is thin, out of date or aimed at a different kind of role.
- Someone at the company has referred you. Referrals usually run through the employer’s own system, so ask your contact how to apply.
To decide on a specific job:
- Look at the button. If it says Apply, you are going to the company’s site either way.
- If it says Easy Apply, search the employer’s careers page for the same job. Match the title, location and job ID if there is one.
- If it is not there, use Easy Apply.
- If it is there, compare your profile with your resume. If the form on the site lets you say something the profile does not, apply there.
- Record which route you used in your job application tracker, so you never send a duplicate.
05
What should you check before you use Easy Apply?
Because the poster receives your full profile, treat the profile as part of the application.
- Make the profile agree with the resume. Titles, employers and dates should match. Our LinkedIn profile tips go through each section.
- Check the email address on your account. The primary address is included with the application, so it should be one you read every day.
- Check the resume that is selected. LinkedIn pre-selects the one you used most recently, which may be a version for a different kind of job.
- Read every pre-filled answer. LinkedIn fills in answers to screening questions you have answered before. A stale answer about location or notice period goes out unless you change it.
- Review before you submit. Once it is sent through LinkedIn, you cannot edit or withdraw it.
If you go to the company’s site instead, how to apply for jobs online covers each step, and tailoring your resume to the job description covers the edit.
06
What happens after you apply?
After Easy Apply. The job poster can review your application on LinkedIn. For jobs hosted on LinkedIn, you may get an update when the poster views the application or downloads your resume. If you need to change something, LinkedIn’s instruction is to contact the job poster by InMail.
After applying on the company website. The confirmation, the status and any messages come from the employer’s system. Keep the confirmation email and note the login you created.
Either way, set a date to follow up. Following up on a job application explains when and how.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Is it better to use Easy Apply or apply on the company website?
Neither is proven to get more interviews. Apply on the company website when the job is listed there and you can add something useful, such as a cover letter or fuller answers. Use Easy Apply when it is the only route, or when your LinkedIn profile is complete and matches your resume.
What does the employer see when I use Easy Apply?
The job poster receives what you include in the application, such as your resume, contact details and answers to screening questions. LinkedIn also includes the primary email address on your account and your full LinkedIn profile, and relevant skills from your profile may be added.
Can I apply with Easy Apply and on the company website for the same job?
Avoid it. Two applications for one job create duplicate records for the recruiter to sort out, and the second adds nothing the first did not say. Choose the route that lets you present yourself best and note it in your tracker.
Can I edit or withdraw an Easy Apply application?
No. LinkedIn states that you cannot edit or withdraw an application once it is submitted through LinkedIn. To correct something or pull out, contact the job poster by InMail.
Is there a limit on Easy Apply applications?
Yes. LinkedIn applies daily and speed limits to Easy Apply submissions. It says the limits are meant to encourage thoughtful, genuine applications and to curb automation and bots.
Can I use software to automate Easy Apply?
LinkedIn says no. Its help center states that it does not permit third-party software, including bots and browser extensions, that automates activity on its website, and that members who use such tools risk having their accounts restricted or shut down. Other sites set their own rules, so read the terms of any site before you connect an account to a tool.
Sources
- LinkedIn Help: Apply for jobs on LinkedIn: the two buttons, the steps, and no editing or withdrawing after you submit.
- LinkedIn Help: Apply to jobs directly on LinkedIn: how Easy Apply works, sharing by recruiting agencies and the daily and speed limits.
- LinkedIn Help: How LinkedIn uses your job application information: what is sent with an application, saved answers and resumes, and how the data is used.
- LinkedIn Help: What to expect after you apply for a job: application view and resume download updates and what they do not guarantee.
- LinkedIn Help: Sharing your full profile with job posters on LinkedIn: the setting that shares your profile when you click Apply on an off-LinkedIn job.
- LinkedIn Help: Prohibited software and extensions: LinkedIn’s rule against third-party software that automates activity on its website.
Published by Jobbie and last updated on October 6, 2026. This guide is general information for job seekers, not legal, tax or financial advice. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.